Automate the Management of Work vs. Automate Work Itself

I recently wrote an article on how to assess the true potential of businesses for investment or acquisition. A major part of this evaluation is discovering the untapped potential within a business. Often, this potential is untapped because people assessing the business, from auditors to key partners, are bogged down with conventional frameworks and utilizing outmoded evaluation methodologies. 

Simply seeing a business opportunity where there is potential to push out more product or margin does not automatically give any real strategic advantage for an investment—it is just standard-framed analysis. I encourage equity managers and business owners to find that unique native talent that knows how to design and implement the needed changes in technology and methodology to cultivate greater return on investment. This is where my team at Enna and I have been able to help and contribute as a unique partner. If there is one thing that the industrial revolutions of the past have taught us, it is that more value can be created with less effort when the right technologies and intellectual structures are created and applied in the right context for businesses.

For the past few centuries, industry has been defined in terms of technological revolutions. Ironically, however, relying on technology to grow businesses has now become a new kind of status quo—we become complacent waiting for the next big thing in tech. In response, I have focused more on the human element of organizational success. This does not, however, mean that I am anti-technology. In fact, one of the greatest advantages of technology in the workplace is its ability to enhance and amplify inherent human potential and abilities. When it is the right technology composed for the right reasons, maximizing value is natural for all. It is native, meaning uniquely created. This is often perceived from the outside as easy or simple when, in fact, it is highly sophisticated.

(Above) self-management boards designed based on the business’ specific needs

While many of the technological revolutions of the past revolved around mechanically automating physical processes, today’s breakthrough technologies focus on systemizing the storage, availability, and delivery of information. This makes “Industry 4.0” fundamentally different, requiring a unique and innovative approach in order to apply it effectively to organizational reformations. As Jun Nakamuro has said, one of today’s technological innovations is to “automate the management of work, not the work itself.” Management of work is the cost realized due to the stagnation of decisions, and we remove this cost—company wide. There is more cost reduction in the automation of the management of work than in using technology to drive out the direct labor costs.

One of the biggest arguments against “Lean” management is the amount of time and effort used to organize, measure, and evaluate processes. This misconception about organizational reform is based on the fact that so many organizations have no system in place for analysis, standardization, or strategic deployment. They jump too quickly to process-based improvement without addressing the flow of information between decisions points. They have missed a crucial step that we call Flow Kaizen. Once flow of information is established, it actually frees up time, especially when technology is used to automate the management of informational communication.

Flow Kaizen: clearly established systems of communication and escalation, information systems folded into hourly self-management

Being able to assess the design and current value of strategic goals and priorities makes a big difference by ensuring that people are focused on performing the right activities. For an organization to realize this, they need to make sure the right information gets to the right people at the right time. If they do not have this capability, and many do not, this is where we design, develop, and deliver IP and native technology to provide the foundations for Just-in-Time (JIT). 

Everyone wants JIT but many do not know how to assess and create the prerequisites to JIT. We provide these prerequisites of information and technologies to allow JIT to be possible. This doesn’t mean you should do a Kaizen workshop every day. Kaizen workshops will not deliver the change in performance needed to achieve JIT if the prerequisites are not addressed first. Instead, the focus should be on establishing new structures and the flow of key information throughout the organization from the frontlines, up to top management, to suppliers, to customers, and back again. Cloud based technology and Industry 4.0 allow instant flow like never before. However, you don’t need to be a Silicon Valley tech maverick to achieve this kind of reform. You just need to understand your true potential and build, install, and customize the configuration of such solutions to achieve higher sustainable performance.

At Enna, we specialize in unlocking this potential within companies providing an unprecedented ROI. Based on a strong foundation of world-class operational design and visual management, we apply Kaizen to technology, adding value in ways that many do not realize are possible. We have the perspective and expertise to provide this avenue to success. We integrate our customized software, leveraging API’s to maximize effectiveness without the need for large capital investment in information and technological development. Our visual management systems are our IP and are created to get the right information to the right leader at the right time. This makes for an agile organization that has little stagnation and robust self-management. Our visual management systems are created and refined from the frontlines and are visualized into native, real-time, digital decision boards, allowing leaders to access and interact with living information from anywhere in the world. 

(Above) overview of native technology framework to serve as strategic advantage for business—twice as profitable, half the lead time, 85% reduction in working capital

It is no longer enough to manage your business reports in local files on your personal hard drive (pivot tables in Excel for example). Such practices leave important information and decisions to stagnate. But this doesn’t mean everyone has to stare at screens all day either. Analysis and priorities are only valuable if they are current and predictive. When the right information is delivered to the right person at the right time, people spend very little time deciphering the information and more time acting on it. This action is where the money is.

Both conceptualization and delivery are crucial. Many tech companies focus only on the delivery without designing the methodology of information characteristics that are necessary to deliver the objective. Conversely, many reform efforts focus on conceptualizing the necessary information without leveraging the right technology to deliver it. Customizing the visualization of information is very easy, but designing the right methodology—one that frames the visualization of that information—this is where the leverage in potential value resides and where sustainability operates. It is this composition that will provide the best outcomes for investors, shareholders, and all stakeholders.

(Above) cloud-based delivery of critical information to and from international scientists managed by shop floor quality engineer—portability to teamwork

At Enna, we exist to change the way investors and business owners approach investments and reformations. The question is not whether to focus on people or technology. You must focus on people and technology as well as how they interact with each other. It is a multidimensional composition. 

A superior ROI is a matter of shifting the performance curve with unique organizational methodologies while layering effective technology that is customized to the specific needs of each investment. It is also a matter of knowing how to do this in weeks not years. We automate the management of work. Therefore, everyone can focus their talents on the value of the work itself, the value of making a decision, and developing themselves and their organizations to fulfill their greater potential. Our reward for this, in financial terms, is twice the ROI in half the time.

If you would like to know more about Enna’s native IP, technology, and methodology I welcome the connection ([email protected]). You can read more about the work I do with Enna here: www.capital.enna.com