AICC Boxscore 2013

“A View From the Floor”: Measuring Creativity continued from page 27

box plants design department is possible, necessary and beneficial. The first method uses a questionnaire that provides a review of the capabilities and methods, performance measurement, and the process and procedure for every job performed in a box plant. It is called an “Operational Audit.” The following are examples of some of the questions from the Design Department Questionnaire. responsibilities of the design department? Describe! • What performance measures does the design department review each day? • Is there a design schedule? Please describe how it works. AICC 2013 Spring Meeting & Sales Leaders’ Conference • What are the roles and

providing the customer innovation and value? Do we, managers and owners view Creativity and Innovation as tools for successfully competing in both the domestic and global markets? In the arts, the successful opera, theatre performance and art exhibition will sellout, the patrons willing to pay the ticket price and return again and again. The successful box plant’s design department turns the design project into an order and customers that return again and again. A few nights ago I had dinner with a retired advertising exec from a major New York agency and a recently retired art curator from the Denver Art Museum. I asked them the question “Can you measure creativity.” Their position was you cannot measure creativity but you can and should measure the results of creativity. What do you think? What will you do? Please email Dean Mitchell at tde55@aol.com if you are interested in a copy of The Design Department Operational Audit Questionnaire, Design Request Process and List of Key Performance Indicators.  Dean Mitchell is a graduate of North Park College with a degree in Business and Economics and has over 40 years of experience in the corrugated industry. Corporate responsibilities included assistant to the Division Production Manager and the assistant to the Container Division Vice President. He was also a General Manager at various Boise Cascade box plants. The past 15 years Dean has provided consulting services for corrugated companies and developed training courses for the AICC and ACCCSA. Dean and his wife Joan spend time living in Bangkok, Thailand, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and Denver, Colorado.

• Is there a “New Item Review” meeting? Please describe how it works.

• Is there a set of written procedures for the design

department? Briefly describe.

• What are the top opportunities for improving the design department? Another method for measuring and improving creativity is a review of a formal written design process. Having written procedures is important so that every person in the organization knows and understands their roles, responsibilities and the daily tasks they must perform to make the company successful. A written design request procedure describes the processes that are required to provide the customer a structural or graphic project. The final important method looks at a sample list of Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for the design department. There is a saying, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” An partial list of design performance measurements that are important to the creative and percentage o By total o By designer • Number of revisions by project o By sales person o By customer • Order to design ratio o By designer o By sales person “The View From the Floor” asks if it is important to measure the design process to make certain that it is efficient, productive and capable of innovative process include: • On Time design project by

April 24–26, 2013

Hilton Bonnet Creek Resort Orlando, Florida

“Dynamic Leadership: Cultivate and Develop Leaders in Your Company”

To register, visit aiccbox.org and click on the ‘orange’

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BOX SCORE