True North A COMPASSX CONSULTING PUBLICATION
BAKE OFF THE COMPETITION With Scorecards
On “The Great British Bake Off,” amateur bakers compete for the honor of creating the best baked goods. The bakers work quickly to assemble recipes and prepare them for evaluation, leaving us waiting anxiously until the end of each episode for the judges’ reactions. Often, the judges only deem a recipe good or bad after all the time and energy has gone into making the final product. How do you avoid putting your time and resources into a recipe that isn’t viable? Unlike the show, CompassX will not advise waiting until the end to “taste your concoctions.” Too often, we see companies rely on methods that only allow the evaluation of concepts at the end of the production cycle. At that point, you’ve wasted time and resources — much like the failed stroopwafels of the show’s eighth season. Many CompassX clients have adopted smaller, focused, and more nimble projects. Often, these rapid-result types of projects come with labels such as “agile,” “proof of concept,” “assessments,” and “minimally viable product.”
To evaluate the efficacy of a proof of concept before launching it into creation, we will write the recipe with our clients and, together, clearly define what we are trying to create. Why Invest This Time Upfront? A company is constantly using multiple proofs of concepts to compete for the same resources — dollars, human capital, and time. Our most trusted basic solution? A scorecard that you use to bring the most beneficial projects into focus and rank these based on their ability to maximize return. What Makes “Scorecarding” Different? Scorecarding is different from a typical end-of-phase readout because a well-defined scorecard requires your team to define a working hypothesis upfront. Like the scientific method, this scorecard helps you determine how success looks and how this project is aligned with the department’s or company’s overall vision and goals. When you complete and review a scorecard, you now have clear data backing up your important criteria. Continued on page 2 ...
www.compassx.com
NAVIGATING YOUR BUSINESS TO SUCCESS 949.387.9111 1
The Single Most Important Piece of Advice I Could Ever Share With You
When I speak about the subjects I’m an expert on, I’ve been blessed to get a lot of great approbation over the years. I’ve also received my fair share of critical comments, but that comes with the territory. Through all of the teachings, though, I rarely give out my very best secret, because it has nothing to do with business. But today, I want to share with you my most important lesson ever. One word of caution, though. On the surface, this concept is simple; but in real life, it can be very hard to implement and even harder to master. However, if you do it, it will have a profound impact on you both personally and professionally. So, here it is. The next time you have some one-on-one time with a loved one, colleague, client, boss, etc., I want you to ask them this question: What can I do to be a better [insert your title in relation to them]?
I want to close with a question for you: Are you determined to be the best spouse, parent, entrepreneur, and leader you need to be?
If so, don’t wait. Tonight, ask your kids and spouse what you can do to be a better parent or spouse. Then, listen closely and take massive action to become the person you need to be. – Kyle J. Heppenstall | Managing Director & Founder
For example, if I was asking my kids, I’d say, “What is one thing I can do to be a better dad to you?”
If I was talking with my wife, I’d say, “What is the one thing I can do to be a better husband to you?”
My goal is to ask this question of my most important relationships at least twice per year. Then, I do my best to make a change and become that person.
The good news is it’s an easy question to ask. The difficult part is actually taking action and making a change.
Being able to change and adapt is the single most important skill you can have as a parent, spouse, entrepreneur, or leader, because all of those roles require constant change to stay ahead of the game.
... Continued From Cover
Innovative Disruption: Business leaders must ask themselves if a new concept is innovative — whether it be a new way of working internally or influencing a positive, innovative disruption in the market. Technology & Data Integration: It is vitally important to ensure that new technology will be minimally disruptive to the technical landscape of the enterprise and that data is readily available for testing in a pilot phase or production stage. Enterprise Scaling: Leaders must also consider how scalable a new concept will be across the enterprise and ensure that adoption can occur across numerous functions. Resourcing: It’s important to question if the organization 1) has the full commitment of resources for an implementation, and 2) whether new and critical skillsets need to be acquired in a pilot phase or production stage.
Our firm has identified the following most vital scorecarding metrics, which can be used to evaluate the need for implementing newer, more advanced processes and technologies across the enterprise. Leader and Do’er Alignment: It is obviously crucial to have executive leadership realize the benefits of any new concept, however equally important is to ensure the resources executing any proof of concept also are able to review and evaluate the strategic value of a full-scale implementation. Value Realization: The business must be able to articulate the value in specific monetary terms, whether it be in the form of potential revenue generation or cost savings. It should be fully understood that plenty of necessary projects have little to no “value” returned. Think regulatory driven, R&D, or true innovation-based projects. These “zero return” projects should be recorded as such and let the full results of the scoring play out to determine where they rank.
2 www.compassx.com
NAVIGATING YOUR BUSINESS TO SUCCESS 949.387.9111
Book Review Annie Duke’s ‘Thinking in Bets’
BY THE NUMBERS Marketplace Trend Watch
Annie Duke may seem an unlikely business consultant given that she’s best known as a professional poker player. But the lessons in her new book, “Thinking in Bets,” extend far beyond the felt. Duke, who studied psychology at UPenn and has consulted for a number of companies, takes the decision- making lessons she learned at the poker table and applies them to the hard choices we have to make in business. To emphasize the nature of her work, Duke begins with an introduction called “Why This Isn’t a Poker Book.” She writes that the process of thinking in bets “starts with recognizing that there are exactly two things that determine how our lives turn out: the quality of our decisions and luck.” When you make a decision, you rarely have perfect clarity regarding all the factors at play. This imperfect picture is what makes every business decision risky. Duke argues that ignoring inherent risk results in dangerous outcome- based thinking. As an alternative, she proposes that you acknowledge that not every decision will be the right one. This way, you can investigate the nature of your decision- making process and improve it without being blinded by lucky (or unlucky) results. Poker provides a fertile analogy for this concept. It’s a game of imperfect information. No matter how much poker you’ve played, you never know which cards the other players hold. You can guess based on the information you gather, but calling a bet is always risky. The process parallels how we decide what’s best for a company. We analyze all the information we have at hand and make a projection about the best option. Until the decision plays out, we won’t know the outcome. Though Duke knows more about poker than just about anyone, she doesn’t limit her examples to gambling. She writes with equal skill and depth about everything from CEOs to football coaches. “Thinking in Bets” is a comprehensive overview of risk assessment that provides countless tips on how to improve your decision-making. Even if you have no idea whether a flush beats a straight, you’ll find “Thinking in Bets” a valuable addition to your leadership library. Leadership requires making millions of decisions. Don’t you want to make them better?
And, that’s a wrap for Q1 of 2018. The stock market closed with some hard-hitting losses, especially for the S&P 500. As for the Nasdaq Composite, we saw some better first-quarter showings. Thanks to well-performing tech stocks, and despite a few dips in March, the Nasdaq came out on top at the end of the first quarter. Here’s a breakdown of what we saw at the end of the day.
10 2.9% $ 1B $ 100M
Number of successive positive quarters the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 went prior to breaking that trend in Q1 of 2018. Sectors that finished in the black this past quarter: Consumer Discretionary (XLY) up 2.6%, and Technology (XLK) up 2.3%.
Third and final Q4 ’17 GDP figure. Revised upward from 2.5%.
Amount paid in personal federal and state taxes by hedge-fund manager extraordinaire John Paulson, reportedly the largest personal liability ever paid. And you have it bad?
Maximum amount the federal government will accept on individual personal checks or money orders for tax liabilities. Does signing ten checks hurt more than only having to sign one? Yes, yes I believe it does.
LOOK FOR “BY THE NUMBERS” EACH MONTH.
Risk: There must be a determination of whether there is a desire or need for change within the organization and what the reality of risk versus reward there is in implementation. These metrics ask definitive questions to bring your best proofs of concept to the forefront. With our scorecard, you’ll be able to perform a rigorous evaluation of a proof of concept’s viability, making the most of your time and resources. While it is vital to conduct an ongoing evaluation with the metrics during the readout and end of a proof of concept, project leaders need to implement a scorecard in the early phase of a project. Only then can they properly test the hypothesis that was initially
developed during the project uptake. Otherwise, you’re just making large bets with no sound hedge — a concept you can read more about in the review of Annie Duke’s book, “Thinking in Bets.” The bottom line? You need a repeatable scorecard process to confidently stand behind your portfolio. Send us an inquiry to learn more about our template and process.
www.compassx.com
NAVIGATING YOUR BUSINESS TO SUCCESS 949.387.9111 3
300 Spectrum Center Drive Suite 400, Irvine, CA 92618 949.387.9111 | www.compassx.com
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
Issue: May 2018
Inside This Issue
Page 1. Save Time by Identifying Your Most Viable Projects First Page 2. The Single Most Important Piece of Advice Page 3. First-Quarter Marketplace Trends • Entrepreneurship Library: ‘Thinking in Bets’ Page 4. A Watch Worthy of an Astronaut
A Strong Showing From the Dark Side
Omega Unveils Its New Apollo 8 Watch As you look down at your watch beneath the clock hands, you’ll find a replica of the moon’s surface, complete with the Sea of Tranquility. Using a laser ablation, Omega perfected the concept to pay homage to our planet’s silent stabilizer. Turn the watch over, and the underside is almost as intricate as its front: it includes a replica of the dark side of the moon, just as the Apollo 8 astronauts would’ve seen it. Lovell’s words — “We’ll see you on the other side” — and the date of the Apollo 8 mission adorn the perimeter. Yellow clock hands and a black band with yellow accents complete the strong lunar look. Coming in at $9,750, this is Omega’s second edition in their Dark Side of the Moon series. It has a slimmer case and lower price tag than the original, though the complex design makes it even more valuable.
“We’ll see you on the other side.” Those were the words spoken by Apollo 8 commander Jim Lovell as the crew prepared to be the first humans to go behind the moon. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the 1968 voyage, and Omega is celebrating with the release of a new watch: the Apollo 8 Dark Side of the Moon. A continuous innovator of the timeless chronograph, Omega’s latest creation has us intrigued and excited. The black timepiece is embellished with details meant to capture the heart of the Apollo 8 expedition. Like the Speedmaster watches before it, the Apollo 8 features a Super-Luminova tachymeter scale and crown and an easily readable face — but the true uniqueness of this watch lies in its celestial details.
Look for the watch’s release later this year.
4 www.compassx.com
NAVIGATING YOUR BUSINESS TO SUCCESS 949.387.9111
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4Made with FlippingBook Annual report