J.D. Power is the firm that gathers quality and product satisfaction measurements by surveying millions of consumers worldwide. The company's clients include nearly every vehicle manufacturer and importer that conducts business in the United States. Krivan leads J.D. Power's performance improvement activities for its automotive and select service industry clients.
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| "It's about knowing the competitors; it's about what's happening today; what's happened yesterday; and tracking how it all works." (Photo: Ford Motor Company) |
"Some companies don't spend enough money getting their people the best possible information," Krivan said. "You have to make an effort to do that. It's about knowing the competitors; it's about what's happening today; what's happened yesterday; and tracking how it all works."
"And, with the ability of a computer and the power of a computer to gather information the real trick is to distill out information. The key is the application software to 'think like a human being needs to think."
Another small part of the formula for success is again using information technology to record the "corporate memory" before older employees retire or, due to business circumstances, forced to be bought out or cut, Krivan said.
"Cut backs are a normal business practice... it is important for companies to recognize that they need to make adjustments from time to time," he said. "The challenge is to keep the memory. If people don't document processes and learning then the memory is gone forever."