Act Like a Business featuring Judy Lysne with Lifeworks written February 2012 by John P. Palen for Minnesota Business Magazine

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives

Waste is a big focus in business. Every leader I talk to is finding ways to cut the fat from internal processes, from production to billing. Many have successfully achieved higher margins, productivity and profits simply by eliminating wasteful activities.

At Lifeworks Services, based in Eagan, this journey started with clothes hangers. After helping a hanger recycler achieve leaner production processes, going from a 25 percent hanger toss rate down to less than 5 percent, the leaders at Lifeworks realized that their own organization could use some waste reduction.

Since the 1960s, Lifeworks has focused on serving people with developmental disabilities. This people and mission focus, as in most not-for-profit organizations, tends to override thoughts of internal efficiency. But as government funding decreases and donors demand that more money goes directly toward the mission, not-for-profits have looked at best practices in the private sector to improve their organizations.

"We have always been a learning organization," said Judy Lysne, CEO and president of Lifeworks. "But in the past few years, we've really embraced lean process innovation and began to apply it to every aspect of our organization."

Taking what they've learned from analyzing businesses like the hanger recycler - which hires Lifeworks to design improved production processes, place and train people with disabilities to perform repetitive or routine tasks - Lifeworks looked at everything from facility layouts to employee tasks and client activities. They counted and measured how long tasks took. They noted where activities slowed down. They determined who or what was responsible for delays.

When it was time to build out a space for a new program center in Brooklyn Park, Lifeworks used this research. They designed the facility so that transportation is streamlined, allowing multiple buses to stop, drop off or pick up clients at the same time. When clients arrive or leave, there is a consistent process for handling coats and personal items with new mobile locker units.

In the food service area, the layout of the kitchen and serving area is designed for efficiency. Changes there reduced prep time and serving by up to two hours.

A more open layout in the facility - with more internal windows between rooms - allows staff to monitor activities throughout the space, respond faster and be more productive.

For the daily distribution of client medication, an automated and mobile cart system has maintained accuracy while reducing distribution time by one hour - and with fewer staff.

Lifeworks also addressed lean process improvements in the headquarters' administration area, which includes customer fiscal/intermediary services for their clients. They identified 21 separate processes in the department. After taking four of them through process improvement, the employees experienced more efficient workflow, which has led to greater job satisfaction as well as improved margins.

"We are still working on process improvements for payroll and billing," Lysne says. "But it's exciting because we can now measure and see actual improvements."

Lifeworks serves Minnesota employers as big as Wells Fargo, REI and Cargill. They continue to share their knowledge of lean process improvements with private employers, as they analyze processes and identify places where a Lifeworks client or crew can increase workflow efficiency.

"Because we want to place our clients in jobs in corporations, we needed to show that we run ourselves like a business too," Lysne says.

Lifeworks' workflow solutions for the hanger recycler alone resulted in savings of approximately $40,000. I'm sure that many companies and organizations would appreciate that kind of savings.

Whether you are for-profit or not-for-profit, the bottom line counts. Are you on the waste reduction train?

Tips for Leaner Workflow
1) Observe daily processes to measure the number of steps and amount of time they take.
2) Determine whether inefficiency is due to tasks performed, equipment design, lack of training or unclear expectations.
3) Identify key people involved in each change. Once you see progress and results, make the change public and applicable to everyone.
4) Stay focused on sustaining change until it becomes part of the culture.
5) Share and celebrate results.

Driven by Technology featuring Dave Gahn with Corporate Graphics Inc. written December 2011 by John P. Palen for Minnesota Business Magazine

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives

It’s often easier to look outside of an organization for answers when the way you do business doesn’t seem to work anymore. Many industries are experiencing sweeping change, and the printing/graphics industry is no exception.

If maximizing the investment in equipment isn’t challenging enough, the very nature of graphic design and printing is shifting from ink on paper to digital. Keeping up with the speed of technology has become a large part of the CEO’s brain trust when strategizing for the future.

But what if the whole way of thinking about your industry had to change?

In 2009, Dave Gahn, president of Corporate Graphics Inc. (CGI, a Taylor Corporation Company), saw a shift happening from traditional printed collaterals for the mass market; to virtual, permission based, context relevant, messaging to individuals. All this fueled by mobile devices. Since then, the company has pursued a lead position in corporate identification methodologies and technologies.

Before they could communicate this vision and direction Gahn and his leadership team had to invest in training and development. Here’s what they learned:

1. Accept that your traditional business isn't static.
   Some CGI employees and customers embraced technology quickly. Most were resistant. So Gahn and his team became evangelists of sorts about the use of two-dimensional bar codes to add interactivity to print.
    
2. Combine sales with technical experts, and get a wider audience.
   Because of the educational component, CGI has changed the way it presents opportunities to customers. Salespeople are paired with the technical experts on sales calls for the new technology.
   
   CGI also had to convince the print buyers to invite Marketing and Technology departments to these presentations. It was important for brand managers and IT leaders to connect how technology can embellish communications with printed sales or marketing materials.
    
3. Anticipate client reluctance and varied adoption cycles.
   CGI understands there is a predictable adoption cycle for this or any technology. It takes an enormous amount of energy to shift mindsets. They have 5% of customers using the technologies, and another 10% in active decision cycles. The 80% left will take time to adopt, and some will never embrace the shift in communication.
   
   "We are trying things that might not work, or scale. Some customers just don’t have an interest in that." Gahn says. "Still, we've trained folks on the technology and are committed to using the applications with those customers that are stepping up to take this forward."
    
4. Run with early adopters and learn from them.
   Leaders are looking for an edge and don't wait until an idea is "fully baked" to embrace it. It was the same shift required to go from mainframes to mini to networked PC's or from photographic film to digital. Early adopters are critical. They take chances early and quick, then help to build the use cases and ROI models the rest of the market needs before they'll move.

For example, CGI has developed a set of applications that work with a business card deck that has a unique QR Code on each card. A user, such as a college recruiter, can click the code on a card before handing it to a prospective student. She can then make quick notes about the discussion: interest in golf, the pharmacy program and overseas studies. The recruiter can then personalize a landing page, so that when the prospect opens the page by clicking the code, he will get a personalized greeting, reference to their specific interests that were discussed, and easy way to opt in for future communications.

For a recent wedding, codes were added to the invitation to allow guests to use their mobile devices to access RSVPs, calendar reminders, menus, directions, bridal registries, even load photos of the new couple. The bride then had an application set that let her manage who had responded, where to have them sit, what they wanted to eat, even queue up thank-you cards for their gifts.

"Our customer relationships are built on what we print, but if we want to stay relevant, we need to make a paradigm shift." Gahn says. "It's not been comfortable, but we are finding some cool new ways to add value, and now realize other printers probably are not our biggest competitors."

Could your company benefit from a mind shift? Consider the possibilities if you began to think about technology, sales, customer service or even your competition differently.

Pursuing the Dream featuring Mike and Katie Dickerman with Woodland Hill Winery written November 2011 by John P. Palen for Minnesota Business Magazine

Posted By John P. Palen, CEO & Founder of Allied Executives

Lifestyle Business Bears Fruit at Woodland Hill Winery

The Dickerman's seemed to have it all: great careers - Mike as an engineering sales director, Katie a manicurist. They had all the toys - a personal plane, a yacht and a recreational vehicle ready to travel at a moment's notice with the family. Primed for a future of well-earned ease, they embodied what most would call the American dream.

But not Mike & Katie. They had other ideas that included cashing in all their toys for 20 acres of former corn and soybean fields along with an old farmstead in Delano. The call for a different life started with Mike's beer-making hobby about twenty years ago. Then around 12 years ago, wine in barrels and drums in his basement. But I hardly thought Mike was serious back then when he brought up the idea of establishing a vineyard and winery.

I thought they were crazy. There were so many odds against them. They didn't know the first thing about growing grapes. They didn't want to pursue any outside financing. And then there's the crazy Minnesota climate. I enjoy wine, but Minnesota wines had previously always left me cold.

Still you can't discount an entrepreneur's determined spirit and optimism. The Dickermans proceeded to absorb everything they could possibly find on the science of growing grape varietals - from University of Minnesota research to the Old World techniques of Europe. Mikes engineer mind dug into details about how trellis systems were built to support vine growth. His farming background helped determine healthy methods for planting, treating and maintaining.

"We use sustainable farming techniques. We have to get the soil right with organic natural matter so our plants are healthier and stronger," Mike says. He designed and invented a weeding device that attaches to his tractor and removes weeds while tilling the soil in a highly productive and efficient fashion leaving the soil more nutrient rich.

The Dickermans moved their lives to the farm, calling it Woodland Hill. They enlisted the help of friends, family and part-time employees. They would have to find a market for their new product. Oh, and did I mention that grapes aren't ready to become wine until the vines are at least three years old?

Mike has kept his day job while pursuing his dream - working nights and weekends on the farm. "I've enjoyed it so much, being out in the fields, learning the chemistry; it doesn’t seem like work," he says.

Katie, meanwhile, has focused on the marketing and hospitality, creating beautiful garden-accented grounds, a gift shop and tasting room, and methods to attract and encourage people to linger at Woodland Hill for a day or evening of fun. Just for an added dimension, the Dickermans also have a teen-age daughter to raise.

The results eight years later astounded even the astute U of M horticulturalists. Mike's unconventional techniques have resulted in exceptional quality and quantity vines and grapes. Mike and Katie have a very "green" approach to their methods. Their production rate, quality and capacity have become one of the most impressive operations in the region producing 18 different wines.

"We rely on our own vineyard. Our growing techniques produce high quality grapes that are key to making finer quality wines," Mikes says.

In 2010, Woodland Hill won eight medals at the prestigious International Cold Climate Wine Competition, a partnership between the Minnesota Wine Growers Association, the Minnesota State Fair and University of Minnesota.

Almost every weekend of the year, there is an atmosphere of playful energy at the farm, whether an art fair, dance lessons, summer wedding, fall bonfire or sleigh rides. Often, there is live music. The combination of Mike's chemistry and farming skills and Katie's flair for entertaining have created an escape to the country that attracts people from all walks of life.

The common denominator is wine, of course. And I must admit that I am impressed by the high quality and really like the wines that Mike and Katie have created. I must also admit that I am amazed at how their determination and ingenuity have achieved such incredible success in their business venture. It just goes to show that the dream is alive and well in Minnesota - and it can be deliciously different for everyone.

What’s your dream? It could be less far-fetched than you think.