Why the Lean SALES PDCA Cycle was Created!

I struggle with Lean when thought of as waste reduction tool versus a Knowledge Creating Methodology. Many people and organizations want to jump into the mode of waste reduction when working with a sales and marketing cycle. It is one of the reasons I created the SALES PDCA cycle. The SALES PDCA cycle creates two PDCA cycles. You start without a pre-determined problem definition and solicit and self-organize teams in the SALES part of the process. Then utilize PDCA for the problem solving journey ahead.

The individual stages of the SALES – PDCA framework are as follows:

Select the initial problem perception
Analyze the current knowledge of the process
Locate the people who understand the process
Empower the team
Select the improvement that needs to take place
Plan the improvement that needs to take place and plan the change
Do it the new way, execute the plan.
Check the results of the plan to determine whether the plan worked.
Act on the results. If the plan worked, standardize the change. If it didn’t work, readjust and go through the cycle again.

The other reason for creating the Sales PDCA Cycle was as a result of an outgrowth of Design Thinking, Service Design and The Service-Dominant Logic of Marketing: Dialog, Debate, And Directions thoughts. A great addition to this process is Henry Chesbrough’s thoughts in his latest, Open Services Innovation: Rethinking Your Business to Grow and Compete in a New Era.

Henry Chesbrough, executive director of the Haas Center for Open Innovation, rethinks the concept of open innovation to tackle a new economy. In his new book, Open Services Innovation (Jossey-Bass, January 2011), Chesbrough offers the tools to apply service-focused innovation to avoid what he calls “the commodity trap.” Chesbrough explains,”Innovating in services is the escape route from the commodity trap and a solution for growth, giving firms a significant competitive advantage. As they innovate into the future, companies must think beyond their products and move outside their own four walls to innovate.”

The University of California Berkeley Haas School of Business is one of the world’s leading producers of new ideas and knowledge in all areas of business – which includes the distinction of having two of its faculty members receive the Nobel Prize in Economics over the past 15 years.

P.S. The Sales PDCA Cycle is part of the book, Marketing with PDCA.