How to Identify Countermeasures Part 2: The Key Operational Change And Supporting Tools

In the previous blog, I discussed what countermeasures are and why they are important. This week, we’ll dive into the first two components of countermeasures: key operational change and supporting tools.

The First Component of a Countermeasure: “Key Operational Change”

A key operational change is a change in the Goods and Information Flow to either who, what, when, or how. That is how we frame the actual countermeasure.

For example, your problem is that your managers react to sales performance monthly when it’s too late and struggle to manage before month-end. The key operational change is to develop a report that auto-generates weekly plan versus actual sales performance.

A key operational change is always a verb. For example, develop a report, create a draft, draft a template, or write a script.

We use the term “key operational change” instead of “countermeasure” because it highlights the significant change within the operation. It answers the question, “What is the key change in the operation?” We don’t say “solution”. We don’t say “answer”. When we talk about concrete change in operations, we say “key operational change” to best communicate our…