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Cost Reduction Workshop
“Facilitating Cost Reduction and Cost Avoidance Workshops”
Featuring Dr. Cliff Saunders
This unique material has been developed and refined 'in the trenches' for over twenty five years. In that time this battle hardened content has put tens of millions of dollars, in measurable bottom line dollars, on the balance sheets of many high tech products.
About the speaker
 Cliff Saunders is an Expert Management Consulting Professional and a Master Facilitator, Trainer and Speaker. He specializes in the ‘really hard stuff’ that other Professionals shun. Like maximizing profitability by accelerating product to market velocity, anticipating and planning for unpredictable futures, implementing dramatic cost reductions through product and process redesigns, or making significant progress on any mind-numbing organizational issue. This has placed Cliff Saunders in the top 1% of his profession.
With an educational background that spans Engineering (1st Class Honors – he has two patents), Applied Psychology (MSc)...(Read More)
Course Overview
This intensive course introduces the student to the methods of facilitating cost reduction and cost avoidance workshops. The material is divided into the 4 main topics of (1) theory, (2) the two principle areas of application, (3) session design and (4) practice. Upon completing the course, the students will be ready to apply these exciting and invaluable techniques to the financial success of their own organization.
Course Objectives
- Defining facilitation, its theoretical underpinnings, and Product Life Cycle Management.
- Distinguishing between Cost Reduction and Cost Avoidance.
- Establishing the scope of a workshop and the prerequisites for its success.
- Designing workshop flow and anticipating contingencies.
- Practicing how to deliver a workshop and how to spontaneously redesign the session, in mid-flow, should the need arise.
- Having a great time.
Learning Experience Your learning experience with this ‘Too Serious' course is designed to deliver to you a high level of interactivity and personal challenge. You will experience a richness and depth in every aspect of this engaging and practical topic. You will not be presented with static theoretical ideas, rather you will be expected to engage, decide, design, extend your skills and apply the concepts to which you will be exposed.
Course Curriculum
Defining facilitation, its theoretical underpinnings, and its relationship to product development
- define the difference between "meeting management" and "facilitation"
- define messy problems like large scale product development
- explore the components of messy problems and their consequences to design issues
- develop an appreciation for the psychological aspects of human functioning and sense making
- extend the psychological aspects to group work and concurrent design
Distinguishing between Cost Reduction and Cost Avoidance
- define product Life Cycle and the Generic Design Process
- appreciate roles and responsibilities throughout a product's life
- audit attracted life cycle cost centers
- shorten a design interval using practical techniques
Establishing the scope of a workshop and the prerequisites for its success
- define the roles of broker, client and stakeholder
- choose an appropriate product
- examine the product's market position, vulnerabilities, competitors, buying criteria and evolution path
- explore the outcome of the session
- select an appropriate workshop model
- interactively modify the workshop model to produce a session design
- invite appropriate senior management and define their roles
- set appropriate pre-work
- clarify meeting logistics and documentation support
Designing workshop flow and anticipating contingencies
- appreciate the Open Space problem-solving method – strengths and weaknesses
- define ‘pods' or thinking areas suitable to the product's workshop outcome
- decide on the equipment samples to be used in the session if available
- learn two suitable methods of idea generation and creativity
- learn three methods of idea shaping and management
- build a suitable system model for the product cost drivers
- select the best of the ideas generated using simple criteria
- choose an appropriate action planning format
- apply the principles of double loop learning to session design
- learn how to ‘block out' suitable chunks of time to achieve subordinate outcomes
- appreciate the landmines in this type of session
Practicing how to deliver a workshop and how to spontaneously redesign the session, in mid-flow, should the need arise
- appreciate the workshop session as theater
- set up a technical audience with an icebreaker
- understand the do's and don'ts of presenting to a technical audience
- keep track of time and sensitively redirect unproductive group rat-hole chatter
- determine when to use voting technology
- master two handy templates to facilitate sub-group work
- show sub-groups how to present their work
- redesign the session ‘in the moment' as needed
- handle personal fear in a time of crisis
- wrap up the session and recognize the productive work done
- post session audit follow-up with the broker
Having a great time
- learn to relax
- enjoy the experience
- put your workshop audiences at ease through the use of humor and story telling
Course Logistics
Skill Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Duration: 2 days
Course Material: Developed based on student generated data
Dates and Location: SOLD OUT: July 22-23 in Denver, CO, SEATS AVAILABLE: September 16-17 in San Diego, CA
Cost: $995 per person
Testimonials:
"With your help, expertise and cajoling fun, we have found significant ways to shorten our key software design cycle. Moreover, the feedback from the team has been unanimous. We loved you!"
- Dr. Mark Suthers, Director of New Fibre Products, Nortel Networks
"To top his remarkable ability to help design a productive path for an otherwise grueling and demanding intellectual challenge workout, he is entertaining, clever, intelligent, engaging and capable of stimulating and re-kindling enthusiasm for the subject matter."
- Shy Alter, President, Inform Interactive
"His knowledge is staggering and he shares it freely."
- Fred Knipp, President, Warwick Telephone
"I participated in the past few times in such "Brain Storming" sessions but this one was prepared and executed in a perfect way."
- Shai Urson, Operations and Logistics Manager, Optical Networks, Telrad Networks Ltd.
"I just wanted you to know that you scored a ten on the feedback for your session."
- Augusto Reyes, Core Operations, Supply Management Information Services
"This session was key to our business plans for the future – you were the high point of the session. Thanks again."
- Carmen Sabatini, Director, GBCM, Nortel Networks
"Effective, competent, but above all ENTERTAINING. Our team loved your presentation."
- Dr. Frank Topper, Stanford University
"Your experienced and insightful guidance made our accomplishments possible, which, I am sure, will have long lasting benefits to the DSEF and all its stakeholders."
- Catherine Conides, Counsel , Direct Selling Education Foundation
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