I have worked with people in the past that have used a very agressive approach to their negoations with others. This approach created some hard feelings from pretty much anyone they encountered and while their deals were somewhat better financially the technique damaged the relationships with other parties to the point it was difficult to continue to work with them. Sometimes it leads to situations where people will follow the letter of the agreement but little else.  This is what Stephen Covey calls "maliciously obedient", doing exactly and only what you tell me to do, accepting no responsibility for the results. This is the 4^th in the series "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective PLM Adoption", a tribute to the late Stephen Covey. Covey's 4^th Habit from his book is "Think Win/Win". Obviously people like this are more Win/Lose  and in the realm of PLM deployment they are not alone. Many feel the best way to handle PLM or any type of service engagement is to negotiate aggressively. This article will highlight the downside of this approach and discuss some ways that both PLM vendors and service providers and their customers benefit from a mutually beneficial approach and what that looks like.

If you are following along this is the third article in this series. After Stephen Covey's untimely departure from this world I decided as a tribute to him to break down the 7 Habits of Highly Effective people and apply them to product lifecycle management (PLM). The first habit was"be proactive" and we looked at how "quick fix" solutions can limit the effectiveness of PLM. The second habit was "begin with the end in mind" which in PLM speak means develop your outcomes and work backwards from there. I think the title of Stephen Covey's third habit is a bit misleading. At first glance it would seem to be about prioritization when it is really more about time management and having the discipline to manage well in general. In this third entry in the series we will review the importance of PLM project management and how effective project management is a key contributor as to whether PLM adoption succeeds or fails.

 I've been in the manufacturing business my entire career. When anyone asks what I do for a living, I just tell them I develop processes to improve "how" and "where" manufacturing gets done. That "where" part tends to get people excited, because they know that it usually means out-sourcing. And out-sourcing conjures up images of container ships hauling products made by Chinese laborers who ended up with what used to be American jobs.

Last week, we focused on the first habit of highly effective PLM adoption, being proactive. I highlighted the importance of maintaining balance between results and process and what happens if you become too fixated on one at the expense of the other. The second habit in Mr. Covey's book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is to "begin with the end in mind". After spending a ridiculous amount of hours watching the Olympics I started to wonder about the Olympic athletes and whether they follow the same practice. Obviously, if you are an elite athlete like Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps it is easy to imagine the end with them holding the gold medal. You have to wonder what the swimmer from Cameroon who disappeared last week envisioned as his outcome, escape? Athletes much like us, in order to be successful have to start with the outcome in their mind and work backwards to achieve it. They must understand the level of commitment and time needed to accomplish their objectives. The elite athletes really hone in on the outcome and fully dedicate themselves to reaching their goals. Goal setting is a critical part of successfully implementing PLM. This article will explore the value of goal setting and the mechanics of beginning with the end in mind.