Insights (2)

We all manage change in our organizations every day. Whether your change is big or small, how effectively you’re able to manage that change depends on a variety of factors. To help you stack the change management deck in your favor, I’ll share what I’ve learned first-hand with this list of 9 things you should know about change management.

This Sunday’s Super Bowl LIII featuring a win for the New England Patriots over the Los Angeles Rams really got us talking in the Spinnaker office. About the game, of course. But also about Super Bowl lessons on the field that have direct application to business success.

Got questions about trends, insights, and challenges related to Spinnaker’s areas of expertise? In this regular blog, we’ll tap into our Spinnaker team of experts and do what we do best: Roll up our sleeves to find you the answers you need. In this installment of our “Ask Spinnaker” blog, we’re tackling a question that’s a challenge for all of us right now:

How an audit begins is just as important as how it ends—in fact, it may be even more important. Investing in thorough audit preparation yields better outcomes, as well as a better experience overall.

Question: Is your organization staying busy with things that are keeping everyone busy, or is everyone working toward achieving your core business objectives?

When it comes to organizational change, I like to compare change management to something legendary football coach Lou Holtz is quoted as saying “Life is 10 percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.” Today organizational change is inevitable. Big or small, all organizations experience change. When it comes to change management, how you respond to organizational change is essential to your success.

Data is at the heart of nearly everything we do in business. From hiring new people to determining future revenue to deciding on the right new product offering how we use data to make decisions drives business value. But what about the data itself? Decision-making is only as strong as the data you’re using. Data quality is essential.

Got questions about trends, insights, and challenges related to Spinnaker’s areas of expertise? In this regular blog, we’ll tap into our Spinnaker team of experts and do what we do best: Roll up our sleeves to find you the answers you need. In this installment of our “Ask Spinnaker” blog, we’re tackling a question that’s a challenge for all of us right now:

With our Spinnaker Sit-Down interview, we give you VIP access to industry influencers, thought leaders, and movers-and-shakers who share their unique insights and perspectives on industry issues, trends, and questions. This month we sat down with executive coach Tommy Thompson.

Got questions about trends, insights, and challenges related to Spinnaker’s areas of expertise? In this regular blog, we’ll tap into our Spinnaker team of experts and do what we do best: Roll up our sleeves to find you the answers you need. In this installment of our “Ask Spinnaker” blog, we’re tackling a question that’s also personal:

AI — artificial intelligence — is all the rage in the world of business analytics. But, focusing on AIGT — all in good time — may serve your organization better, today and tomorrow. Developing and building an intentional analytics progression plan toward AI will not only help your organization now, it will make future jumps into AI and other emerging business analytics capabilities much easier.

With our Spinnaker Sit-Down interview, we give you VIP access to industry influencers, thought leaders, and movers-and-shakers who share their unique insights and perspectives on industry issues, trends, and questions. This month we sat down with data scientist Dr. Howard Friedman.

When you see your next all-team meeting coming up on your calendar, do you anticipate it with excitement or dread? Honestly, maybe it’s a little of both.

Do you know the difference between data and metrics? Data will do little for you until you transform it into the metrics that directly correspond with your firm’s imperatives. Leveraging those metrics to support and inform your decision-making process is what business analytics is all about. Ultimately, business analytics can help you grow faster, be more profitable, and improve nearly every function of your business, from call center operations to customer satisfaction, from marketing performance to product innovation — and more!

Got questions about trends, insights, and challenges related to Spinnaker’s areas of expertise? In this regular blog, we’ll tap into our Spinnaker team of experts and do what we do best: Roll up our sleeves to find you the answers you need. In our first-ever “Ask Spinnaker” blog, we’re tackling a question we often hear:

To avoid end-of-year surprises, take steps now to ensure year-end success for 2018.

We all know to be great leaders we need to be regularly investing in our learning and growth. Unfortunately, we rarely take the time to invest in our own leadership development, instead focusing on the leadership development of our team.

What would you do if your company was on track to lose $17B dollars this year?

If you’ve spent any time in the last ten years in or around compliance, you’ve likely heard about the “three lines of defense” (3LOD) model – business units are primarily accountable for compliance and are considered the first line; the compliance team is the second line, checking the work for the first line; and internal audit operates as an independent third line assessing the first two lines. While the model has been widely accepted (and in most cases expected by regulators), the approach has been gaining some critics. The growth of the FinTech industry has caused many to question how viable and applicable the 3LOD model is for smaller organizations. While the concept is solid, it’s time to adapt the model to account for the wide array of organizations now operating in Financial Services.

What if there was a simple tool that would enable everyone in your organization to be aligned to a common set of team goals and priorities? What if the same tool could enable the team to drive results faster and track progress? And if that tool were also easy to implement and maintain, we would have a winner on our hands! Fortunately, such a tool exists. It’s called visual management.

Have you ever experienced that moment of frustration when you realize a project nearing final implementation does not meet your expectations? Everyone started on the same page, but somewhere along the way, the project team deviated from what you were expecting. Consider inserting a checkpoint, called a “planning tollgate”, to explicitly review and approve the project team’s proposed solution prior to the beginning of project delivery. Here are a few reasons why a planning tollgate makes sense:

When I begin working with a new client or team, there’s one thing I listen for to give me an indication of how well the team delivers. The questions, or lack thereof, that the leader asks. To ensure consistent delivery, leaders need to be asking these critical questions on a regular basis:

It’s amazing how quickly the honeymoon-phase ends as the realities of a new role set in. Before we know it, our calendars are packed with back-to-back meetings and are inboxes are over-flowing. However, starting a new role with the right approach and plan can greatly reduce stress…it might even catch the eye of your boss. Here are few things to think about as you transition:

An upcoming regulatory exam can strike fear into the heart of even the most confident and experienced business leader. And while there’s no trick that will make all of that anxiety go way, knowing what to expect when the examiners arrive on site can go a long way to alleviating your concerns. Here are a few steps you can take to better set you and your team up for a successful exam: