BP Group – Process & Performance News – December 2009
A periodic update for all things process

Welcome to December's newsletter.
As we close a frenetic year and the end of the first decade of the 21st century we have much to share and be pleased by. There's lots of interest so get up to speed and join the discussions onsite.
Here we have distilled some of the headlines and key messages so grab a coffee and enjoy! Conference (attendees), Group Activity, Advisory Board, Podcast, Articles, Numbers and a sneak preview of the programme for 2010.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish peace and happiness for everyone as we move into a new year.

Features
11th Lean Six Sigma - Florida | Podcast previews the challenge | The Best of the Best |
BP Group Linked-in | Exceeds 3,000 members in just over one year |
BP Group Advisory Board welcomes | Two ardent members step upto the plate |
Top Artcles this time | What does Toyota's slide say anout Lean? |
BPM 2009 - the year of failure? | The Outside-In BPM Elevator pitch - what's yours? |
2010 Business Process Professional Training | The CPP programme features seven levels |

My article this month "Don't give customers what they think they want!"

Preview the event with the podcast (recorded Friday 18 December) and then review the event which features several BP Group members sharing their experiences as Lean Six Sigma moves to the next level.

This is a very popular event featuring several of the world leading companies and their latest stories. Yours truly is judging the most innovative program for 2009 :-)

Here is the Podcast link, and then read of the BP Group folks involved and sharing our secrets!

The main conference agenda can be accessed from this link.

As we move into our 18th year our global presence through the community and the Certified Process Professional program continues apace. We didn't imagine that just over a year ago joining LinkedIn would prove such a success.
The LinkedIn participants now represent nearly 10% of the global membership with active sub groups managed by

• Dick Lee (Outside-In),
• David Mottershead (Advanced Process Management),
• Janne Ohtonen (Research & Study),
• Nic Harvard (Intelligent Design),
• Steve Towers (Business Process Professional) and the various
• Alumnis including India, Australia, London and Singapore there's something for everyone from chats to resources to casestudies so do get involved.
  | LinkedIn membership | subgroups preview |
  
  

It's a great pleasure to announce the appointment of two leading practitioners and professionals to the BP Group Advisory Board. A very important component of our success the Advisory Board sets the stage for our ambitions and directs the resources on behalf of the larger membership.

Please give a collective hooray for:		Kenneth Mortimer - Oceania CPP, CEC, FAIM, FICE Kenneth has 23 years experience in analysing, documenting and re-engineering business processes and developing business process frameworks in over thirty projects with respected organisations.
Charles Bennett - Middle East & UK	Managing Partner (Middle East) and Project Director at iCST Ltd, IBS Publishing and Touchwind Associates	Charles has a background as a Project Manager, Programme Manager & Consulting Practice Leader with bases in London and Middle East. Over 20 years project and commercial experience with investment, corporate and retail banks in 30 countries around the world.

The Full Advisory Board has the following members:
Dick Lee - USA (North), John Corr - UK, Sunil Dutt Jha - India & SE Asia, Steve Towers - USA (South) and of course Charles Bennett (Middle East & UK) and Kenneth Mortimer (Oceania).

Additionally BPGroup Managers include:
David Motterhead, Erika Westbay, Janne Ohtonen and Nick Harvard

Having to issue two major recalls simultaneously – across models for a faulty accelerator pedal linkage and body rusting on Tacoma trucks - is “a bad year” for any automaker. But for Toyota, the recalls point to growing quality issues. While the Lexus division continues to ride high, other Toyota models are showing slippage relative to Hyundai, Ford and GM, according to sources ranging from Consumer Reports to the Wall Street Journal to automotive trade journals. Further, Toyota has faced unaccustomed criticism for design quality on the new crossover Venza, particularly from CR and WSJ. Clearly something is amiss. . ongoing debate here....

Downsizing, cost cutting, re-aligning to new realities, survival, new business models … 2009 has offered so many challenges to which process owners might have provided not only answers but solutions. And on the whole they have failed:

Ongoing - Join the debate here -

When engaging in conversation at a networking event recently, I found that the elevator pitch I was using wasn't quite hitting the mark. Most people either didn't get it or didn't believe it.

Climb in the Lift for your take...

Thanks to our Platinum sponsors:
If you haven't met City Process Management they are a global firm specialising in transforming
financial institutions - here's their claim to fame and a link:

"We help financial institutions struggling with the challenges of delivering
accelerated cost reduction within your IT and back office operations.
Our promise - to increase your productivity by at least 15% within 90 days,
even when Lean and Six Sigma have stopped delivering for you.
Our fees are guaranteed against delivering your results."

To learn more about how you can achieve these results go to www.CityProcessManagement.com

BPGroup Linkedin - Join the discussion, network and participate in our Special Interest Groups