Government customers want speed, quality

Traditional manager meetings in January often provide afalse sense of comfort. Market forecasts and analysesare presented, often by an outside expert. But few companieswill make the connection between external market forcesand the effect on internal operations.Companies that fail to make that connectionincreasingly will find themselves at acompetitive disadvantage.Knowing the latest growth forecast andhearing expert analyses of the market isimportant information for an entire organization,but it is particularly important for themore internally focused units. Sales organizations,business developers and programmanagers generally have a good sense of themarket and customers. However, technicaland operational units have a more internalfocus and have nowhere near the same exposureto market and customer conditions.Two current key market trends ? speedand accountability ? have direct implicationson internal operations. Each hasemerged as a critical market driver and away to set a company apart from the competition.The challenge is forinternal organizations to recognizethe management challengesthat these trends have created and toadapt operational processes to meet thesenew demands.Faster execution is the single biggestchange in the market. It is now on the frontburner in the defense/aerospace and informationtechnology systems and services sectors.The need for speed is being driven byprogrammatic challenges and competitiverealities.Although "Washington time" still may beslower than "Silicon Valley time," governmentofficials expect contractors to operate at afaster pace and respond and adapt to programmaticchanges more rapidly. However,speed is not an acceptable trade-off for a dropin quality. "You want it fast or you want itgood?" is no longer an acceptable response tonew demands on technical, operational anddelivery organizations. Contractors mustadapt current processes to enable speed andagility, while maintaining discipline and governancefor quality assurance.The commitment to be an accountableprovider trumps any promise to be a trustedpartner. Accountability is what enables trustin relationships. Trust is still essential, butaccountability is what distinguishes wordsfrom deeds.The emphasis on accountability has itsroots in the increased reliance on service-levelagreements. However, accountabilityhas emerged beyond contractual requirementsto be an effective competitive differentiator.It raises the bar of commitment forthe company and lowers the bar of risk forthe customer.Accountability requires a business to knowwhat is happening along the way, not just atfinal delivery. It's having information toquickly identify unfavorable trends andaberrations and keep customers informed.Beyond just having information, it's havingmechanisms and operating practicesto share that information internally.The business implications of executionspeed and performance accountabilityhave a direct impact on the daily activitiesof internal groups. Recognizing theseimplications is the first step toward aneffective operating plan that will attaincurrent year objectives and maintain acompetitive market position over the longterm.If you want speed and accountability, useprocess improvement initiatives to driveoperational transformation. It's not abouttweaking existing processes to gain speed orreduce cycle time or implementing new metricsto improve performance monitoring.Rather, it's using an understanding andappreciation of these external market pressuresas catalysts to drive improvements inperformance across internal organizations.Annual operating plans provide the foundationfor process improvement initiatives thatdrive performance.It's great to know where the market is headed,but recognizing business implications andaligning internal operations is even better.