^The APQC Blog

TMA’s People in Energy conference was held in Houston last week. Elissa Tucker and I had the opportunity to present APQC‘s research on best practices for developing leaders in the oil and gas industry and to speak with attendees about leadership at their organizations.

Cloud is driving big changes in the way that firms manage their data. At the API Cybersecurity Conference, I heard a lot of conversations about the risks of using cloud in the enterprise. According to Skyfence CEO Ofer Handler, cloud can limit IT’s ability to monitor activity in enterprise data and applications, opening up prime targets for hackers. But this doesn’t mean that organizations should steer clear of cloud.

Communities of Practice are a huge part of the success in KM. Jean-Claude Monney, Global KM Lead at Microsoft Services discusses key outcomes, analytics and measures that help you know if CoPs are still thriving communities.

You can follow Jean-Claude Monney on Twitter @jcfmonney

We’re process people.

We are in awe of Ikea’s ability to standardize the design of beds, bookcases, and boudoirs using the same handful of parts. We assign family chores using SIPOCs and RACIs.  We love frameworks and good relationship maps.

Last month, Ryan Mervyn, former ORION project manager and current engineering coordinator at United Parcel Services (UPS), and Peter Frohling, current ORION manager, presented on an APQC webinar. Mervyn and Frohling provide a general overview of UPS' ORION program, the results and significance seen from ORION, and the advanced analytics used.

I recently talked to Steve Williams, president of DecisionPath Consulting, about the risks and rewards business executives face when trying to understand and use analytics, big data, and business intelligence.

What’s the basic argument you would make to a CFO who doesn’t yet know how business intelligence (BI) and analytics can help to boost shareholder value?

In a recent KM webinar, we heard from Suzan Pickels, Knowledge Advisor and Supervisor at ConocoPhillips. Pickels talked about how ConocoPhillips developed and maintained a successful knowledge sharing initiative. Audience members really wanted to hear more about ConocoPhillips' enterprise wiki, as well as the ways the organization captures knowledge from retirees.

Does your organization use an HR shared services organization? If so, how are you benchmarking its performance? To find out how HR shared services organizations are faring, APQC recently partnered with ScottMadden to complete the third cycle of a custom benchmarking study focused exclusively on HR Shared Services Organizations (SSOs). The study included questions and metrics related to HR shared services delivery models and operations, staffing, performance, and management infrastructure and technology.

Looking at the jack-o’-lanterns and inflatable spiders dotting my neighborhood this week, I started thinking about childhood fears—and grownup ones. I’m more likely to worry about the lure of leftover mini Snickers than ghosts or goblins, but the things that really keep me up at night tend to be “the big stuff,” such as work and family.

Big Data is all the rage, with more and more companies drawing on burgeoning data streams to better understand their customers and make better business decisions. But it can be tricky when you’re trying to turn data into insights and actions that provide a competitive advantage. And both data analysts and business executives can get in the way of progress.