About Pickles

A lot of EPI-USE customer references contain statements like "They (EPI-USE) really got us out of a pickle".  Which is good, but not great.  What would be great is if we are able to help them not get into the pickle in the first place.  There is good business in rescue projects, and sure are enough of them, but even greater business in delivering value the first time around.


Clients want this and I believe I can safely say nobody wants to get into a pickle.  A few years ago IBM had a brilliant marketing campaign where it stated that "Nobody ever got fired for hiring IBM".  The premise was that if IBM could not do the job, then it could not be done.  We are still suffering from the hangover of this campaign and have rescued a number of IBM projects.  In the UK, there have been several high-profile IBM projects "gone wrong" to hit the press and many people have been fired because of them, yet we still struggle to get customers to understand how we compare. To understand EPI-USE is global full-service consulting, education, support and technology firm which helps public and private organizations define and deliver on HR business strategies.That we are experts in SAP HCM technology, we are dedicated to delivering value through innovation – every project, every solution, every time.  That we are able to help keep them from getting into a pickle in the first place.


I believe we have a responsibility to help them understand, its only fair.

A lesson from the Geese

I often wondered why geese fly in a "V" formation and now I know. As each bird flaps its wings it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following it. By flying in a "V" formation, the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own. Whenever a goose falls out of formation it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and rejoins the formation. When the lead goose gets tired, it rotates back in the wind and another goose flies point. The geese behind often honk to encourage those up front to keep up their pace.When a goose gets sick or injured and falls out, two geese fall out of formation and follow the bird down to the ground to help or protect the injured bird. They stay until the goose can fly or is dead, then launch out on their own to catch up with the group in a small "V" formation.

We all accept that the global EPI-USE organisation is a series of affiliate smaller companies, territories, lines of business supposedly all flying in formation to a common purpose. Like all businesses of this sort, this means earning sufficient revenue to keep the doors open and fostering growth through profitability by generating and delivering value that the market at a price our clients are prepared to pay for it. Sounds good in theory, but this is not what I am feeling in the UK. I have been feeling the drag of trying to go it alone, hearing much honking to pick up the pace - even had a few pecks and stealing of our chicks and food by our own flock!

We are collectively a great flock of great people and appeal to everyone to remember that together we can go 71% further and make it a great "V" for victory!

Which Came First?

The question is often asked about chickens and eggs? Personally I have never understood it as the answer seems obvious to me, but not everyone agrees and opinions differ.

What is agreed is that everything that does not occur naturally in this world, and in an office that is almost everything from the desk, to the chair to the computer - everything except the people, started with a single thought. Every journey began with a single step. There are no thoughts that are unimportant and none should not be incubated and allowed to die without being shared, like an egg that remains unhatched.

I welcome all your thoughts and am happy to entertain your thinking.

Small Beginnings

Kf2010

Welcome! Who shall despise these days of small beginnings?

This is the first post of many, I hope, during a trial we are conducting from London over the next few months. During the trial, we are limited by Google to a captive audience of a maximum of 100 internal people from EPI-USE. If we are successful, and deem it worthwhile, we will make a call at the end of July 2010, to open this forum up to a wider audience and possibly move to a new technology.

There are no Holy Cows and are hoping that this forum will be able to form the basis of a collaborative and communications platform to harness the collective EPI-USE "brain" globally.

I look forward to Sharing my thoughts!