Conference 7.286::digital

1750.0. "European Future directions!" by LARVAE::NOBLE () Tue Feb 04 1992 11:56

    Notes accuracy not guaranteed, but 95% +
    
    
    
Subject: (I) Pier Carlo Falotti re. Europe

Notes from Leadership Forum PCF speech - 13th January 1992

We all need to be open and honest - like in the DECplay (There was a
dramatic production on the Sunday evening, dramatising the problems
people saw in the company today).

Heard the play say we want a Revolution not an Evolution.

PCF believes we have done many a revolution with success and are now in
the middle of an Account Group Revolution. THe worst time to judge it
is when you are in the middle of fighting it.

In previous times "we" told you what to do. This time the message is
not to improve, more it is a SURVIVAL issue. If we survive this
revolution, we will be the leading company.

All of us have to change, starting from me (PCF). We will not give
entrepreneurs 3 years to learn the job. We do not send you to school to
learn to be an entrepreneur - there you become polished, you are already
an entrepreneur deep down inside.

No reverse. Now is the time to accelerate our change. This is a
different action time.

A few things new in 1992, but don't forget our achievements. Ken O. says
boast for 5 minutes then come to the point.

       We are winning - Q1 grew 26% in Europe
			Q2 grew 23% in Europe

                      - Q2 new order rate is slightly improved

                      - This year is $6.9B - "Not bad with a financial
       group that looks like we are going to a funeral"

       Digital Kienzle is a success

	Digital/Philips several million dollars

       Alliances - Apple, Microsoft and Cray (will be announced
	tomorrow)

       Many of us have discovered that Service is not a dirty word.

       Have been selling Decsite to NON DIGITAL sites

       PCs have sold their target of 50,000

       Q2 announced a new set of products

       Last year sold $1B software in Europe.

Cannot be an entrepreneur unless you are excited - bring back the
excitement.


The world around us is moving in all aspects and we have to move also. 
To be competitive we have to focus on five parameters. Efficiency,
Differentiation, People and Org, Image and Product Performance. 
Our five focus areas will be Strategic Direction, Operation Efficiency,
Image, People and Market Leadership.

Customers buy from you, therefore must have people; enjoying coming to
work; being valued and constantly growing so that

"I can make a difference" is what all employees say.

Our new Mission statement is:

"I WANT TO BE RECOGNISED AS AN EXCELLENT SERVICE COMPANY"

Understand requirements of our customers in their industry by providing
them with knowledgable, quality people. Emphasis on servicing the
account no matter what they want.

Have to THINK as a services company. Our technology background is a
"given" now we have to SERVE THE CUSTOMER IN WHATEVER THEY WANT.

Customer satisfaction has gone down the tubes over the last four
years. Must measure yourselves on Customer Satisfaction. Look for
smiles and fun.

ANNOUNCEMENT

THe small entrepreneurial unit is the central and vital part of our
organaisation and I want it and the entrepreneur to think and behave as
if they were running a company as part of a holding company - even the
Service Centre entrepreneurs.

At the same time the entrepreneurial spirit is not just the entrepreneur,
all his employees need to feel the same. Selection and quality of the
entrepreneur is essential, otherwise the system will not work.

Interdependency causes collaboration, needs mature people who
understand the complexity. You cannot write any rules.

Phase II NOW.

No matter where you sit you will not have more than 3 layers of
management in Europe.

Only 3 dimension in the organisation - Industry based entrepenuerial
groups, Territory groups and Services groups.

Entrepreneur reports to coach, reports to company director who reports
to a board. 50 to 60 individual companies.

Industry specific services will be included in Industry companies,
Cross industry and country services will be in services companies.
(Slides showed some of this diagramatically but we do not have copies
yet)

Why industry focus?

Similar customers needs across boundaries
Sharing of experiences, win, reference
Ease of training
Clearer Strategies
Repeat projects, SI, application
Appropriate use of infrastructure.

PCF and the senior staff now do not have the role to run the
operation, but to generate the right conditions and getting the right
people in place.

"Managing is Teaching". If you cannot teach, you cannot manage. PCF
will be happy to teach. "Quality measurement is much more important
than productivity"

End of my notes. Watch out for the video.

Distribution:
[deleted]

Distribution:

Not printed

    Maybe the biggest challenge is in one of Pier Carlo's sentences :
    "SERVE CUSTOMERS IN WHATEVER THEY WANT"
    
    Everybody knows that DEC has for long been used to selling what is on
    the shelf and not what the customer needs.
    Everybody claims that this is over and that now we can deliver what
    the customer asks for (a solution, not products ...)
    These are WORDS and not reality : As a member of Edu Services, I am
    regularly reminded that we are a factory targeted to produce high volume
    and not prototypes, even though high volume courses do not match the
    customers' needs.
    Let's hope that the entrepeneurial model will bring flexibility :
    This is the one and only condition for DEC's survival
    
    hopefully yours
    
    Philippe

    Philippe,
    
     You should know about The New Ventures group. We build systems
    for customers regardless of the platform and software. Macs, PCs, Unix,
    VMS, or all of them together. We basically do Systems Integration and
    will use any 3rd party package if it fits the requirements.
    
     Gregg

    Of course, I've never doubted that there were groups able to integrate
    heterogeneous systems.
    I just wanted to emphasize the fact that this kinda mentality "listen
    to the customer and help him in what he needs" is not yet the general
    mentality of Deccies but it will have to be
    
    Philippe