Silver bullet life cycle
My translation of Sarah Sherd's article, “Life Cycle of a Silver Bullet,” 2003
In the 17th century, Europeans believed that a silver bullet could kill a werewolf. Today's executives are looking for silver bullets to protect not from werewolves, but from lost profits, disappointed shareholders and loss of market share. For these executives, silver bullets are management trends that promise to change the course of business development. Over the decades, many examples have accumulated: Six Sigma, Lean Enterprise, Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI®), and recently, the reputation of a silver bullet has won agile software development techniques. Such process optimization initiatives can and do work, but the way they are actually implemented is critical to success. This parable demonstrates the eleven stages of the life cycle of a similar optimization initiative.
The head of Pig Products, Mr. Okkorok, decides to dispose of all silver bullets. He concludes that no one knows the company better than himself. He scrutinizes how the company works to identify current problems and their causes. He also studies the strengths of the company in order to rely on them and use them more effectively in the future.
Imagine a pig in a suit throwing a stack of books and construction drawings off the table.
Okkorok pays all its attention to improving Pig Products. Having identified the problems and levers of influence, as well as the places of their application, he allocates time and money for the implementation of the discovered optimality and the suppression of opposing initiatives. He employs far-sighted, smart managers and devotes a significant amount of his own time to making sure that the problems are really solved, and not dusted with sand. Okkorok and his managers are exploring many current and promising optimization methods to highlight current problems and possible toolkits containing suitable directions and suggestions.
The supervisor insists that senior managers participate in the decision. Okkorok makes managers realize their role in the problems of the company and reorganize their own work to change the direction of the company. An atmosphere of frankness without punishment is encouraged, and senior managers listen to messages from all levels of the company, especially regarding the optimization of their own work.
Imagine a pig that builds a brick house.
Pig Products is reaping the fruits of a bitter struggle. Leaders and managers are changing leadership styles. Cross-cutting improvements at all levels of the company are changing the way the company works. Products are created more efficiently and with better quality. Costs are falling, the number of orders is growing, morale is strengthening.
The business press has noticed the success of Pig Products. Okkorok explains the improvements achieved in the company and receives a question about the name of the method. In honor of his French grandfather, he calls the improvement "the Balle-Argent method." The press also wants to inform how much time and money has been spent, as well as what has been achieved as a result; Okkorok looks back at the work done and gives marks. From all this, the business press calculates the magic return-investment index (IVI) for the Balle-Argenta business development method.
Imagine a piglet proudly holding a book with a brick house on the cover. The book is called the Balle-Argent method.
Other companies are watching the success of Pig Products with tension. Some of them are experiencing competitive problems because Pig Products is now more efficient than their company; while other companies wish to achieve a published IVI. Leaders at meetings discuss what Pig Products did, and why it worked.
The leaders of these other companies decide to repeat the success of Pig Products. They talk with Okkorok and other employees from his company on what really happened. In each company, a senior manager is appointed to monitor the implementation of the method in other companies. These senior managers diligently read literature on the Balle-Argent method. The implementers study the problems of their companies and try to apply the spirit and letter of the Balle-Argent approach. When they make recommendations, they listen to suggestions for their own work, pay special attention to the advantages and disadvantages of this approach, and ultimately report their own IVI.
Imagine two or three piglets building houses of wood.
Some companies publish reports on the successful implementation of the Balle-Argent method. The reports indicate specific improvements that each company has decided to implement. Since after adopting the Balle-Argent approach, special attention was paid to investments and return on investments, this set of companies was able to present the exact values of IVI. These companies have earned shareholder approval for financially sound management. Business books about this method have been published: Balle-Argent in difficult times, Balle-Argent for small companies.
Imagine a set of books on a shelf with wooden houses on the covers.
Many companies decide to pay attention to the method. IVI convinces some, and the fact that competitors are reaping the benefits of introducing Balle Argenta convinces others. Managers and senior managers of the second set of companies add Balle Argenta to the list of ongoing production initiatives. However, they cannot competently focus on all methods; therefore, they delegate the introduction of the Balle-Argent method to middle managers. These managers descend the published IVI schedules as targets. For other middle managers, comparable IVIs descend for the simultaneous implementation of other methods. Management believes that competition generated by such multiple initiatives will spur eagerness to implement initiatives.
The knowledge of implementing managers about the Balle-Argent method is limited to publications in business literature. The time frame prevents managers from contacting Pig Products or reading longer articles about the method than short squeezes. To reduce the risk of missing past established IVI, managers are looking for ways to improve the profitability of the Balle-Argent method in the process of its implementation. The implementation, which took Pigs Products several years, now needs to be completed in one financial cycle. Implementing managers require subordinates to precisely follow the steps described in the literature, without unnecessary discussions or modifications. Some improvements are excluded due to the excessive cost of their implementation. Declared justification for this: such improvements will not work, since the company is in different conditions.
In exchange, the implementing managers “lower” the main strategies from the literature on Ballé-Argente to the category of broad goals, which will later be applied according to the residual principle. In almost all cases, the strategy, managers and managers should listen to the workers and accordingly change their style of work - this is the first strategy of the main that is deleted. This is how to improve communications , and later it turns out to be realized how to improve downstream communications . These implementing managers “rose” in their companies, as they defiantly respected their superiors. They do not require a verbatim implementation of the strategy , managers need to listen more , because it can frighten or confuse leadership.
In the end, implementing managers strive to put their actions in the best light. They are confident that engaging senior staff will look like a manifestation of weakness. Most of the implementations of Balle-Argente turn into manipulating the news. Top and middle management remain uninformed and not involved in the implementation process, expecting the fruits of success.
Imagine a whole village consisting of thatched houses.
Due to cost cuts, reduced implementation time, insufficient management involvement, blurring of emphasis due to other improvement initiatives, and also because of the tendency to follow the instructions verbatim instead of searching and subsequently correcting the company's urgent problems, these latest implementation of Balle-Argenta do not lead to IVI figures published earlier. Such a wave is rolling across the industry.
Imagine a mouse-flooded village of crumbling thatched houses with props.
Employees in such companies feel under fire from obscure managerial initiatives, and the Balle-Argent method is implemented by force, requiring additional efforts to comply with regulatory requirements. Employees know that following all these checklists does not solve the real problems. Some at the meetings complain that the Balle-Argent method is forcing the company to do stupid things. They refer to their own impressions and experience, complaining that the initiator of the implementation of Balle-Argenta does not want to hear anything about real problems that cannot be resolved quickly. They still complain that checklists and sophisticated documentation are replacing research and solutions, and that an increased focus on IVI will seriously reduce financial investments for more substantial optimizations than applying simple patches.
Together with the results from Stage 9 (that the current implementation of Balle-Argent does not provide a good IVI), these very fair complaints cause a ruthless denigration of the Balle-Argent method as harmful in the business press. Articles advocate killing the monster of Balle Argent.
Imagine a big villain wolf blowing away a village of thatched houses.
Mr. Khryakov, the structural leader of the Animalia holding, concludes that no one knows the company better than he does. He decides to throw out the Balle-Argenta along with other silver bullets and pay close attention to the problems of the holding and how to solve them.
Imagine another piglet throwing a stack of books and drawings from the table. On one of the books you can see a picture of a brick house on the cover.
Much has been written about suitable ways to optimize processes. You need to focus on the business goals of optimization, not only on methods (for example, CMMI) or intermediate indicators (for example, Level 3) [2, 3]. Managers should allocate the necessary resources, not to self-alienate from the future [4]. Managers must learn to highlight the important and respond accordingly [5, 6]. The technology group must analyze the true causes of the problems [7], plan the changes, approve them, control that the process moves according to [8]. And everyone must make sure that the changes will really improve the process of creating the product, they will not interfere.
Here are specific instructions for avoiding mistakes with silver bullets:
Special thanks to Cathy Kreyche for contributing to the article.
Also, the translation is published on my blog , but it’s better to read here, the server will not stand it.
"Attention! Get rid of other optimization methods - we have discovered the best. With our method, your quality level will increase, and the cost and development time will fall. ” Almost any optimization method is proclaimed the best way to save a young business from problems. Unfortunately, a few years later, this same method is already crushed and smashed to smithereens, and is being replaced by a new one. This parable tells how this happens.
In the 17th century, Europeans believed that a silver bullet could kill a werewolf. Today's executives are looking for silver bullets to protect not from werewolves, but from lost profits, disappointed shareholders and loss of market share. For these executives, silver bullets are management trends that promise to change the course of business development. Over the decades, many examples have accumulated: Six Sigma, Lean Enterprise, Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI®), and recently, the reputation of a silver bullet has won agile software development techniques. Such process optimization initiatives can and do work, but the way they are actually implemented is critical to success. This parable demonstrates the eleven stages of the life cycle of a similar optimization initiative.
Stage 1: From a Blank Slate
The head of Pig Products, Mr. Okkorok, decides to dispose of all silver bullets. He concludes that no one knows the company better than himself. He scrutinizes how the company works to identify current problems and their causes. He also studies the strengths of the company in order to rely on them and use them more effectively in the future.
Imagine a pig in a suit throwing a stack of books and construction drawings off the table.
Stage 2: Executive Dedication and Openness
Okkorok pays all its attention to improving Pig Products. Having identified the problems and levers of influence, as well as the places of their application, he allocates time and money for the implementation of the discovered optimality and the suppression of opposing initiatives. He employs far-sighted, smart managers and devotes a significant amount of his own time to making sure that the problems are really solved, and not dusted with sand. Okkorok and his managers are exploring many current and promising optimization methods to highlight current problems and possible toolkits containing suitable directions and suggestions.
The supervisor insists that senior managers participate in the decision. Okkorok makes managers realize their role in the problems of the company and reorganize their own work to change the direction of the company. An atmosphere of frankness without punishment is encouraged, and senior managers listen to messages from all levels of the company, especially regarding the optimization of their own work.
Imagine a pig that builds a brick house.
Stage 3: Success
Pig Products is reaping the fruits of a bitter struggle. Leaders and managers are changing leadership styles. Cross-cutting improvements at all levels of the company are changing the way the company works. Products are created more efficiently and with better quality. Costs are falling, the number of orders is growing, morale is strengthening.
Stage 4: Fame
The business press has noticed the success of Pig Products. Okkorok explains the improvements achieved in the company and receives a question about the name of the method. In honor of his French grandfather, he calls the improvement "the Balle-Argent method." The press also wants to inform how much time and money has been spent, as well as what has been achieved as a result; Okkorok looks back at the work done and gives marks. From all this, the business press calculates the magic return-investment index (IVI) for the Balle-Argenta business development method.
Imagine a piglet proudly holding a book with a brick house on the cover. The book is called the Balle-Argent method.
Stage 5: Impulse
Other companies are watching the success of Pig Products with tension. Some of them are experiencing competitive problems because Pig Products is now more efficient than their company; while other companies wish to achieve a published IVI. Leaders at meetings discuss what Pig Products did, and why it worked.
Stage 6: First Repeat
The leaders of these other companies decide to repeat the success of Pig Products. They talk with Okkorok and other employees from his company on what really happened. In each company, a senior manager is appointed to monitor the implementation of the method in other companies. These senior managers diligently read literature on the Balle-Argent method. The implementers study the problems of their companies and try to apply the spirit and letter of the Balle-Argent approach. When they make recommendations, they listen to suggestions for their own work, pay special attention to the advantages and disadvantages of this approach, and ultimately report their own IVI.
Imagine two or three piglets building houses of wood.
Stage 7: Confirmation
Some companies publish reports on the successful implementation of the Balle-Argent method. The reports indicate specific improvements that each company has decided to implement. Since after adopting the Balle-Argent approach, special attention was paid to investments and return on investments, this set of companies was able to present the exact values of IVI. These companies have earned shareholder approval for financially sound management. Business books about this method have been published: Balle-Argent in difficult times, Balle-Argent for small companies.
Imagine a set of books on a shelf with wooden houses on the covers.
Stage 8: Procedure
Many companies decide to pay attention to the method. IVI convinces some, and the fact that competitors are reaping the benefits of introducing Balle Argenta convinces others. Managers and senior managers of the second set of companies add Balle Argenta to the list of ongoing production initiatives. However, they cannot competently focus on all methods; therefore, they delegate the introduction of the Balle-Argent method to middle managers. These managers descend the published IVI schedules as targets. For other middle managers, comparable IVIs descend for the simultaneous implementation of other methods. Management believes that competition generated by such multiple initiatives will spur eagerness to implement initiatives.
The knowledge of implementing managers about the Balle-Argent method is limited to publications in business literature. The time frame prevents managers from contacting Pig Products or reading longer articles about the method than short squeezes. To reduce the risk of missing past established IVI, managers are looking for ways to improve the profitability of the Balle-Argent method in the process of its implementation. The implementation, which took Pigs Products several years, now needs to be completed in one financial cycle. Implementing managers require subordinates to precisely follow the steps described in the literature, without unnecessary discussions or modifications. Some improvements are excluded due to the excessive cost of their implementation. Declared justification for this: such improvements will not work, since the company is in different conditions.
In exchange, the implementing managers “lower” the main strategies from the literature on Ballé-Argente to the category of broad goals, which will later be applied according to the residual principle. In almost all cases, the strategy, managers and managers should listen to the workers and accordingly change their style of work - this is the first strategy of the main that is deleted. This is how to improve communications , and later it turns out to be realized how to improve downstream communications . These implementing managers “rose” in their companies, as they defiantly respected their superiors. They do not require a verbatim implementation of the strategy , managers need to listen more , because it can frighten or confuse leadership.
In the end, implementing managers strive to put their actions in the best light. They are confident that engaging senior staff will look like a manifestation of weakness. Most of the implementations of Balle-Argente turn into manipulating the news. Top and middle management remain uninformed and not involved in the implementation process, expecting the fruits of success.
Imagine a whole village consisting of thatched houses.
Stage 9: Reduced Return
Due to cost cuts, reduced implementation time, insufficient management involvement, blurring of emphasis due to other improvement initiatives, and also because of the tendency to follow the instructions verbatim instead of searching and subsequently correcting the company's urgent problems, these latest implementation of Balle-Argenta do not lead to IVI figures published earlier. Such a wave is rolling across the industry.
Imagine a mouse-flooded village of crumbling thatched houses with props.
Stage 10: Attacks on the Method
Employees in such companies feel under fire from obscure managerial initiatives, and the Balle-Argent method is implemented by force, requiring additional efforts to comply with regulatory requirements. Employees know that following all these checklists does not solve the real problems. Some at the meetings complain that the Balle-Argent method is forcing the company to do stupid things. They refer to their own impressions and experience, complaining that the initiator of the implementation of Balle-Argenta does not want to hear anything about real problems that cannot be resolved quickly. They still complain that checklists and sophisticated documentation are replacing research and solutions, and that an increased focus on IVI will seriously reduce financial investments for more substantial optimizations than applying simple patches.
Together with the results from Stage 9 (that the current implementation of Balle-Argent does not provide a good IVI), these very fair complaints cause a ruthless denigration of the Balle-Argent method as harmful in the business press. Articles advocate killing the monster of Balle Argent.
Imagine a big villain wolf blowing away a village of thatched houses.
Stage 11: All Over
Mr. Khryakov, the structural leader of the Animalia holding, concludes that no one knows the company better than he does. He decides to throw out the Balle-Argenta along with other silver bullets and pay close attention to the problems of the holding and how to solve them.
Imagine another piglet throwing a stack of books and drawings from the table. On one of the books you can see a picture of a brick house on the cover.
Moral of history
- The sequence of useful steps separately does not necessarily lead to a useful result. In the parable, each leader and manager made reasonable decisions within the boundaries outlined above. And the consequences were disastrous.
- For best results, start from stage 1 and stop at stage 3.
- The company’s problems can be resolved only after thorough study. Strategies for other people worked because they were developed specifically for them. If you want real optimization, you must do your own work to highlight the problems of your business and apply reasonable methods for resolving them.
- Not all people who claimed to use the method actually used it. At stage 8, the fake application of the method was discontinued. Instead, we got a method with the same name, which tries to break through to the result quickly and at any cost, and obviously unsuccessfully. (Unfortunately, most companies try to use the method in stage 8.)
- The original is always alone. Do not read anyone's interpretations of the method, read only the originals. If possible, speak with the author. Find out the root causes behind the steps of the method, so you can make sure that your adaptation is consistent with the root causes.
- IVI from various improvements do not add up, they interfere with each other. Focus on the problems you want to solve, and develop a plan (as a leader) how the initiatives contribute to the solution. Identify where initiatives appear to be controversial for employees and reconcile them. Show employees a united front.
- Do not expect that IVI from other companies will suit you. They started from different positions and made other investments [1].
How to use Silver Bullets
Much has been written about suitable ways to optimize processes. You need to focus on the business goals of optimization, not only on methods (for example, CMMI) or intermediate indicators (for example, Level 3) [2, 3]. Managers should allocate the necessary resources, not to self-alienate from the future [4]. Managers must learn to highlight the important and respond accordingly [5, 6]. The technology group must analyze the true causes of the problems [7], plan the changes, approve them, control that the process moves according to [8]. And everyone must make sure that the changes will really improve the process of creating the product, they will not interfere.
Here are specific instructions for avoiding mistakes with silver bullets:
- Everyone : To realize that the result of all methods should be improvements in the company, the method is not an end in itself. You cannot blindly apply optimizations - you need to take a closer look at how the company is working right now and how this method can change it.
- Leaders : You must develop your own idea of what is preventing your company from reaching a brighter future and decide what actions can remove these obstacles. Before taking any initiative that comes from outside, take the time to think it over and understand it. And in general, make sure that your company has the same problems as those that successfully implemented the method?
In order to realize the true problems, upward communication is necessary. Knowing that upstream communication can be risky, will your managers not only report good news [9, 10]? Find out what happened to the bad news and where they left off. Find a workaround around these obstacles, otherwise you will never hear what is really happening in your company. - Managers : You must understand the method (s) that you implement. The need to do really fast does not mean that for the sake of speed you need to sacrifice everything. Determine what is most reasonable and do not ask to cut the path.
Gain an understanding of the links between initiatives that compete for people's attention. Clarify these connections, coordinate between the other initiators, and reconcile the performers with all the initiatives. Your products make money, not your management initiatives. You must be sure that the initiatives do not impede the production of the product. - process groups : Send away managers who require the same results as other companies, but in less time, less resources and without unnecessary mental effort. Indicate why this will not work. Then suggest something that works. Do not mitigate the problem by reporting only good news.
- And finally : Real success will come when the company develops its own solution, taking into account its own characteristics. Second-order applications of these methods will work only if they have been studied in order to find out where the benefits come from and reasonably applied with suitable investments. But the company will receive a thatched house if it believes that it can use someone’s solution for a penny.
Special thanks
Special thanks to Cathy Kreyche for contributing to the article.
References
- Sheard, Sarah A., and Christopher L. Miller. The Shangri-La of ROI. Proc. of the 10th Annual Symposium of the International Council on Systems Engineering, Minneapolis, MN, July 2000.
- Sheard, Sarah A. What Is Senior Management Commitment? Proc. of the 11th Annual Symposium of the International Council on Systems Engineering, 2001. Republished in Proc. of the Software Technology Conference, Salt Lake City, UT, 2002.
- Kaplan, Robert S. “Implementing the Balanced Scorecard at FMC Corporation: An Interview with Larry D. Brady.” Harvard Business Review Sept.-Oct. 1993.
- Gardner, Robert A. “10 Process Improvement Lessons for Leaders.” Quality Progress Nov. 2002.
- Gilb, Tom. “The 10 Most Powerful Principles for Quality in Software and Software Organizations.” CrossTalk Nov. 2002.
- Baxter, Peter. “Focusing Measurements on Managers' Informational Needs.” CrossTalk July 2002: 22-25.
- Card, David. Learning From Our Mistakes With Defect Causal Analysis . Proc. of the International Conference on Software Process Improvement, Adelphi, MD, Nov. 2002.
- Bowers, Pam. “Raytheon Stands Firm on Benefits of Process Improvement.” CrossTalk March 2001: 9-12.
- Argyris, Chris. Overcoming Organizational Defenses: Facilitating Organizational Learning . Prentice Hall, 1990.
- Argyris, Chris. Flawed Advice and the Management Trap . New York: Oxford UP, 2000.
Also, the translation is published on my blog , but it’s better to read here, the server will not stand it.