Jennifer Smith, VP Technology
The Problem I could go on and on about this but here it is in a nut- shell. R&D is designing what Manufacturing can’t build and what the customer doesn’t want. Classic. Every- body is isolated from everybody else. Even where they’re located adds to the problem – each in their own building, heads down, doing what they think is best. So it’s easy for departments to get caught up in their own importance and lose sight of the big picture. The Solution It sounds simpler than it is, I know that. But we have to get people face-to-face communicating and solving problems that matter. Yes, departmental teams and cross- functional teams. Teams work. But to do that we have do a comprehensive re-think of how we’re organized here. Management Team Would I call us a team? In the past. Maybe. Now we have weekly management meetings that are so tense all people do is report and run. Obstacles to Change If you ask Brian, he says it’s the union: Rob Brown in particular. In the years I’ve been here I’ve seen some pretty nasty stuff go down. It’s more complex than just that. I’m not sure we have the support of the senior managers. We’re not all on the same page. Departmental Relations Here’s what it’s come to in the past few months: I’m like a “special envoy” going back and forth between Marketing and Manufacturing because they won’t sit face-to-face to get resolution. I know, I know, it sounds crazy.
Your Role Here’s what Brian, Brian Johnson, told me when he created the position: one, develop quality products quickly so the pipeline is full and two, integrate the efforts of R&D, Marketing, and Manufacturing. What do I really do? Mediate fire-fights between the departments. Sad but true. Your Background I was lured to GlobalTech by Brian three years ago to head up R&D. He wanted someone with business savvy to move that group to a more commercial focus. That’s more or less what happened. Thoughts on Teams My experience in R&D has taught me that teams are crucial to development. And in the past few months, I’ve become more passionate about how teams, cross- functional teams, are critical to our success. If we can get them to work, I can stop fire-fighting and do what I should be doing.
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