News & References
Natural Business Excellence™ and its applications have created an overwhelming amount and intensity of feedback all over the world both in multinational and SME companies, and government and semi-government organizations. The continuously recurring feedback is: " It works ".
All of below mentioned references are actual. For confidentiality reasons occasionally company and people names are not mentioned.
Regional business alignment in Asia-Pacific
In preparation of a regional ERP roll-out in 2003 and early 2004 a regional business alignment project is done for Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Through the application of Integrated Business Management in a very structured manner regional alignment is achieved among the four participating countries, from strategic to operational level. This comes with business re engineering and business process redesign through the adoption of best business practices. In conjunction with the business alignment a solution and supplier selection is done.
Regional Project Director: "The (NBE) methodologies used on our project have consistently helped us in preparing for the implementations and ensuring overall quality. It simple yet complete approach has enabled the gradual reduction of surprises which is often seen in large software implementation project.”
A1™ workshops for Asia-Pacific regional SAP project
As part of a regional SAP roll-out, between July 2004 and July 2007 respective country implementations in Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore are started with a three-day A1™ workshop. The workshops are meant to get the respective local teams to believe in the regional blueprint and energized and confident in the upcoming projects. Consistently the workshops are perceived to add great value to the projects and to the ultimate successful go-lives.
Director Finance & Administration, after the workshop: " We can implement the tools and concepts right away in our daily work, and without waiting for the SAP implementation, as these tools and concepts have a more universal value and go beyond an SAP or any other project implementation "
Chair Finance, after the workshop, “ I have just attended the workshop today about NBE. It’s really good. The Process Content principle really changes my way of looking at things and solving problems .”
Managing Director, after go-live: " I was very impressed with the methodology that was used for the project. At any moment in time I was informed on status and progress, and was aware of critical issues as well as areas that required additional management attention. More importantly, it gave the team a feeling that things were running well and were under control. From the very start it made clear what the direction was and what needed to be done. It was also helpful in creating one team among FFHK staff and the consultant. My compliments !" .
Key User Manufacturing: “ This is a very good methodology, not only in project management. We can also apply it in our daily work or personal life. I've learned a lot of new terminology. It's fun and easy to remember. It's very useful to me. I think I'll change my way of working after this "
Key User Warehouse: “ I have seen many project methodologies before this. This methodology is comprehensive and structured. It is a world-class project management .”
Implementation Manager: “ Initially we didn’t know what to do and had a lot of doubt. But after the workshop we were more confident and enthusiastic to succeed .”
In order to achieve complete regional alignment, in August 2006 an additional workshop is arranged for the ICT managers of the respective countries, who are as enthusiastic as their country colleagues about Natural Business Excellence™.
ICT Support Manager: " By adding structure to things often taken for granted, the NBE framework has helped me towards business excellence by understanding and applying a set of integrated tools and methodologies. Continued application of the framework has gradually resulted in a rediscovery of the balance and harmony in both my professional and social lives ."
Align certified iNBE partner
On November 4, 2005 Align is officially certified as iNBE partner, which is combined with the launch of Natural Business Excellence™ in Thailand. The event’s guests of honour are His Excellency Pieter J. Th. Marres, Dutch Ambassador to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar (third left), Bert Cesar, Executive Director of the Netherlands Thai Chamber of Commerce (left), Dr. Boonsong Srifuengfung, President of the Thai-Chinese Chamber of Commerce (third right) and Andre Breuer, Managing Director Recreational Bangkok Biking (right).
LTR Cuddle Weekend
In February 2006 an LTR Cuddle Weekend is held in Thailand, an interactive program that takes the participants on an exciting journey of personal awareness and development. Via a combination of outdoor activities in a controlled environment and indoor workshops where experiences and related theories are discussed, the participants learn what LTR™ and PC™ are all about, and experience what the elements mean to different individuals and to a group of people. To date the weekend is still at the heart of many discussions by the participants about the nature of people and their relationships.
Vice President Sales and Marketing: " The program was excellent. It was very well organized with a good mix of learning points. I enjoyed being a part of the program ."
NBE workshop and regional roadshow for Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO)
In March 2006 a Natural Business Excellence™ workshop is held for EO Asia Pacific with focus on “efficient communication & coordination on management level”. The workshop’s overall score is a 9.3 on a scale of 10.
Director Asia Pacific: " I've now gotten a complete new way to think and operate my team and I will now be operating at a higher level of efficiency ".
Chapter Account Manager: " Natural Business Excellence is one which I have utilized personally and seen great benefit and self-improvement in my professional life ."
As a result of the successful workshop EO organizes a regional roadshow. From April to June 2006 Natural Business Excellence™ is introduced to its members in United Arab Emirates (Dubai), Bahrain, Malaysia and Singapore with focus on how "to create and effective people-oriented business environment".
Feedback includes: " I liked the different outlook to run a business using the natural human being aspects - different to all usual tools " and " The event is an eye opener to a very basic ABC in communication. It also did help answer questions in my professional life ".
On the YEO Singapore website the talk is summarized as follows: “ EO Workshop - Natural Business Excellence with Robert van Geyn. Visiting guest speaker, Robert van Geyn, delivered an interactive presentation of his process - content theory of human personality classification within the context of working teams, personnel management, and company excellence. Robert also touched briefly on such subjects as project process management and LTR, and participants were given the opportunity to share their thoughts on the lively discussions that ensued .”
Talks on Natural Business Excellence
In April 2006 a lecture on LTR™ and Natural Business Excellence™ is held to students and staff of the Multimedia University in Cyberjaya, Malaysia. The talk focused on Personal Awareness and Development to prepare the students for the Corporate World.
Su Suk Cheng, Multimedia University, Cyberjaya Malaysia MSC Relations Unit: “ The principles of LTR, process and content are very relevant to all of us as human beings. These principles are related to natural processes faced by human beings and more importantly, he highlighted the LTR philosophy. These are the basic rules or ground that all human should embrace. With the modernization of our society and world, we need LTR as the foundation to build up our values and ingredients for ourselves. LTR is even more important for educational institution like MMU as we train human being to be more responsible and to be natural. Therefore, I strongly recommend this kind of talk to the students and staff. “
In April 2007 a talk on “Natural Business Excellence™, a beyond Six Sigma Step” is held at the 2nd Annual Manufacturing & Operational conference in the Philippines, organized by Marc Evans. It includes the application of “Developing a Crisis Management plan to ensure Business Continuity”. With an overall score of 8.35 for content and presentation the talk is awarded a joined second place.
In March 2008 in cooperation with Richard de Vries of IM-mens a talk on “War of the Worlds” is held for a client's Shared Services gatherings in the Netherlands. Based on Natural Business Excellence™'s PC fundament a balanced overview is given about the company's strategic ICT direction versus past developments, and the combined strength. The talk is highly appreciated by all attendees and results in ongoing discussions for an extended period in time.
Natural Business Excellence™ and A1™ training in Thai language
In September 2006 the first integrated P10™ workshop is done in the Thai language. It highlights the successful partnership between and knowledge transfer from the Institute of Natural Business Excellence to Align. During the workshop not only the theories are interactively trained. In parallel also a human resource assessment is done to especially highlight the management potential of Align’s client’s, Recreational Bangkok Biking, staff. The workshop also shows that the Natural Business Excellence™ theories are applicable to companies of all sizes.
This is also confirmed through a business organization alignment and integrated people development program with the local branch of an international manufacturing company.
Managing Director: “ Natural Business Excellence adds great value to the organization of our company. Its complete process-oriented structure is really good. It also greatly helps us in doing our Navision enterprise project .”
Human Resources Director: “ A heart touching experience that triggers a journey towards shifting from mere personnel effectiveness to Business Excellence and continued sustainable personal growth at all levels of the organization .”
In September 2007 the first Natural Business Excellence™ training is done to Align’s strategic partner in Asia-Pacific who have adopted A1™ as their standard in Philippines and Thailand for SAP and Oracle implementations. As of this date NBE training is regularly provided to both the partner and its clients, all in the Thai language. Both the partner and its clients are excited about the manner A1™ helps in successfully implementing ERP.
The value of A1™ is stressed by the Managing Director of the Thailand office, who states:
- A1™ helps us to deliver all aspects of the project in a high-quality manner. Project risks are optimally controlled. Change management, scope management, BPR, issue management, change request management are all integrated. Overall the quality is much better than we have ever had before
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There is an excellent translation from the business to the ERP system, including the integration aspects. The structured approach helps our consultants to assess localizations upfront and to stick to standard system usage as much as possible. This benefits both the projects and our Clients a lot - The Client and our consultants really work together. Our Clients also understand much better what our consultants are doing. Especially the start of the project is very different to what we were used to. Besides the client also our consultants understand much better what we are trying to achieve as a company
- The manner in which documentation is done is really good. Everybody can also easily find any documentation
- Initially our people were quite skeptical. After the training we believed more in A1™. And after seeing the project results I really believe this is the way to go. If I look at our consultants now, I see they have improved a lot in delivering our projects
- A1™ is not difficult. It has been thought through very well. It surprisingly also doesn’t result in more time to deliver the project. Initially we were afraid of this, but that fear has totally disappeared
In January 2008 training in the Philippines is started as well.
Guest lectures to Executive MBA
In April 2006 a four-weekend guest lecture on “Enterprise Resource Planning, powered by Natural Business Excellence™” is held to students of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT). In a very interactive manner a full range of topics related to Enterprise Resource Planning are discussed, including Business Philosophy, Quality Management, Organization & Management, Strategic Management, Business Process Management, Business-ICT Strategy Alignment, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), ERP Philosophy, ERP Value and ERP Structures, all integrated via the theories of Natural Business Excellence™. The lecture is highly appreciated by the students who feel they have learned a full range of relevant topics, which they can immediately apply in their jobs.
In December 2007 and January 2008 a three-weekend guest lecture on “Enterprise Resource Planning for Executives, powered by Naturals Business Excellence™” is held to students of the King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL). In a very interactive manner a full range of topics related to Enterprise Resource Planning are discussed, including Business Philosophy, Strategic Management, Organization & Management, Business Process Management, Business-ICT Strategy Alignment, Business Integration Management, Application Integration Management, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), ERP Structures, ERP Implementation Management, all integrated via the theories of Natural Business Excellence™. The lecture is highly appreciated by the students who feel they have learned something they have not yet learned in this manner before.
Feedback includes: “ Excellent Program. Currently we really understand what ERP is and stands for and can use its concept to implement in our organization “, “ Teacher gave us another view how to approach ERP concept. Actually we can also apply it to our real life or business ”, “ It is the training way that I never had before. It was very interesting ”
A1™ workshops in Europe
In December 2007, April 2008 and May 2008 A1™ workshops are done at the start of SAP implementations in respectively The Netherlands, Greece and Hungary. The workshops consistently help to create energy, understanding and belief at the early stage of the project and provide the methods and tools to optimally deliver the project. A overall score of 9.2 on a scale of 10 in both Greece and Hungary confirm the success of the workshops.
Feedback, after the workshop, includes: “ Excellent and useful tools for the project and our work “, “ Very useful not only during the SAP project but also for the future ”, “ Very useful training for management in the business world and life ”, “ Excellent tools and models which, when mastered, can be of valuable assistance in running our teams and departments once we return to our previous status ”
Feedback, after go-live, includes: “ Great way to build comfort ”, “ Starting as one team independently of who is internal and external ”, “ Natural removal of professional ‘my expertise is so unique, nobody else can do that kind of work’ barriers ”, “ Creating one complete view of the business ”, “ Clear structure ”, “ Clear communication, both in depth and width ”, “ Rigidness in templates ”, “ Making sure that people don’t immediately go into details which they typically do ”, “ Document and directory management, which is a very structured way to find back any documentation, including the draft versions ”, ” The blueprint should always be done this way ”, “ There are not many opportunities to look at your business this thoroughly ”
Research in Natural Business Excellence™ and A1™
From 2003 onwards students have done extensive research in Natural Business Excellence™ and A1 Integrated Project Management™. Eric Tinga, Bas Zonjee and Tjakko Lever, who all graduated from the The Hogeschool van Amsterdam, University of Applied Sciences (HvA), The Netherlands studied the application of the theories, methods and tools while participating on a regional business project. Hang Thi Nguyen who graduated from the Van Lang University, Vietnam followed a similar approach while doing an internship at Align Thailand.
Natascha Guzowski who graduated from The Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, The Netherlands wrote a theoretical thesis about "Enterprise Resource Planning, a Business Philosophy". The conclusion of her research is: “ ERP as modern perspective, supported by A1 Integrated Project Management™, produces a different manner of introducing ERP into the organisation, which leads to a better project execution. The project execution results are definitely more positive than the results with the traditional perspective, supported by respective methodologies”. Jan Jelmer Sterk who graduated from The Hogeschool van Leeuwarden, University of Applied Sciences (HvA), The Netherlands did a comparative research between A1 Integrated Project Management™ and traditional project methods, and highlighted the added value of A1 Integrated Project Management™ compared to the traditional approaches.
Publication in TIEM Management Magazine in the Netherlands with Change Management as theme
In the March/April 2009 issue of TIEM Management Magazine a four-page article was published on the highly successful execution of a strategic business improvement project by Campina Thailand (Betagen) in which the importance of the usage of A1 Integrated Project Management™ was stressed, especially People Management, Change Management and Quality Management. Align, a Gold Certified partner of iNBE, was also mentioned in the article.
Adoption of A1 Integrated Project Management™ by local government office in The Netherlands for strategic Mid-Office project
In early 2009 one of the largest local government offices in The Netherlands in terms of GDP have adopted A1 Integrated Project Management™ for both the Mid-Office tender and implementation projects. Nowadays the adoption of a Mid-Office environment is one of the most strategic initiatives for local government offices in the Netherlands.
Launch of global training/certification programme
On June 2, 2009 the global training/certification programme was launched in Thailand, soon to be followed with the launch in Europe.
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