In anticipation of hispresentation at Building Business Capability in Vegas, Nov. 2 – 6, 2015, we asked Jess Scheer, Process Consultant at APQC, a few questions about pursuing business excellence. Check out hisinterview in relation to his BBC presentation entitled, Worst Practices in Process Improvement: Why Good Projects Go Bad.

Q: How are your clients advancing the pursuit of business excellence and how does it impact their business units/departments?

A: Our members are struggling on a number of fronts: They are facing challenging marketing conditions and need to find ways to do more with less; others are growing rapidly and can’t hire fast enough. Either way, standardizing process approaches and better leveraging lessons learned can lead to significant cost savings.

Q: Can you describe the challenges your clients have overcome in establishing a more cohesive and productive company or organization?

A: The cultural hurdle is always the hardest: Change is never easy or fun. Finding the right way to communicate why the changes are occurring, and why they’ll be better off for it, is the key.

Q: What are your near term goals for creating a more agile organization at your clients’ organizations?

A: Our clients want help: 1) understanding what they do and how they do it; 2) Where improvements would be most impactful; and then, 3) How to make those changes.

Q: What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned in 2015 thus far? What’s the most important goal/trend for [pick one or two: business analysts, business architects, business process managers and/or business rules managers] to keep in mind?

A: The most valuable lesson I’ve learned is that there are many ways to get from Point A to Point B. There are tools and techniques that can be helpful, but not every organization, team or executive is comfortable with the same approach or cadence. Learn the language of your stakeholders (are they focused on risk, revenue, profit, improved decision making, etc.) and meet them where they are.

Q: Sneak preview: Please tell us a take-away that you will provide during your talk at Building Business Capability?

A: My talk will make you feel better about yourself. No matter how dysfunctional you think your organization is, I’ll share horror stories that will reassure you that things could always be worse. And more importantly, we’ll discuss ways to avoid others mistakes.

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Don’t miss Jess’ presentation, Worst Practices in Process Improvement: Why Good Projects Go Bad, at Building Business Capability on Friday, November 6, 2015 from 10:10 to 11:10 am. Click here to register for attendance.