Today’s post isn’t really Operations related.  In fact it’s not necessarily Financial Services related though it is related to finance…sort of.  It’s really about spending and consumer behavior.  My colleague, Elisa, alerted me to a recent article from Gallup, written by Dennis Jacobe.  The article talks about the “New Normal” when it comes to spending behaviors.

The article is a really interesting read – it’s well written and I enjoyed it a lot.  Also, it pairs nicely with the section on customer preferences in last month’s teleconference, Succeeding as a Head of Operations in 2010.

In the teleconference we mentioned that we’re seeing different generations impacted differently by the economic crisis.  For instance at this point in time of the crisis, Millennials, those born between 1982 and 2001 and are entering college or the workforce for the first time, are considered economically formative – they’re forming their spending habits.  Think about the impact that the last year or two has had on this group of young individuals as they’ve formed their spending habits and how the recovery will impact that.  It’s most likely to be different than baby boomers who long ago shaped their spending habits and have encountered multiple recessions.  Read More »

I took a moment over the holidays to reflect on my conversations with members during the last few months of 2009.  It dawned on me that, inevitably, a majority of conversations turned to process improvement and often times, more specifically, Lean.  While I wasn’t all that surprised by the interest in the topic it did get me wondering (I should warn you “wondering” often gets me into trouble)…have we not come close to solving this whole process thing yet?  I know members have been working on it.  I know we at the Operations Council have been working on it.  What’s going on?

Read More »