2009 PP 17 :: 08/16/2009 - 08/22/2009 (back after 6+ weeks out of the office)

Issues and work this week:

Billet move to D5
Received a memo telling me that my billet has been realigned to the Fifth Coast Guard District effective 16 August 2009. This was the first I had heard, personally, about my own realignment in six months. I was under the impression that my realignment would be put on hold pending the outcome of the CG-0954 modernization effort which will likely be at Initial Operating Capability (IOC) on or about 20 November 2009. At IOC, all local organizational performance consultants will likely be realigned to work as detached members of CG-0954 here in Hampton Roads. I have requested, through a FOIA request, a copy of the signed Leadership Council decision memo and attachments/enclosures to determine what decision has actually already been made, albeit not implemented, already, and how we might best prepare this next major change to my working roles and relationships.

Drowning in email
Returned to work after six (plus) weeks out of the office to find more than 2600 unread emails. If I had the handheld device which received CG email, this wouldn't have been a problem... as it is, well...

Team Leader/Facilitator course in Hampton Roads
Nailed down the dates for the next Team Leader/Facilitator Course here in Hampton Roads (19-23 April 2010). This course is a Leadership Development Center offering. As an adjunct instructor with the LDC, I will be one of the instructors for this course. I have been involved as an instructor in every TL/Fac course offering here in Hampton Roads for the last 12 years.

Social Media and Web 2.0
Long conversation with a contractor from Silverman Solutions who is working on a project for CG-12, conducting a new performance FEA in support of the new Manpower Requirements Determination (MRD) group. He had specific questions concerning culture, social media, and Web 2.0 in the Coast Guard. He is seeking to build a process for the MRD which incorporates these tools, which are included in the CGPortal application. (1.5 billable hours)

Consulting with CG-00H
Received request to assist CG-00H (Civil Rights) in support of their upcoming Senior Executive Leadership Equal Opportunity Seminar at DEOMI. Specifically, they requested MBTI training/intervention. Due to previous commitments, unable to support, but I brokered this gig to the LDC. (1.0 billable hour)


Consulting with Health Services Work Life Support Activity

The HSWLSA has requested my assistance in developing and delivering a leadership intervention at their supported elements. I have an alignment meeting with the O-4 program manager and the O-6 HSWLSA officer on 9/9. At this time, estimate this will be 60-80 hours of billable time over the next three months. (1.5 billable hours)


Lean Six Sigma Project

Title: Improve the timeliness of procurement request fulfillment for the industrial program.

Problem statement: The Coast Guard is under pressure to create an efficient organization and recently create an Industrial Operations Division (IOD) within the Surface Forces Logistics Center (SFLC); one of the elements within the IOD is a procurement branch which will be centralizing procurement efforts throughout the entire industrial system. At present, the procurement process is distributed to each of the dozen industrial sites. The procurement time required to make a purchase at each Industrial Site in a recent study ranged from 1.9 to 39.1 days and averaged 9.3 days for a single Type 32 purchase.

This project is an integral part of the five-week Lean Six Sigma Black Belt course I'm currently completing. The course is sponsored by the U.S. Navy's NAVSEA Lean Six Sigma College and meets the following four weeks (week one having already been completed) over the next several months:

31 August - 4 September
28 September -2 October
26 October - 30 October
30 November - 4 December

The introductory letter from the lead instructor noted,

[D]uring the entire five month training period, you are expected to devote at least half of your out of classroom time to completion of their training project. Failure of the command and the Black Belt Candidate to provide this commitment significantly reduces the chances of successful project completion – a requirement for graduation.

I've set aside the following days for dedicated support to this initiative:

Dates	DMAIC Stage
8/24-8/28	Define
9/7-9/8; 9/11; 9/21-9/22	Measure
10/7-10/9; 10/12-10/16	Analyze
10/9-10/13	Improve
12/14-12/18	Control

Table Tutorial

This will likely not be enough billable hours to complete the required work for a full-blown LSS BB project, so I will have to carve out additional time.

I had originally hoped to do a project around improving the timeliness of Civilian Personnel Action (SF-50) delivery, as identified by the CAB as an issue. However, CG-121 is currently piloting the Electronic Official Personnel Folder (EOPF) which provides employees with access to their OPFs through a secure system; the POC at CG-1211 has indicated they do not want LSS BB assistance.

I will be working with the industrial management staff at Main Street Tower to further define this project and complete the required work for the Define stage of the project. (16 billable hours)

I am required to have completed the following four items before the next class session begins on 31 August 2009:

• Signed Charter
• Completed SIPOC
• Developed Communication Plan
• Notional Project Schedule

Project identification and these four items will, then, need to be completed the week of 8/24.

The first week of this LSS BB training was held 8/3-8/7. Here are my quiz scores for the first week of training:

Math Quiz Score: 85%
Class Average: 77%

Week 1 Quiz Score: 90%
Class Average: 86%

Management of the Organizational Performance Consultant cadre

Participated last week in the Master's Meeting at the Leadership Development Center in New London on the grounds of the Academy. The Master OPC Committee is chartered by CG-0954:

Purpose: The purpose of the Organizational Performance Consultant (OPC) Program is to provide Coast Guard leaders access to a cadre of professionals with specialized knowledge of organizational systems, theory and practice in support of an ever-improving Coast Guard. This charter provides guidance to the Organizational Performance Consultant (OPC) Masters’ Committee. The OPC Masters’ Committee functions as an advisory and action body for the OPC program manager and program director by:

• Providing input and implementation to OPC program strategic planning and program direction as the OPC cadre leaders;
• Maintaining an effective OPC cadre by overseeing OPC succession planning and proficiency/qualification management;
• Evaluating and improving program-specific doctrine and resource documents, as needed:
OPC Commandant Instruction, OPC SOP, and the Field Improvement Guide;
• Planning and executing marketing efforts, designing and deploying program-wide customer relationship-building and marketing materials;
• Providing project leadership on high-level organizational design and intervention;
• Ensuring standards are maintained within the program regarding: Designated standard interventions, training and development of new OPCs, and marketing materials
• Being available to provide assistance when an OPC capability gap appears; and
• Partnering and networking with like groups (e.g., CG- 1 Performance Consultants)

Approach: The Committee normally meets three times yearly, in conjunction with the OPC annual conference, the Annual OPC training, and the Innovation Exposition, to act on items identified by the program manager, the guidance team and/or the Committee members. The Masters meetings will be held. Members will be expected to work on Committee-related action items in addition to their regular duties. In addition, as the most experienced and expert members of the cadre, they will be asked to lend their expertise to other OPCs as needed and prescribed in the SOP.

The Committee will operate using a recurring, annual management cycle, in which certain items (e.g., strategic input, document review, OPC succession planning) will be acted upon at the same time each year.

Additional future and ongoing commitments

As part of ongoing skill development and participation in, and support of, related programs, I have the following commitments over the next several months:

• Continuous Improvement Workshop sponsored by the Hampton Roads Quality Management Community: 9/10
• Quality Management Systems Lead Auditor Course, an RABQSA certified training taught by Quality Management International and sponsored by the Waterways Management program in the building: 9/14-9/18
• Human Performance Technology Workshop, sponsored by the Coast Guard Performance Technology Center: 9/23-9/25
• Innovation Expo: 11/16-11/20
• CPEC Orientation course: 12/8-12/9

Most (but not all) of my work commitments are posted at http://contact.peterstinson.com/calendar

In addition to all the above, I am completing the research for a doctoral dissertation. I am evaluating the leadership development program at Maintenance and Logistics Command Atlantic in light of conflict management and dispute resolution; the research is being conducted under the auspices of Nova Southeastern University. The accepted proposal, and additional information, can be found at http://dissertation.peterstinson.com/. I am currently working through the Institutional Review Board process at the University and am also working to get a signed agreement with the senior leader at Main Street Tower to continue this ongoing research.


Hours this week:

Day	Morning Hours	Afternoon Hours	Total Hours Worked
Monday	0630-1130	1200-1700	10.0
Tuesday	0630-1130	1200-1700	10.0
Wednesday	0630-1130	1200-1720	10.3
Thursday	0815-1315	1400-1800	9.0
Friday	0815-1000	1145-1800	8.0

Table Tutorial

I am on a Gliding Flexible Work Schedule with the Credit Hours option, as outlined in the LANT/D5 staff instruction (link accessible only from inside CGDN).

Summary for this reporting period:
Hours Worked: 47.3
Billable hours/direct client work: 20