Can you survive Industry 4.0 without Business Analysts?

In 2008, after 12 years in engineering at Whirlpool Corp, I transitioned to an analyst role with Mead Johnson Nutrition (MJN).  I did not have deep technical knowledge of SAP or any ERP for that matter.  I did not have deep subject matter expertise in infant formula or any other process industry.  My education was in electrical, not chemical engineering.  I did not have my MBA and I had no clue that I had just spent the first decade of my career in functions that were part of supply chain. Ten years ago, I could not have an intelligent debate on the details, merits, or opportunities for supply chain and supply chain management!  Business intelligence, analysis and analytics provided a path to what has become an incredibly fulfilling adventure.

I was lucky; the MJN planning director bought into Gartner’s recommendation that “Being able to write good SQL doesn’t make someone a good business analyst.” Furthermore, she believed that I had solid transferrable skills that would provide a great base to leverage data and insights to create business process improvements.  In the interest of transparency, I was not devoid of basic analysis skills.  With a formal education as an electrical engineer (Minor in math!) and a six-sigma black belt, I had a solid foundation in data, data, and more data.  Did I understand statistics? Sure.  Could I perform a regression analysis? Of course.  More importantly, I recognized the importance of capturing, reviewing/sanitizing, grouping/categorizing, communicating, and modeling, i.e. building scenarios / predicting outcomes.

I am not a data scientist, but I am an information provocateur.  As we enter the fourth phase of the industrial revolution, aka Industry 4.0, the unification or blending of the physical, digital, and biological realm necessitates data connoisseurs, like me, throughout the business, charged with championing better leverage and data utilization for quantifying, controlling, and optimizing the enterprise.  Supply Chain is uniquely focused on the space where digital meets physical and most companies do not need PhDs embedded in their organization to reap benefits.  We need business analysts, folks who display comfort in complex environments that can consume, employ, and thrive in the ambiguity of the undiscovered and unfamiliar.

There is a reason that STEM starts with Science and ends in Math.  You cannot have Technology, Engineering, or Digitalization without these fundamental drivers.  Success in Industry 4.0 requires assimilation of STEM into the company DNA and business analysts from diverse backgrounds with broad experience and a passion for exploring are the foundation.  With a modicum of quantitative analytical skill combined with excellent communication, a business analyst can connect the brilliant data scientist to the adept business executive and achieve unparalleled results.

Victory in the Digital Age requires a new approach.  Do we need deep subject matter expertise to run our ERP system? Of course.  But, does everyone we hire need 3 to 5 years of experience in our specific application?  Do we need a fundamental understanding of the industry in which we operate? Absolutely.  With that said, perhaps, an analyst or two from a different sector can provide new and exciting insights, processes or methodologies.  Must all of our analysts reside in IT or should we embed a few within the business? By remaining flexible and focusing more on candidates that demonstrate a basic passion for exploration and learning and less on checking the box for a specific degree, work history, or experience, we enrich our corporate DNA and ensure triumph.

Christine (Reed) Barnhart 

REFERENCES

Schlegel, K. (2011, June 16). Tutorial: Business Analyst Job Description (Tech.). Retrieved April 19, 2018, from Gartner website: https://www.gartner.com

Great leadership has little to do with technical or educational knowledge - Take a risk!

In 2008, after twelve years with Whirlpool Corporation in various engineering capacities, I embarked on a new and exciting adventure into infant formula with Mead Johnson Nutrition.  At the time, I believed that my analytical skills would translate and help me in my new endeavor in capacity planning, but worried that I would lack critical management skills, specific to my new industry.  Within just a few short weeks, I was already actively contributing to various problem-solving sessions and offering suggestions for improvement.  After only a few months, I was tasked with development of a new, global master planning role and leading supply chain projects.  In six short years, I mastered four separate roles within first planning and then regional and global purchasing. This was very reaffirming. It greatly enhanced my self-assurance and enabled me to start to see myself, not just as a competent engineer and project manager, but also as a leader.

Examining Peter Drucker’s premise that “only 10% of management has to be fitted to the organizations specific missions, its specific cultures, its specific history and its specific vocabulary” absolutely supports my personal experience and journey.  I believe that the 90%, which Drucker describes in “Management Challenges for the 21^st Century” as generic, meaning no real differences in tasks and challenges, are apt to be basic tactical skills, applicable to all industries and occupations, and most importantly to leadership.  In essence, I believe that Drucker is supporting what I have learned first-hand, management is about applying good fundamental learning and knowledge, mixed with excellent leadership attributes, and very little about the specific industry, education or occupation that you pursue.

This was further demonstrated when I transitioned to Berry Global in 2015. Tasked with creating a global integrated planning solution to improve customer service while optimizing inventory investment, it was my first foray into a holistic approach to supply chain management. Previously, I had lead in more tactical, subject matter roles that required a deep understanding of the specific function, be it manufacturing, planning or sourcing.  As part of the Integrated Planning Center of Excellence, I found that I was required to leverage not just my first-hand knowledge of supply planning, but, more importantly, to communicate a message, a shared vision for improvement, for what the future could look like if everyone worked together. 

In “What Makes a Leader” by Daniel Goleman, he writes, “It’s not that IQ and technical skills are irrelevant.  They do matter, but mainly as ‘threshold capabilities’; that is they are the entry-level requirements for executive positions.” (2004)   I believe this is exactly what Drucker is alluding to when he asserts that managing a Roman Catholic dioceses is amazingly similar to running a retail chain.  Specific technical knowledge is important but only as an order qualifier to borrow a term from marketing.  What makes the management professional successful is his leadership ability.

Too often, we choose to be imprisoned by our background: what we have studied or where we have worked.  Beyond this, too many companies fail to realize that diversity is not just about gender or race.  Rather, a keen understanding that great leadership has little to do with technical or educational knowledge, helps both employees and businesses to capture diversity of thought, approach, understanding, and experience by venturing beyond traditional candidates.  Why can’t I hire someone from industrial controls who has demonstrated great leadership by implementing an IoT project even if I am a packaging supplier? Why can’t I put my name in for a supply chain strategy position in healthcare if my background is white goods? Fundamentally, we need/want leaders who can energize us, champion change, and take our business to the next level.  Success is not measured by the check boxes on your resume, but rather by your accomplishments, the tangible actions, activities or results that you nurtured.

 In closing, I issue the following challenge to both employee and employer:

1. Look outside of your current industry for energetic, progressive, and dynamic employees/employers.
2. Focus on diversity of experience.  Our experiences are defined not just by our gender and race, but also our geography, cultural influences, education, and work history.
3. Do not be afraid to take a risk. Stretch yourself by considering a change of industry or function.  Stretch your company by considering someone with a proven track record, but without deep subject matter expertise.

Christine (Reed) Barnhart 

REFERENCES
Drucker, P. (n.d.). Management Challenges for the 21^st Century.  Harper Collins Publishers, Inc.
Goleman, D. (2004) What makes a leader? Harvard Business Review

Communicating Success and Acknowledging Failure

I have been managing projects of various shapes, sizes, and content for over 20 years.  From design and implementation of multi-million dollar pieces of equipment, electro-mechanical controls for appliances, business process redesigns, and ERP tool suites, I’ve participated, managed or  lead hundreds, if not thousands of discrete projects from inception to completion.  Recently, I was reminded how important it is to not just communicate project success, but to, also, acknowledge failure.

It is easy, as a project manager, to be enthralled in the day-to-day execution of a project plan, checking off milestones and deliverables, while you march toward successful on-time, on-budget, and on-scope completion. We often forget how important it is to loudly proclaim the small victories that equate to project nirvana.  Did you complete user acceptance testing for 10 facilities? Great. Send out a note letting management know that you are reducing risk at Go Live because you tested not just the tool, but the business process, and master data in advance.  Purchasing negotiated a savings for a component needed for a new design?  Wonderful.  Perhaps a shout out on the company portal for helping to reduce the new product introduction cost is warranted.  

Success, big or small, should be celebrated.  Taking the time to communicate these victories to stakeholders is important to both the overall success of your project and for helping to build credibility and respect for project managers and their teams. Whether we like it or not, perception is reality. If we “finish” a project or task and have not communicated the complications, herculean efforts, obstacle avoidances, or tactical execution, we have no one to blame but ourselves when management under values the role of a project manager and the importance of employing formal project/program management methodologies.

In contrast, this is, also, our opportunity to acknowledge failures, roadblocks that we did not adequately identify before we started, risks that were not uncovered before they caused delays, or stakeholders that never embraced our call to change. A healthy recognition of breakdowns in our process, methodology, tools, etc…allows us to learn and grow.  It also demonstrates to our peers that while we may have experienced a setback, we have meticulously examined the problem, are committed to improvement, and are cultivating our lessons learned for the betterment of the organization.

Sometimes, we try to frost over failures, redirecting inquiries, deflecting concerns. Personally, I think this almost always backfires. It diminishes the credibility of the project team, adding to a perceived lack of expertise. Perhaps, we did not think this project warranted a professional project manager, as it was a single site implementation and we were working with the software vendor.  In some circumstances, this would be a fair assumption.  We discovered that the interaction between our business processes and the tool created conflicts and moving forward, we really need someone to lead our change management efforts. Excellent. We have now communicated that we had an issue, we have identified a root cause, and an action plan for moving forward. It may still take management some time to determine if they want to relaunch the project, but it supports the notion that we are capable, proficient and skilled.

In closing, I would like to provide my top 3 communication requirements for project managers:

1)    Communicate both within and outside of your team regularly. 

It is not enough for your champion, working team, or project customers to know what is happening. You must remind others in the organization of what you are working on, why it is important, and that it is moving forward.

2)    Highlight your team’s accomplishments and any obstacles that they identified and overcame.

This is your opportunity to give props to the guys and gals that make you and the project look good.  No need to be sugary or over inflate your praise.  A simple proclamation of a job well done goes a long way.

3)    Acknowledge shortcomings and provide corrective actions.

Do not shrug off or make light of a botched job.  Be specific and forthcoming.  ALWAYS highlight what you learned and how you are going to apply the knowledge moving forward. 

Re-start my blogging.....

A few months ago, one of my mentors told me that I needed to blog more.  At the time, I was not sure why she was offering this advice.  Yes, it would help others get to know me, my thoughts, perspectives, etc…  But, did I actually have anything to say that others would find valuable? In the past, I have journaled to satisfy myself, examine a position, or challenge my perception.  Blogging in a profession context felt different and something that I had to ponder for a few months.  I do enjoy the posts of several friends and colleagues.  I do not, particularly, suffer from a lack of opinion. Just ask my husband or children.  Therefore, after much self-reflection, I have decided to give it a shot. 

 If folks find my blog informative, great. If they do not, well that is great too.  No need to subscribe.  My next quandary, what to blog?  If you have suggestions, I am all ears. I have a variety of interests and varied background.  As such, not much is off limits.   My goal is to do at least a weekly post and as with all good engineers, I brainstormed a list of potential topics before I embarked on this adventure.  Without further ado, my first blog topic is “Communicating Success and Acknowledging Failure.”  I hope you enjoy. I am sure this will be a work in progress. I encourage you to provide feedback, comments, critique. It is how we improve.