Armin Cruz Shares his
Thoughts on
Defining the
Objective – The Second Step to Solving Business Problems
Armin Cruz is a Six Sigma Master Black Belt that specializes
in LEAN methodologies in the financial transactional industry. Armin Cruz received his MBB while serving as
a Vice President at Bank of America’s Process Excellence division. Armin currently serves as Director and Head
of Continuous Improvement for a public firm in the financial real estate and
property management industry. Armin Cruz earned his MBA from the University of
Phoenix, and his BA from the University of Texas at Dallas. Armin Cruz lives in north Texas with his
wife, three dogs and is anxiously awaiting his first baby boy in December.
Now that you have completed the first step, defining the
environment, the process-oriented executive will need to define the business
objective. If you are not familiar with
the first step, or have not read the fist component of this series, please take
a moment to search Slide Share for a presentation titled “How to Solve Business
Problems, part 2. How to Scan / Define
the Environment.” However, assuming that
you are familiar with the first step we will now walk through the next step.
First, please remember to follow the business planning methodology. This too is a process! We have all experienced the pressure to
perform for our stakeholders, shareholders, and leadership team. The pressure to cut corners and jump straight
to execution will be significant at times. With this in mind, the first task to
complete within the objective planning phase is to refine the problem
statement. By now, you should have a one
or two sentence phrase describing the problem.
One must now link this concise description of the problem with a desired
business outcome. This step links to and
is the input to your business gap analysis.
Think ideal and future state for the business case, but do not fall into
the rabbit hole of trying to solution yet.
This comes later, during the execution phases.
One should note a few details around the term ‘gap
assessment.’ This term is aloof
intentionally. The key is to perform the
stylized version of a gap and risk assessment that meets the doctrine and
culture of your firm. There is not a
‘right and wrong way’ but there are ‘right and wrong approaches.’ A few high level suggestions are to create a
value chain diagram, and a business process map for both the current and future
state. Once completed compare the future
state to current, and perform a risk analysis and change management and
execution plan. This will be the foundation to your gap analysis and execution
plan. If you are unsure where or how to
proceed, consider reaching out to a consultant, or Six Sigma Master Black Belt
or coach.
Once you have all of the above completed, bring it together
to a linear and concise statement. The
future state maps, and business outcomes, and proposed results will frame the
objective. The goal is similar to the
problem statement, to keep it short and simple.
Remember, the simpler the presentation, the easier the adoption. Ideally, the business objective is one or two
sentences.
If successful, the business executive will have taken an
abstract idea and defined both the environment and the business operates within
as well as the objective to stride towards.
For more information about this topic, please review and
follow me on About.ME. Also, please search Slide Share for a
presentation titled “How to Solve Business Problems, part 2. How to Scan / Define the Environment” You may
also reach out to me on my personal website and request more
detailed information.
Point of Contact:
Name: Armin Cruz
Phone: (972) 333 – 9502
Email: armin.j.cruz@hotmail.com
Website: http://www.armincruz.us
- Armin Cruz
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/armincruz
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