Case Study

Have you ever watched a relay race? What makes these races different from other races is that it’s not about how fast each person on the team can run. It’s how well they can pass the baton from one teammate to another. It’s the handoff that makes the difference between a winning team and a losing team.

This principle holds true for matrix organizations. It’s not about how talented each member of the team is or how well each department operates independently. It’s about how well they partner with each other and handoff their work in the most seamless way.

If you want to learn how to improve the way your teams operate in sync with each other, you need to watch my interview with Alan Litwack, Senior Vice President of Strategic Development at Wyndham Destinations.  Alan and I had the privilege of working together at Wyndham Worldwide while he was responsible for the real estate development, design, construction and procurement teams. The Strategic Development organization was complex and had many moving parts and hand offs in the process of developing timeshare resorts and in assisting hotel owners in the development of their hotel properties.

We partnered together to improve how well each of these teams worked together and decided to engage in a Six Sigma process review project.  But it was the unexpected results that were very powerful!  What started as a process driven Six Sigma project, resulted in so much more.  By engaging in a detailed review of the process, there was a natural alignment around the handoffs, roles and responsibilities.  We were able to drive consensus, break down silos and eliminate inter-team conflict.  In addition, we dramatically maximized the ROI of the team’s entire growth plan by identifying efficiencies, new revenue opportunities and reducing cycle time.

My BIG DISCOVERY:

You don’t need a black belt in Six Sigma to take advantage of process improvement….and getting the team aligned around the process, handoffs, roles and responsibilities can drive any team to improved collaboration and innovation.

In this interview you will discover:

• How leaders can have it all – efficiency, reduced costs AND increased revenues
• How an executive like you, Alan Litwack…turned his team’s confusion around roles and responsibilities and conflict into clarity, focus and inter-team synergy
• Why six-sigma isn’t just for process geeks but can provide a path to stakeholder alignment

View my interview with Alan below…

After watching this interview you may wonder where to get started with your team. Here are a few thoughts to keep in mind:

• Creating a simple process map is an easy start to identifying the steps, hand offs and accountability for any group or function.
• Engaging the entire team in the review process is a great way to gain consensus and allow all stakeholders to have a voice.
• Identification of “quick wins” as well as long-term process improvements have the ability to drive sustainable growth.

If you need help implementing these principles or you want a more customized solution, reach out to me and we can discuss how I can help your team achieve similar success!