Becoming an Outstanding Organization – Business Results by Eliminating Chaos

Karen Martin’s

The Outstanding
Organization Book

book The Outstanding Organization (on Amazon #ad) is what quality folks and corporate managers have been waiting for.  It explains what it takes to make an excellent organization and to implement an effective quality improvement program that gets business results and eliminates chaos.   In the book Martin writes “You’ll come to understand the degree to which lack of clarity drains your organization’s financial resources – and ‘the psychological toll the resulting ambiguity takes on your customers, workforce, and leadership team.  She covers those items as well as employee engagement and empowerment through focus and discipline (accountability not punishment).  Below are a few key topics which are covered in more detail within the book.

Capabilities of Outstanding Organizations include: problem solving, continuous improvement, and resilience.

Every employee should be able to answer these questions:

1. Who is your external customer?
2. What value do you deliver to that customer?
3. Who, in you company, delivers that value?
4. How do they deliver that value?

Foundation for Business Results (has a chapter on each):  clarity, focus, discipline, and engagement.

Steps to limit the “focused” priorities that help build organizational commitment:

1. Reflect on org’s current performance and position in the marketplace or community.
2. Understand and identify the goals and priorities the org could pursue.
3. Select goals and priorities that the organization will pursue.
4. Establish clear ownership and measurable objectives.
5. Manage the plan to maintain focus and allow for adaptability/flexibility.

Employee Engagement Drivers (the 3 c’s):  connection, control, and creativity (Not exactly the same as these 3 P’s of Employee Performance and Motivation).