Processes are more than activities, tasks, steps, and procedures. They involve people. Sure, we've mechanized large portions of many processes, but people are never far from the activities. People drive processes, and yet, so many organizations ignore the human element within processes, trying to…

Executing a single improvement initiative is one thing. Creating a culture of continuous improvement is another. The idea of one improvement project is usually fairly clear and straightforward. There is a beginning and an end, clear steps, resources dedicated for certain hours and durations, and a…

Staying ahead doesn't mean that your competitors can't improve. This week, I was reading Eric Lowitt's latest blog post for the Harvard Business Review: Why Your Company Should Partner with Rivals. So many organizations are afraid to open up and collaborate with competitors because they don't want…

I've never seen an organization market itself as low cost/low quality. That seems like a losing strategy. But can all the organizations that market themselves as low cost/high quality back up that claim? How does an organization know that it's actually achieving higher quality and saving money…

Is your organization performing as well as you think it could? Are you using your fullest potential at work? Why or why not? If you, like many working folks, feel that your potential is untapped or that you could be contributing much more, maybe the problem isn't just you. Maybe occasional…

First of all, I want all of my process management folks to check out this video by the Process Excellence (PEX) Network: Welcome to the Process Excellence Revolution. Don't you feel inspired? That video sums up what process management is all about. Real process management means that we focus on…

2011 was a wonderful year at APQC, particularly in process management. However, I must admit that after a year in which we released a major process management report, hosted a process management conference, and launched a study on building strong process management capabilities, even I am…

Even people who don't celebrate a holiday in December feel the effects of largely empty office buildings, holiday parties, extra traffic, and ever-expanding end-of-year task lists. Productivity is part of APQC's name, and we still experience lags during December. It can be difficult to stay focused…

Good intentions are fine when it comes to giving gifts to people you don't know very well, being late for dinner even though you left work early, or forgetting to buy milk even though you wrote it on your list, but they are not enough to make a business successful. Sure, I want to do business…

Whew! APQC's 2011 process conference was a huge success. We hosted some fantastic presenters who shared information that people could actually go home and use. You can view the presentations in our 2011 Process Management Conference Presentations and Slides collection. Great stuff in there.…