Repeating Successes

The leaders of Turner Consulting Group, Tanner & Haley Resorts,Vedicsoft Solutions, and Biophan Technologies share theirexpertise on:

Repeating Successes:Strategies for

Institutionalizing Best Practices

Daniel A. TurnerPresident, Turner Consulting Group Inc.

Rob McGrathChief Executive Officer, Tanner & Haley Resorts

Bhat DittakaviCo-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer

Vedicsoft Solutions Inc.

Michael WeinerChief Executive Officer, Biophan Technologies Inc.

In any company, the vast majority of successes are able to berepeated — whether they are repeated is a question of effectiveleadership. Repeating success begins with understanding success:

Establish a system of clear goals and metrics for your processes, andreview performance regularly. Employees must understand when and why they fail or succeed, be praised for success, and take respon-sibility for failure. When employees can see how their actions andpractices impact their goals, they will identify and adopt new best practices on their own — management need only supply the feed-back loop that promotes self-awareness. Once the entire companyis aligned with the needs of the customer and the company, best practices will be institutionalized almost automatically. �

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Action Points

I. Feedback LoopsThe key to repeating best practices iscreating feedback loops.

II. The Bottom LineInvest in people and enrich them tomake better decisions.

III. Must-Haves for InstitutionalizingBest PracticesConsistency, clear goals, responsibility,and review.

IV. The Golden Rules for AvoidingRepetition PitfallsDon’t take things for granted. Praisepublicly, correct privately. Learn fromyour peers.

V. Essential Take-AwaysSelf-awareness is the foundation of institutionalized best practices. Insti-tutionalize processes that create valuefor the customer.

Contents

About the Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p.2

Daniel A. Turner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p.3

Rob McGrath. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p.6

Bhat Dittakavi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p.8

Michael Weiner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p.10

Ideas to Build Upon & Action Points . . . p.12

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© Books24x7, 2006 About the Authors ExecBlueprints 2

About the Authors

Daniel A. Turner, president and founder ofTurner Consulting Group Inc., started thecompany in 1994. He brought his back-

ground in government computing services andstate networking agencies to the creation ofTurner Consulting, a new kind of organizationbased on distributed applications developmentusing object-oriented design and methodology-

driven processes. Turner Consulting achieved itsCMMI level two assessment in 2004.

Today, Turner Consulting focuses on IT man-agement consulting, grants management, andbioinformatics.

Mr. Turner is past president of the YoungEntrepreneurs Organization’s Washington, D.C.,chapter and organizes and travels extensively to

related events worldwide. He is a member of theAssociation of Computing Machinery. He haspresented at numerous conferences and enjoystraveling.


☛ Read Daniel’s insights on Page 3

Since October of 1998, Rob McGrath hasoverseen the daily operations of Tanner &Haley Resorts, formerly known as

Abercrombie & Kent Destinations, a holdingcompany owning several recreational resortand real estate companies including PrivateRetreats, Distinctive Retreats, LegendaryRetreats, Tanner & Haley Villas, and A&K Jets.Gross sales of Tanner & Haley Resorts exceeded$150 million in 2005.

Prior to founding Tanner & Haley Resorts,Mr. McGrath developed or co-developed anumber of successful high-end fractional real

estate developments in the western UnitedStates, including the Franz Klammer Lodge andthe River Club in Telluride, the Teton Club inJackson Hole, and the Rancho Manana Club in Scottsdale.

From 1991 to 1996, Mr. McGrath was a sen-ior commercial mortgage-backed securities traderat J.P. Morgan and Nomura Securities, securitizing several billion dollars worth of realestate loans.

Mr. McGrath is an honors graduate fromDartmouth College and one of only 15 AmosTuck scholars from the Amos Tuck School of

Business at Dartmouth. Mr. McGrath is a for-mer ski racer, having been captain of the 1982Dartmouth Ski Team and having spent severalyears (1983 to 1988) on the World Pro Ski Tour,where he was “Rookie of the Year” in 1983 and“Grand Marnier Skier of the Year” in 1986, finishing third overall for the season. In 1978, Mr. McGrath leapfrogged 555 miles tobecome the Guinness Book of World Recordsworld record holder in marathon leapfrogging.


☛ Read Rob’s insights on Page 6

Bhat Dittakavi has over 12 years of ITentrepreneurial, management, leader-ship, and consulting experience in build-

ing and managing technology consulting firms,designing and developing enterprise and ana-lytical applications for manufacturing, finan-cial, pharmaceutical, insurance, and publicsector verticals.

Mr. Dittakavi co-founded Vedicsoft in 1999with his childhood friend, Venkat Yerubandi. Hehas grown this startup company from scratch to

over $15 million in less than six years. Mr.Dittakavi is currently serving as co-CEO. Priorto Vedicsoft, he had implemented enterpriseresource planning solutions for global manufac-turing firms and provided financial solutions toWall Street brokerage firms.

Vedicsoft has been chosen as one of NewJersey’s “Finest Companies” for two years in a row.It was ranked among the fastest-growing compa-nies in the country by the Inc. 500, and it wasranked by VII as one of the “top 10 Asian firms

in the country” and the “fourth fastest-growingAsian company in the country.”

Mr. Dittakavi received a master’s degree inelectrical engineering from the National Instituteof Technology in India and a bachelor’s degreein electrical and electronics engineering fromJNTU in India.

Bhat DittakaviCo-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Vedicsoft Solutions Inc.

☛ Read Bhat’s insights on Page 8

Michael L. Weiner began his career atXerox Corporation in 1975, where heserved in a variety of capacities in sales

and marketing, including manager of softwaremarket expansion and manager of sales com-pensation planning. In 1982, he received thePresident’s Award, the top honor at Xerox, foran invention benefiting a major product line. In1985, Mr. Weiner founded Microlytics, a Xeroxspin-off company that developed technology fromthe Xerox Palo Alto Research Center into a suiteof products.

In January of 1993, Mr. Weiner co-foundedTextWise, a company developing natural lan-guage search technologies for the intelligencecommunity. In 1995, he co-founded and servedas CEO of Manning & Napier Information

Services, a Rochester-based company providingpatent analytics, prior art searches, and otherservices for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Officeand many large corporations, and which subse-quently acquired TextWise. He held this positionuntil January of 1999.

In February of 1999, Mr. Weiner foundedTechnology Innovations LLC to develop intel-lectual property assets. In August of 2000,Technology Innovations created a subsidiary,Biomed Solutions LLC, to pursue biomedical andnanotechnology opportunities.

Mr. Weiner has been CEO of BiophanTechnologies since co-founding the company inDecember of 2000. Biophan’s primary missionis to develop and commercially exploit tech-nologies for providing competitive advantage to

biomedical device companies. Biophan and itssubsidiary companies hold over 200 patentspending, issued, allowed, and/or licensed.(Biophan alone currently has 157.)

Mr. Weiner has been a member of theLicensing Executives Society since 1984, and isa member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the AmericanAssociation for the Advancement of Science, the Association of Former Intelligence Officers,and the New York Inventors Club.


☛ Read Michael’s insights on Page 10

Defining SuccessSuccess can be defined in many dif-ferent ways. The easiest way todefine success is if the companymakes money at the end of the day.That is the ultimate goal of anycompany. Any project that leads upto that goal, including the mile-stones along the way, is also a suc-cess. Meeting goals and earninghigh customer satisfaction levelsare also measures of a company’ssuccess.

There are several factors thatmost often contribute to success. Astaff that is interested in getting thebest result out of the work they aredoing and has a clear plan thatallows them to see where they areat any point and to adjust theircourse accordingly is one of thebiggest factors. The staff must feelthe need to be heroic if things aregoing badly. They should be willingto put in extra time to make a proj-ect successful. The goal of a posi-tive improvement system is torepeat successes and identify suc-cessful projects ahead of time. Thereality of success is that most of the time, people simply guess atwhat they hope to achieve and, byluck, wind up achieving it.

Institutionalizing BestPracticesWe use CMMI (the CapabilityMaturity Model, Integrated) toinstitutionalize the best practicesthat have led to success. We choseCMMI because it is a system thatwas created for software engineer-ing groups on behalf of the AirForce in the early 1990s. The Air Force wanted a system fordoing software development thatallowed them to have a better handle on what was going on and

to be able to repeat successes. CMM(the Capability Maturity Model) andthen CMMI (the CapabilityMaturity Model, Integrated) werecreated by the Software EngineeringInstitute at Carnegie MellonUniversity for evaluating, measur-ing, and assessing the relativematurity of the software develop-ment process of organizations.They introduce a rigor to pro-gramming that is similar to ISO9000’s (created by the InternationalStandards Organization) impacton manufacturing.

Bringing CMMI to my companywas extremely difficult, because itis an expensive tool for a small com-pany. The average cost of CMMIimplementation is in the $300,000range. However, as a result of theexpense, when we begin a project,we know what documents need tobe created and what systems needto be designed. This creates amodel from which we can work.

When we are tracking a project,we look back at regular intervals to assess what worked and whatdidn’t. Performing that kind ofanalysis is vital to repeating suc-cesses, institutionalizing them, andteaching them to others. When wedevelop better processes, we putthem into our process asset library,

which is a library of processes wehave used to implement projects.The process asset portion of thelibrary helps people create futureprojects. We also have a softwareengineering office, the members ofwhich are responsible for going outto all of the projects and makingsure they are actually fulfilling ourrequirements. They must also ascer-tain that the software processingoffice has the ability to enforce therequirements of the processes.

Specific ExampleFor example, there is a very clearprocess for making a sale. The first

© Books24x7, 2006 Daniel A. Turner ExecBlueprints 3

Daniel A. TurnerPresident

Turner Consulting Group Inc.

“Generally speaking, success is moving the company forward to meetits strategic or tactical goals.”

• Founded the company in 1994

• Past president of the YoungEntrepreneurs Organization’sWashington, D.C., chapter

• Member of the Association ofComputing Machinery

• Company focuses on IT managementconsulting, grants management, andbioinformatics

Mr. Turner can be emailed [email protected]


In my organization, atleast 80 to 95 percentof our successes arerepeatable. Whetherthey are repeated is acompletely differentproblem.

Daniel A. Turner

PresidentTurner Consulting Group Inc.

step is contacting the client, fol-lowed by a period of orientation.The next step involves customerproposals or customer information.If the company wins the contract,there is a process for creating therelationship between the companyand the project manager. If the com-pany loses the contract, there is aprocess for setting up a post-opanalysis to determine why the company lost.

We recently bid on a project fora government agency. We looked atthe request for proposals they hadput out, we went to their meetings,we talked to the client, and wedetermined that the client had been mislead by their previous con-tractor and were not aware of howbadly they had been mislead. In ourproposed response to the request forproposals, we honestly detailedhow they had been taken advantageof by the previous contractor, how

much work it would take to fix the problems, why we believed theprocess would take longer than theyproposed, and why we thought itwould take more people than theyproposed. When the governmentagency sat down to review our pro-posal, they were very impressedwith our honesty. This entire pro-posal process was a repetition ofsuccess for us — we repeated some-thing we had done before, whichwas showing complete honestlywith a client — and the end result was the expected: We won thecontract.

Blockers to RepeatableSuccessesIn my organization, at least 80 to95 percent of our successes arerepeatable. Whether they are repeatedis a completely different problem.Of the non-repeatable successes, 20

to 40 percent of them are probablythe result of the same situation notcoming up again. Some 40 percentof the non-repeatable successesrequire a fairly high learning curveto fully understand how they wereachieved, so if the same people arenot assigned to the project, or if thenew people are not correctly taughtthe right process, then it is possiblethat a potentially repeatable successwinds up failing. Other impedi-ments to repeating successes arestaff turnover, lack of interest in anykind of organized process, lack ofbuy-in for the process, and beingunable to find information.

Setting BenchmarksThe easiest benchmark a companycan use to determine if successeshave become institutionalized isdetermining if a situation has beenencountered before. If it has, the


Daniel A. TurnerPresident, Turner Consulting Group Inc. (continued)

Repeatable90%

Non-Repeatable10%

Repeatability

Situation neverarises again

30%

Other reasons(lack of buy-in,turnover, lackof information)

30%

Learning curveis too steep

40%

Successful projects can be non-repeatable for various reasons.

All Processes Non-Repeatable Processes

company must find out whatprocess led to success last time andrepeat that process. The companyshould be able to perform thesame process just as well or even better than before if institutionalization has occurred.

Learning about theCompetitionAt my company, roughly 10 to 20percent of my time is spent learn-ing about successes at peer compa-nies. A lot of the ways I learn about

those successes is through themedia. I also regularly meet with agroup of fellow entrepreneurs,though we typically talk about ourfailures, not our successes. I believelearning about other organizations’failures (if the reason for the failurecan be pinpointed) is far more use-ful — and invigorating — thanlearning about other organizations’successes, which can be more difficult to duplicate.

In this entrepreneurial group,someone will present a problemthey are having and then the rest of

the group will share experiencesthey had in resolving that issue.Every month, I learn about the out-come of many possible solutions toproblems, and I use all the infor-mation to help my companybecome more successful. �


Daniel A. TurnerPresident, Turner Consulting Group Inc. (continued)

It is possible to determine ROI for efforts for institutionalizing bestpractices. We personally struggled with that problem because CMMI is soexpensive. As with any new technology, there are always some risks that arevery difficult to quantify, especially financial risks. We spent a hugepercentage of our income one year on CMMI, but we believed a lot of ourability to do contracting in the future was going to be dependent onwhether we could implement CMMI, so to us, it was a risk worth taking. Inthe long term, we haven’t yet seen the ROI for which we were hoping. Weare basing ROI on the number of contracts we get because of the changeswe made to incorporate CMMI.

Daniel A. Turner

PresidentTurner Consulting Group Inc.

The Measure of SuccessThe measure of success is to exceedyour goals either by month, byquarter, or by year. We succeed if wemeet or exceed the goals set by themetrics. But before that, we mustdefine our goals and determine themetrics under which we will begraded. After that, if we need tocoach, assist, or provide our knowl-edge in that particular area — or ifwe need to give a unit manageradditional resources in order forhim or her to meet or exceed expec-tations, then we accommodatethem. If he or she is having trouble,we must go in and find out the reasons, then try to help fix it.

I think the most important com-ponents of institutionalizing bestpractices are setting clear goals anddelivering clear and objective met-rics, under which those goals will beset against. If you do that, every-thing else automatically falls intoplace.

Within the last 12 months, wefundamentally redesigned our realestate acquisition division; it isnow much more streamlined, prof-itable, and effective. We did nothave very effective metrics, but thatis now in place. Also, within theprevious five months, we com-pletely redefined our brand posi-tioning in the marketplace, which isalready creating performance at thebottom line.

Benchmarks: DeterminingOrganizational SuccessesIt is imperative to have establishedmetrics under which each divisionor business unit also has its metrics.Those are the metrics that drive per-formance. For example, in sales, weneed to know not only what ourclosing percentages are, but we alsoneed the information on the closingpercentages in a specific marketingcampaign or specific product line.If we can understand this side of theequation, we then go in and analyzeit against cost to determine our costof sales, not only on the companyside, but also by a product line. Wethen are able to understand an indi-vidual market campaign’s success orfailure and are able to test a newidea by knowing what successmeans and how we are going totrack it.

I believe that, when we do notmeet our goals, it is essential to not accept excuses for failure. If aperson is not meeting his or hergoals, I try to find somebody elsewho can. However, I will help thatperson realize what needs to bedone in order to avoid this situation.

To succeed, we have to createprocesses that are repeatable as wellas streamlined. If someone in thehospitality business has a check-inprocess to get a client from the air-port to their property — and if thisprocess is done manually and has 16steps involved — it is obviously inef-ficient, which means spendingunnecessary money and inconve-niencing the client. In this case, theprocess should be redesigned, andthe way this is accomplished isthrough best practice techniques.One way of doing this is going inand putting together a group of sixor eight people who might puttogether a series of inquiries such as:

“What are your best ideas outthere?” “How would you do it?” “What do you think aboutthis?” “What do you think about that?” One should think ofmany different ways to do it andthen design the most streamlined,efficient model possible.

Repeatable SuccessesOne example of a company successwas when we had a cumbersomeprocess involving 18 manual stepsand many types of people. In

© Books24x7, 2006 Rob McGrath ExecBlueprints 6

Rob McGrathChief Executive OfficerTanner & Haley Resorts

“Setting and establishing goals, as wellas having the ability to track perform-ance against those goals, is imperativefor a company to succeed.”

• Named Ernst and Young’s“Entrepreneur of the Year” in 2003

• Developed a proprietary businessmodel based on extensive researchin real estate ownership and vacationtrends

• Former “Rookie of the Year” on theWorld Pro Ski Tour

• Gross sales of Tanner & HaleyResorts exceeded $150 million in2005

Mr. McGrath can be emailed [email protected]


I believe that, when wedo not meet our goals,it is essential not toaccept excuses forfailure.

Rob McGrath

Chief Executive OfficerTanner & Haley Resorts

creating a viable solution, webrought the whole team togetherand built a new process with onlyfour contact points. As a result, wewere making more money, and theclient was happier.

Learning from success is cap-tured in our organization by ensur-ing that when we create a newmetric or process, we go back andreview it every month until it isinstitutionalized throughout ourcompany; we then go back andcheck it annually.

In determining ROI for efforts toinstitutionalize best practices, I findout how much something cost mea month ago and what it is costingme today. I ask, “What is the dif-ference, and how much time andeffort did I spend to make that hap-pen?” These types of programs aregenerally very effective.

International Best PracticesThe effect of cultural differences ininternational locations as it relatesto the institutionalization of bestpractices across the organizationdepends upon how different the cul-ture is. In the Caribbean, one canoperate very much like one does in the United States. However, inEastern Europe, this is not the case;

one must incorporate differentwork ethics into different structures.For example, people often willtake a six-week vacation, so youreally have to fundamentallyredesign most of your processes.Each international environment isdifferent. Every country has a

different set of legal and account-ing guidelines, as well as differentfinancing structures and availabil-ity. In order to understand how todo business in a country, we needto understand that country’s culture,because each country has its ownunique culture. �

© Books24x7, 2006 Rob McGrath ExecBlueprints 7

Rob McGrathChief Executive Officer, Tanner & Haley Resorts (continued)

I spend quite a lot of time learning about success at peer companies, andtheir successes can occasionally be repeated in our environment. But wehave to be careful, because we may have a very different culture thananother peer company. Also, simply because it works for them does notmean it will work for us; however, understanding what they are doing andhow they are doing it is absolutely imperative. In this case, I do not believethere is a tangible benefit or way to measure my time spent.

Rob McGrath

Chief Executive OfficerTanner & Haley Resorts

Create a new process.Review

iteverymonth.Institutionalize

the

proce

ss.

Revie

wreg

ularly.

The Feedback Cycle

Elements that ConstituteSuccessRetention is one factor we look atin determining our success.Ultimately, we are a people com-pany. Our attention to the employ-ees and our customers are definingfactors within our organization. Welook to bring new employees andcustomers to the company and thenretain them.

Because skills and demand fluc-tuate, we have to capture the cur-rent new skill market and thenservice the customers who willneed that technology. Our people,customers, and technology are thethree key factors in our business.Regarding the retention of anemployee, we need to listen to themalways, no matter what level theyare at. Opinions are bound to dif-fer, but the fact that a key employeeis not recognized or heard is a majorfactor in terms of retention. Onecommon misconception is that peo-ple generally believe the chief reten-tion factor is the compensationpackage. The financial implica-tions of retaining an employeewould play maybe less than a 30percent role.

Synergy is the interaction oftwo forces so that their combinedeffect is greater than the sum of theindividual effects. If we have it, wemust be able to produce moreresults than when working individ-ually. Often, when a companyexpands in size, effective results godown. This is a typical problemwith any company. The synergy isdisintegrating, and this occursbecause the capacity of individualswould decrease based on the size,which is when we need checks andbalances.

Ensuring that synergy, motiva-tion, and the delegation of respon-sibilities are all present, whiletrusting your employees and notmicromanaging, is crucial. Theseare staples of effective leadership.

Retaining CustomersIn long-term relations, the customerunderstands if we missed what wepromised. But consistency is thebiggest requirement. In this era ofincreased competition and smart-manship, if we do not take care ofthe customer consistently, some-body else will. Transparency, clearcommunication, and courage ofconviction are basic necessities. We have to immediately declare if

things are not going as expected forany reason. Companies try to let itgo, but the customer eventuallycomes to realize the reality.

Most of the customers in ourindustry are fooled by technologyand process. I would want to knowthe cost of the company and wherewe stand in terms of production andhuman resources. It is not aboutnumbers alone, but rather extract-ing the right information to put intoreports. We find out what the cus-tomer’s needs are and how we canenable them to grow. The customer

© Books24x7, 2006 Bhat Dittakavi ExecBlueprints 8

Bhat DittakaviCo-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer

Vedicsoft Solutions Inc.

“Companies must provide employeeswith an institution that will repeat success factors and fully enable theteams and departments.”

• Has over 12 years of IT entrepre-neurial, management, leadership, andconsulting experience

• Grew company from scratch to $15million in less than six years

• Master’s degree in electrical engineering, National Institute ofTechnology

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical andelectronics engineering, JNTU

Mr. Dittakavi can be emailed [email protected]

Bhat DittakaviCo-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Vedicsoft Solutions Inc.

Cultural differences in international locationsaffect the institutionalization of best practicesacross our company, because it requires change aswell as an acceptance of that change. However,this is not as big a problem as trying to changethe people. We try to accommodate regionalneeds and ensure that people in a specific regionand culture are happy.

Bhat Dittakavi

Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive OfficerVedicsoft Solutions Inc.

will be satisfied when their objec-tives and vision align with ours forthat assignment.

In order to succeed repeatedly,we must conduct the same goal-setting and delegation in eachprocess. More work comes fromthe customer, and it bringsincreased expectations. The customer always expects a solidinternal system like Six Sigma.Most people would fail to focusenough attention to hiring, but it isvery important to hire from theright talent pool.

Some common pitfalls in repeat-ing success are taking things forgranted and forgetting basic rules.There are employees who are effi-cient at their job, but their heart isnot in the work. The preferencesand priorities of employees changewith time. Also, we must be watch-ful of complacency, because it couldhurt the company by losing aspiringfuture customers.

If an employee has done an excel-lent job for the company and cus-

tomers, recognizing their actionswill serve as motivation to peoplebelow the bar. In contrast, it is notmotivating if we correct a personpublicly because they did not makethe numbers. So, always praise inpublic and correct in private.

Determining ROIOne should invest in best practiceslike Six Sigma. It is key to discussfrom within the ways to improvequality. Invest in people and enrichthem to make better decisions.Finally, institutionalize the thingsthat make sense for the customersand clients. Learning about successat peer companies is important:External companies should notdrive the company, but they can bea source of motivation. �

© Books24x7, 2006 Bhat Dittakavi ExecBlueprints 9

Bhat DittakaviCo-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Vedicsoft Solutions Inc. (continued)

Some common pitfalls in repeating success aretaking things for granted and forgetting basic rules.

Bhat Dittakavi

Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive OfficerVedicsoft Solutions Inc.

Leadership Staples

Synergy

Motivation Delegation

Defining OrganizationalSuccessSomething we do efficiently for alarge customer such as BostonScientific would be a major success.Also, developing technology or adivision that has tremendous poten-tial and that has reflected well in themarket is a success. For example,we formed an alliance with NASAto develop battery-powered bodyheat that could be long-lasting, andthis was beneficial to them for deepspace missions to Mars. Because ofus, devices related to Parkinson’s dis-ease that once had to be changed outevery three years now might last fiveto eight years. Dealing with NASAwas a big win for us, because themarket loved it. Our stock went up30 percent, and we received world-wide recognition.

The engagement of that projectas well as the U.S. patent that wasissued to us for the technology wasa major accomplishment. Also, Iconsider the fact that NASA choseto work with us a success. When weachieve proof of principal and startshipping it, and when we book rev-enue at a high profit, I’ll considerthat a success as well.

These successes start in the plan-ning phase as well as in the execu-tion and leadership. When we wereissued a patent and NASAexpressed interest, we knew this wasshaping up from just a potentialidea to a real opportunity. I broughtit to the board and told them that

something existed in a tiny littlecompany outside ours, but that Ithought we should acquire thembecause the product looked verypromising. We were able to acquirethat company very inexpensivelyand, in part because NASA wasgoing to assist in the development,it became an economically viableinvestment to make. This is some-thing that did not happen in a meet-ing, but rather was brought up byone of our executives who is aninnovator.

Measuring SuccessesI have projects that have maybe a50 percent chance of success, whileothers I feel have a 90 percentchance or better. We can use a lotof what we learned in previous suc-cesses to guide how we operate inthe future. As our organizationgrows stronger and establishesmore credibility within the industry,we are in a better position to makethe next project successful. Wehave pretty good contacts and rela-tionships with most of the largemedical device companies. Fiveyears ago, people were not aware ofthe problems we were trying tosolve; since then, we have changedthe landscape of the playing field.

Playing a large role in this wasBoston Scientific, which raised theattention of our industry. A lot oftimes, we manage disruptive tech-nologies and are invested in themdifferently than a large industrial

base of business for 1,000 retail out-lets. As opposed to running a largecompany with an expansive revenuebase, we do things differently,because that is what we should doin the business we are in. It is alsoimportant for us to manage our for-mulas efficiently; otherwise, wewill create more problems.

Capturing Prior SuccessesThe people in the company areaware of and witness the processesthat occur. Each person has a

© Books24x7, 2006 Michael Weiner ExecBlueprints 10

Michael WeinerChief Executive Officer

Biophan Technologies Inc.

“Society can benefit by improving the methods by which innovationmoves from idea to application andcommercialization.”

• Co-founded the company inDecember of 2000

• While at Xerox, received thePresident’s Award for an inventionbenefiting a major product line

• Member of the Institute of Electricaland Electronics Engineers and theAmerican Association for theAdvancement of Science

• Company holds over 150 patentspending, issued, allowed, and/orlicensed

Mr. Weiner can be emailed [email protected]


Some of the most common impediments torepeating successes are a lack of flexibility and a lack of learning from history.

Michael Weiner

Chief Executive OfficerBiophan Technologies Inc.

pretty good institutional memoryand awareness of what our visionis and how it relates to our pro-grams and technologies. We tend toanalyze the problems a little morewhen something goes awry than when we have success, becausein the case of the successes, we haveall been involved and we have thatcorporate memory. I actually havea formula for certain projects of myown, but it is not an ROI formulaexactly. If a project appears feasibleand we can then get it approved andpatented, I look to see if we haveenough time to sell it and make ita success. It does not matter if it costs $2 million if it results in $60million annually in high-marginprofits.

Learning from PeersMuch of my knowledge regardinghow to operate a business that cre-ates biomedical devices stems frommy personal experience in the com-puter and software business. The for-mula for that type of selling is to havean extremely competent and knowl-edgeable team so the customers ulti-mately benefit most. It was importantfor us to establish comprehensivepatents as well as open communica-tion in order to explain the device ina way the customer understands. Wedo this so they do not have to worryabout the risks. In the case of the bio-

medical industry, everything we do has to have a Food and DrugAdministration regulatory plan.

The company can sometimesafford to acquire a product that isnot going to be so outlandishlypriced that it changes the price oftheir product on the market. Theformula we present has to makethem think they are going to gainmarket share and be more prof-itable. If we do not conduct thatpre-analysis and get that gamingright, they will not buy it; therefore,we try to get that right in the begin-ning as opposed to spending twoyears on a false hope and then dis-covering that we built the wrongthing.

It is important to get the employ-ees in line with the time of the

action, what the employee has todo, and when the reward comes. Inthe long term, it may or may not bemotivational. We have to ensurethat the motivational equation forthe employee works.

Some of the most commonimpediments to repeating successesare a lack of flexibility and a lackof learning from history. This isimportant when rememberingsomething that tripped us up andensuring that we do not allow thatto happen again. A lot of our timeis spent learning about successes atother companies. We go to confer-ences, examine other companies,and observe how they have beenconducting their business. Thisexercise has paid dividends. �

© Books24x7, 2006 Michael Weiner ExecBlueprints 11

Michael WeinerChief Executive Officer, Biophan Technologies Inc. (continued)

It is key to articulate a vision so customers canunderstand what we are telling them in twominutes as opposed to half an hour. It is ourresponsibility to get that calibration early inorder to build in something that has a chance ofbeing sold. Many times, salespersons do not dothat; rather, they make a lot of assumptionswithout validation.

Michael Weiner

Chief Executive OfficerBiophan Technologies Inc.

I. Feedback LoopsThe key to repeating best practicesis creating feedback loops.

Both institutional and personalfeedback loops are necessary.

Institutional loops

• Track every project regularly.

• Look back at regular intervalsto assess what worked andwhat didn’t.

• Establish a library of processanalysis.

Personal loops

• Ensure that staff membersunderstand their goals andhow their processes relate tothose goals.

• Staff should always know what they are trying to achieveand how close they are toachieving it.

II. The Bottom LineInvest in people and enrich them tomake better decisions.

Companies must provideemployees with an institution thatwill repeat success factors and fullyenable teams and departments.

Think primarily about the customer.

• Institutionalize the things thatmake sense for the customersand clients.

• These things will bring profitsin the future.

III. Must-Haves forInstitutionalizing BestPractices

ConsistencyThe company must establish con-sistent processes for measuring andinstituting processes.

Clear goals

• Metrics that drive performance.

• Setting clear goals and deliver-ing clear and objective metricsis the foundation of identifyingand institutionalizing newpractices.

Responsibility and review

• When you create a new metricor process, review it everymonth until it is institutional-ized throughout the company,and then review it annually.

• Do not accept excuses for failure, but do help employeesrealize what needs to bechanged.

IV. The Golden Rules forAvoiding Repetition PitfallsDon’t take things for granted.

The preferences and priorities ofemployees change with time. Bewatchful of complacency.

Praise publicly, correct privately.

• If an employee has done anexcellent job for the companyand customers, recognize thempublicly to inspire others.

• Correct in private, to encourage personal change and growth.

Learn from your peers.

• Do not simply compete againstyour peers. Instead, study andlearn from them.

• The successes of your peers canbe the most fertile place tolook for new best practices.

V. Essential Take-AwaysSelf-awareness is the foundation ofinstitutionalized best practices.

Align every process andemployee to goals and clear metrics,and review performance regularly.

Institutionalize processes thatcreate value for the customer.

These practices are the key tolong-term profitability. �

© Books24x7, 2006 Ideas to Build Upon & Action Points ExecBlueprints 12

Ideas to Build Upon & Action Points

© Books24x7, 2006 Ideas to Build Upon & Action Points ExecBlueprints 13

Ideas to Build Upon & Action Points (continued)

ExecBlueprints is a subscription-based offering from Books24x7, a SkillSoft Company. For more information on subscribing,please visit www.books24x7.com.

10 KEY QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION POINTS

In your organization, what elements constitute a success? Goals fully met? High customer satisfaction? Good financial results? Other?

What factors most often contribute to a success? Good analysis and planning? Strong leadership? Excellent execution?

What are the most important components of institutionalizing the best practices relatedto successes?

Could you give a breakdown of the most important successes in your organization?

In your organization, what percentage of successes would you say are repeatable?How can this percentage be increased? Do you think you will be able to increase thispercentage in the next 12 months?

What benchmarks can be used to determine whether organizational successes arebecoming institutionalized? What is measured? How often?

What are the most common impediments to repeating successes? How have youlearned to avoid these pitfalls?

What best practices are you aware of for repeating successes in an organization? Have you implemented any of these best practices within your company? If so, whatwas the impact?

Could you give an example of a success in your organization that was repeated? Whatsteps were taken to institutionalize the best practices from this success?

How are learnings from successes captured in your organization?10

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Documents

Repeating Successes