i&i Members
Business improvement and innovation: A Community of Practice for Change Leaders
The i&i network was built on a foundation of shared values and concerns between its members.
We all agreed that more progress could be made through connecting and sharing skills and experience. i&i provided a space to meet and actually confer, it gave its members a say in the agenda and it left the sales agenda at the door. That’s what provided terrific value.
As the community matured, we developed new propositions around supporting the development of connectivity and knowledge exchange within the members’ own organisations.
“Membership of i&i provides npower with the opportunity to reach out to peers in other organisations experiencing similar problems and to build sustainable relationships. The Community is made up of a good cross section of industries with members who are passionate about advancing knowledge and experience in the domain of business improvement. Events are planned and executed in a smooth unobtrusive way that makes everyone feel at ease to be open and honest and share both the good and the bad. Progress with our programme has been significant over the last 12 months and this has been largely due to the connections we have been able to make through the community and learning we have been able to share. As the community matures the offering that i&i can provide continues to strengthen with the concept of the skills exchange being something that will be of terrific value to all of the membership.”
DATA AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT CAPABILITY MANAGER, NPOWER
“The i&i network provides a focussed and flexible way to meet peers in the process improvement world around issues that are immediately relevant to my business. Unlike attending a conference, I have a say in the agenda and can contribute or learn at a much deeper level. As a result I am building a more sustainable network of 3rd party contacts.”
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT DIRECTOR, BP INTERNATIONAL
Some more words from members:
“The networking opportunity is fantastic. This is a terrific forum where you can meet other people in a safe environment to share failures as well as success. There aren’t many environments like that, and that makes i&i different from a standard conferences or seminars. There is a good atmosphere and a really good sense of credibility and confidentiality.”
SIX SIGMA DEPLOYMENT DIRECTOR, 3M
“i&i offers a unique opportunity to professionals and companies involved in Continuous Improvement and related disciplines.
First of all, it creates an invaluable networking opportunity between practitioners working in different industries, willing to openly share best practices; because the same members keep meeting on various occasions, the links between individuals become much stronger and the information flows much more freely.
Secondly, it enables the participants to focus on the topics that are relevant to them in a number of different ways from online activities to specific workshops. Thanks to the diversity of industries involved, the full range of subjects can be covered, whilst the i&i team helps select additional resources for those areas where extra input is needed.”
BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DIRECTOR, SUN CHEMICAL
This video shares some of the challenges, lessons learned and best practice exchanged between change professionals.
“Whether we know it or not, we are all leaning in the same direction! As quality professionals, our value proposition has always been much more than doing projects, training, or mentoring. We are "social architects" striving to pilot innovative new methods and thinking to better connect our business to our customers, drive efficiency across the organization, and provide true process transparency to the way we deliver products and services.
To succeed means we always have to be in front connecting with our clients and responding to the needs of our market. We need to know what works and what doesn't. Credit Suisse is stronger because we believe that working with i&i as a community of engaged quality resources will help us be better prepared to deliver the precise level of service expected by our clients. By sharing best practices, listening to lessons learned, and challenging each other through strategic thinking and professional debate we can test ideas, challenge our assumptions, and constantly reshape the way we serve.”
HEAD OF OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE, CREDIT SUISSE
During this time, I had the great fortune to meet so many brilliant people who gave their time and energy to i&i. Too many people to thank here individually, however even though I was in a position to facilitate, I credit everyone in making this venture possible.
Specific credits due:
Chris Collison’s work in “bench sharing”. We used his model outlined in “Learning to Fly” and “No more consultants - we know more than we think”
World Cafe Method. We developed the design principles from the World Cafe method to enable great conversations.
Tim Greenhill and John McCarron of Greenhill McCarron - an excellent strategy consultancy who helped us develop the visual identity and clarity of purpose.
Massive credit to all the people that made it happen behind the scenes: Matt Moore, Ingrid Vanlangenaker, Tacita Haffenden, David Crees and the team of developers who built the online platform before the days of Slack. Allan Smith and Richard Yorke at Pacific International who provided all of the essential start up ingredients.