Who Owns Your Key Processes? Asking the Right Questions in Uncertain Times

HI! HERE ARE A FEW INSIGHTS FROM MY COACHING PRACTICE DURING THE LAST MONTH THAT I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU.

DO YOU KNOW WHO 'OWNS' THE 5–7 KEY PROCESSES IN YOUR ORGANIZATION?

Depending on the size and maturity of your organization, many if not all of the key processes will flow through more than one functional area. It's vitally important someone 'owns' each of these processes to avoid unproductive handoffs and duplicate steps. A Functional Accountability Chart (FACe) is a wonderful tool for identifying those key processes, who owns each, and for deciding on leading indicators for each process.

ARE YOU ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS?

The past few months have been a political roller coaster ride, and clients have been facing a wall of uncertainty. A recent Harvard Business Review article (Asking the Right Questions) offers a new set of questions to ask when considering strategic options in a highly uncertain business environment. A quote that stuck with me: 'When the landscape keeps shifting, decisions that rely on old assumptions can quickly become outdated. What worked last time may no longer fit.'

AND ON A PERSONAL NOTE

On May 20th, I had the pleasure of attending the SKU Spring '25 Showcase at the UT School of Business. SKU is an accelerator program for emerging consumer packaged goods companies, and the leaders of the Spring '25 cohort shared their investment pitches with us. As part of the pitch fest we got to sample the company's products — I found the best ice cream sandwich and the best frozen pizza I've ever tasted. If you get a chance to try them, please let me know if you agree.

If any of this resonates, feel free to reach out.