http://bprmethods.com/ BPR Methods - Blog RSS Feed 2.0 en-us Mon, 06 Apr 2026 08:45:09 GMT Mon, 06 Apr 2026 08:45:09 GMT http://bprmethods.com/blog/5024/Uncovering-Hidden-Potential-in-Your-Organization blog Wouldn't it be so simple if, as a Senior Manager, you were able to quickly identify and fix, on a daily basis, specific areas of inefficiency, out of control cost drivers or processes that can be changed to improve output and quality? It is not always so obvious where these opportunities lie. Or is it?  Common issues arising throughout the daily grind will give indication as to where the potential lies. Do employees repeatedly complain that something is taking them too long? Do clients continuously call with issues that they need to be helped with? Does your budget contain one or more expense lines that are always over planned targets? Are there daily frustrations you encounter where you keep telling yourself that there must be a better way of dealing with? Yes to any of these questions should be an obvious indication that you have identified an area of focus that needs change. Ah, but my demanding schedule and over-challenging financial objectives just don't allow me to set aside the time to focus on these issues. In reality, you cannot afford to overlook these daily issues and set them on the back burner until a free moment may arrive to finally address them. Now is the time to act. So what do I do? To truly understand where the potential lies within your organization, Senior Management must first admit to itself that there is an issue or a set of issues that needs to be addressed. That tends to be the hardest part. Egos, political barriers and organizational bureaucracy hinder this realization and especially the achievement of solutions. I have personally witnessed this for over 20 years. After the realization stage sets in, it comes a time to identify where one can obtain the greatest benefit at the least cost. But those financial goals keep haunting me.  Remember, we need to spend money to make money. Sounds like quite the conflict. Well, that's the nature of business. So, we have identified where the changes need to occur. By change we mean improvement of business processes, reduction of costs, implementation of best practices, improvement of overall financial performance, and helping to maintain customer loyalty. Sounds obvious huh? It is but ask yourself how many Senior Managers actually think of these issues and act on them on a daily basis. Very few. Statistics show that costs can be reduced by as much as 70% by improving your business processes and revenues can be enhanced by as much as 40% through these techniques. The next stage is to act. How do I do that? You have the option of handling this internally or outsourcing subject matter experts. There are always pluses and minuses to each. An internal team or individuals with the proper experience and drive can sometimes solve these problems. Do they have a vested interest? Are they motivated to improve the organization they work for without direct monetary compensation? Do they have the time to focus on these studies? How long will this take to complete? Do they have the skills and experience to make this happen? Chances are you will not find a yes answer to all of those questions. Hiring outside may be the answer to these issues. At this point we are hopefully thinking about, and writing down, several daily challenges that have obvious room for improvement. Whether we want to admit it or not, every organization faces these challenges. So how have we divulged how to uncover the hidden potential? Most likely the greatest opportunities are right in front of you. You are probably aware of them already as they haunt you all day, at night and first thing in the morning. We lay awake at night thinking of these problems. Now is the time for solutions and to put the worries to rest. No, not every problem can be solved overnight.  Ask your employees, they know more than you think. Filter out the chronic complainers. Listen to the facts. Look for slowdowns and bottlenecks throughout the organization. What seems to be taking too long and contains too much variability? Review the budgets and expense reports and see where the heavy hitters are. They can be reduced but must be done creatively.  Ask your customers what you can do better. You need them. Look and see what the competition is doing better than you. There is competition and chances are they do something better than your organization. Utilize subject matter experts and the tools they propose and are skilled in. Be risk averse yet realize that risk does yield reward if weighed properly. Finally, act, move, and decide it is time to realize the potential of your organization. Michael J. Green is CEO & Principal CFO Consultant of BPR Methods, LLC, a firm that specializes in Fractional CFO services to start-ups and small businesses.  Mr. Green has 25+ years of business experience in senior level financial roles as well as a background in banking, operations, marketing/sales, and engineering. Mr. Green intentionally authors basic, straightforward, no-nonsense papers focusing on thought provoking ideas and concepts that can be applied in virtually an organization.  Please e-mail BPR Methods at info@bprmethods.com for more information. Mon, 16 Nov 2020 06:00:00 GMT http://bprmethods.com/blog/5024/Uncovering-Hidden-Potential-in-Your-Organization http://bprmethods.com/blog/5014/My-Financial-Goals-Just-Seem-Unattainable- blog This is by far my favorite subject to discuss, ponder and write about as the goal setting and management process is almost always difficult in several ways. Whether the challenge is in the seeming impossibility of achieving the goals, the measurement system, or the incentive system, odds are that the team is not entirely on board with what Senior Management has trickled down. It is a very hard subject and differing opinions run rampant in this area. You also may have the issue of public versus private entities and shareholder expectations. This paper is not intended to walk the reader through the goal setting and management process but is designed to offer some common sense advice and ideas on how to deal with rigorous financial goals that appear to be unattainable but are necessary. Goals are set for a reason Without goals, how can an individual or organization set out to achieve a specific objective and know whether they have succeeded or not? We cannot function in an ambiguous, isolated environment with too many unknowns. Businesses are numbers driven and are here for one reason, to make money. Employees are paid for a service and there is a need to measure the output, contribution levels, and performance at all levels. The competition across most industries is fierce. Shareholders have high expectations. Senior management demands results and what is measurable, should be measured. For any organization to reach the next level, goals must be established, measured, and tracked. But they must also be realistic and potentially be attainable. Why are they so high? "Well, we performed quite well last year, made all our goals, and received positive input from my superiors". Low and behold, this year's goals are released and communicated. They have increased by 50%, contain new metrics never seen before, and coincide with a "new and improved" measurement and tracking system that makes my employees uncomfortable. Well, forward mobility is a must and growth must occur so it is inevitable that this year will bring some challenges versus last year assuming no major changes in the organization, products, market dynamics, strategy, etc. have occurred. Goals set too low and too easy to achieve will result in lazy employees, flat financial performance, dissatisfied shareholders and customers, and the inability to generate incremental profits. Why do they keep changing throughout the year? Organizations are dynamic entities subject to constant pressure from all directions. It would be great if goals were set at the beginning of the year and remained static until year-end but that would not be realistic.  Although consistency is important, it is just not entirely practical. The process, even if deemed robust, will be dynamic throughout the year, although the measurement system must be logical, accurate and accepted to employees.  If this in not in place and perfected, the process will be broken from the onset and never be taken seriously by management and employees. It is however a rare occurrence that any organization enters into a new year with a firm strategy, solid goals, and a static plan to achieve them without making some sort of adjustments throughout the year. This is not feasible or practical but the real catch here is to ensure that these dynamics are properly understood, cascaded downwards, accepted and validated.  How do I communicate the importance to my employees? It is not enough to cascade goals to my subordinates and expect them to accept them and make changes in the way they personally operate in order to meet them. Goals that have increased in difficulty must be accompanied by changes in the way we do business. Several years in the banking industry have left me perplexed as to the logic that is absent in the goal setting process. I have seen year-over-year more difficult goals being communicated without any modification in the way the organization does business. Does this make any sense? "Here are your goals for this year and oh, by the way, we aren't going to do anything different than what we did last year in terms of execution". Think how an employee is going to view this. The employee is left unmotivated, disillusioned, confused and may begin to dismiss the metrics as being unachievable. So this leaves the challenge of how to work smarter, engage the employees and operate on a different level to accomplish these challenging goals.  Can I meet them and what if I don't? Numerous senior managers and employees are fired every year for failure to meet their goals. Some organizations will eliminate their bottom 10-20% each year to weed out the low performers. I do hope that the organizations that do business this way have a robust goal setting system, accurate tracking system, have properly communicated the process, and have an incentive system in place to reward the high performers. I have witnessed organizations that have none of these and have eliminated employees based on "the numbers".  I would guess numerous good employees were dismissed and several not-so-good employees remained through this system. But, given this fact, plan versus actual is what we are primarily being judged on, so we must take them very, very seriously and ensure that employees do as well. Focus and prioritize Whether your organization operates according to one major metric, such as growth in net income, or several metrics measuring numerous facets of output, focus and prioritization must occur. I firmly believe in taking a systematic approach, dissection of the goals, addressing what can affect and influence success or failure, and the methodology behind achievement of the targeted value. The management process behind goal progression is absolutely imperative in the quest to achieve. Process, process, process! Attack, dissect, progress, and achieve using the (3) P's Personnel, policies, and procedures are the core of effective execution. Does my organization have the right people in the right positions? Do I have policies in place and have I set expectations with my subordinates?  Are processes in place to ensure smooth execution, consistency, ongoing monitoring, and progress towards achievement?  Goals cannot be blindly disseminated to employees with the expectation that they will accept them and "go out" and meet them. This process must be driven by senior management. In addition, it is absolutely imperative that employees are intimately involved in every aspect of the process and are encouraged to provide input and areas for improvement.  So we finish reading this thinking well isn't this all so obvious? While common sense tells us that the above concepts must be in place, most firms do not address all the factors and fail to effectively manage the process. The results of this tends to be a mad rush at the end of the fiscal year, dissatisfied employees, the loss of top performers, and organizational performance well below what can be achieved through a systematic, logical, precise process designed to guide us towards those unattainable goals and metrics. Michael J. Green is CEO & Principal CFO Consultant of BPR Methods, LLC, a firm that specializes in Fractional CFO services to start-ups and small businesses.  Mr. Green has 25+ years of business experience in senior level financial roles as well as a background in banking, operations, marketing/sales, and engineering.. Mr. Green intentionally authors basic, straightforward, no-nonsense papers focusing on thought provoking ideas and concepts that can be applied in virtually an organization.  Please e-mail BPR Methods at info@bprmethods.com for more information.   Tue, 10 Nov 2020 06:00:00 GMT http://bprmethods.com/blog/5014/My-Financial-Goals-Just-Seem-Unattainable- http://bprmethods.com/blog/4854/10-Reasons-to-Hire-a-Consultant-to-Assist-in-Meeting-Your-Goals blog There is a common misconception that hiring outside consultants is more expensive and constraining than utilizing internal employees to accomplish the same tasks. If you are solely comparing the consulting fees with the employee's salary you may be right, but this view is incomplete and misleading. Whether the consulting firm charges $50 or $300 per hour, the overall advantages of hiring outside business experts must be analyzed when making the "make vs. buy" decision. The intention of this paper is to demonstrate (10) reasons why hiring outside consultants may be advantageous over utilizing internal employees. Obviously, the reasons are situational and my not apply in all instances yet most senior managers do not think of these advantages when setting out to manage projects with a defined objective. Below are the (10) reasons that I view as material in the decision. 1. Lower overall cost Assume an employee that is "awarded" the honor of leading a business improvement project has a salary of $100,000 per year and the consulting firm charges $100 per hour. Let's compare the key project metrics and cost drivers. This example also assumes the use of (1) employee only, which is highly unlikely.   Factor Employee Consultant Base Hourly Rate $48.08  $100.00 Fully Loaded Hourly Rate (+30%)  $62.50 $100.00 Time to Complete Project  8 weeks or 320 hours 4 weeks or 160 hours Utilization %   50% 90% Total Organizational Cost $40,000 $17,778 The above example, although very simplified, demonstrates a cost savings of over 50% by hiring an outside consultant. The employee will take longer and will naturally not be able to dedicate all of their productive time to this specific project due to other workplace demands. 2. Less Organizational Liability By utilizing internal employees, the organization subjects itself to a high degree of liability whereas by hiring a consultant, all, or a majority of the risk is assumed by the firm. These liabilities may take the form of the employee making costly mistakes, getting injured during the project, gaining of highly confidential information that may be released, and a failure to understand the external factors that may impact the project and outcome. 3. Skill Level This is relatively straightforward. Although internal employees may have the abilities to manage these types of studies to completion, odds are that they do not possess the specific expertise, skill set, and experience levels to ensure a successful analysis. An outside firm most likely specializes in the type of projects they manage and can ensure the right combination of skills and experiences.  In addition, the consultant knows exactly when additional outside experts are required and knows where these skills can be attained. 4. Time to Dedicate or Utilization Let's face it, internal employees will not be able to drop everything they are doing on a daily basis to focus 100% on the project at hand. As much as Senior Management believes that the employee is fully dedicated to the projects, they will most likely be consumed with other tasks during the project's life cycle. 5. Unproductive Time No one can work at 100% all the time. All humans require breaks in some form. An outside consultant will be fully dedicated to this project and this project alone. They will not be distracted by other tasks as it is their commitment to the organization to solely focus on the success of the study. Internal employees again will naturally yield higher levels of unproductive time due to time commitment, priorities, social activities and knowledge levels. 6. No Politics of Hidden Agenda All organizations possess a certain amount of internal politics that can hamper a project. Whether it is the organizations culture, policies, procedures, management style or nature of the industry, these are very relevant factors to consider. The consultant will not be subjected to these political barriers and frankly will not care about them. They will have a task to strictly focus on and will not be affected by the political environment. They will not have time to "absorb" the culture but also must be able to fit into the organizational environment without being negatively affected by political factors. 7. Has Your Organizations Best Interests in Mind Consulting firms need satisfied and loyal clients to be successful, not to mention they are liable for their actions as previously mentioned. Most internal employees, as dedicated as they may appear, will ultimately have their personal best interests in mind.  8. Step In, Make Adjustments, Step Out Unless your organization would welcome the consulting team making your facility their permanent home, their time spent on your premises will be limited to the specific project cycle. The consulting firm will be time sensitive yet will make itself available for necessary follow up and if further changes are to be made. 9. Access to and Expertise in Specific Tools This is one of the most critical reasons behind outsourcing your project needs. A consulting firm will possess the necessary tools and applications to make the project a success and will have the expertise in how to put them to use. Whether software applications, models, statistical tools, databases, etc., internal employees will need to learn how to effectively use these tools before they can even begin the study. Also, large capital expenses may be required to purchase these necessary tools. 10. Quality of Output This factor relates to virtually all of the items discussed here. In the end, you will obtain much higher quality results than internal employees by combining skill levels, experience, dedication, access to tools, expertise, and political influence. In summary, we have demonstrated (10) logical reasons as to why you would seriously want to consider hiring outside experts when embarking on that next large-scale project, whatever it may be. This list is by no means meant to be exhaustive.  Did we mention that consultants tend to be less costly? Some organizations are large enough that they may already have developed internal "productivity teams" or "project teams" but most firms do not have this luxury as human capital is spread thin and budgets are constrained. It is commonplace for larger organizations to hire permanent Productivity or Continuous Improvement Managers. These individuals most likely command top dollar yet can be huge resources for large companies with consistent needs to launch and manage ongoing projects. Michael J. Green is CEO & Principal CFO Consultant of BPR Methods, LLC, a firm that specializes in Fractional CFO services to start-ups and small businesses.  Mr. Green has 25+ years of business experience in senior level financial roles as well as a background in banking, operations, marketing/sales, and engineering. Mr. Green intentionally authors basic, straightforward, no-nonsense papers focusing on thought provoking ideas and concepts that can be applied in virtually an organization.  Please e-mail BPR Methods at info@bprmethods.com for more information.   Mon, 19 Oct 2020 06:00:00 GMT http://bprmethods.com/blog/4854/10-Reasons-to-Hire-a-Consultant-to-Assist-in-Meeting-Your-Goals http://bprmethods.com/Testimonials testimonial BPR helped us secure a $250,000 line of credit from a local bank with outstanding terms (we were a pre-revenue start-up at the time). They also drove development of our financial projections and cash flow forecast for future use as well as providing outstanding guidance on general business decisions. I have never met anyone that knows more about business and finance than Michael! Mon, 19 Oct 2020 09:48:14 GMT http://bprmethods.com/Testimonials http://bprmethods.com/Testimonials testimonial Mike and BPR were one of first consulting firms/employees that we hired. Mike was able to help move our product from an idea to a working prototype while driving all of our capital raise initiatives and managing tight cash flow. Mon, 19 Oct 2020 09:48:04 GMT http://bprmethods.com/Testimonials http://bprmethods.com/Testimonials testimonial We started working with BPR Methods in 2020 and within a short period time, they showed marked improvements in our bookkeeping, reporting, and administrative functions. In addition, BPR was able to raise a sizeable amount of capital, very early on, to improve on our cash flow position. I would highly recommend BPR to any small company looking for the sophistication of a CFO without the added expense. Mon, 19 Oct 2020 09:47:56 GMT http://bprmethods.com/Testimonials http://bprmethods.com/Testimonials testimonial Mike was the best CFO I have ever had in my 45+ years of business! He drove a financial turnaround after 5-years of sizeable losses and helped me divest the company to a large public strategic acquirer at a great selling price. Mon, 19 Oct 2020 09:47:42 GMT http://bprmethods.com/Testimonials