Oh yeah...the blog...

Its been quite a while since I last posted here... but trust me its all in good reason. My Tauber project here at General Mills has been keeping me quite busy (as does any Tauber project to be honest.) For those of you looking into Tauber I encourage you to think of a Tauber project like so....

Imagine your typical internship: a steep learning curve of the company (culture, methods, hierarchy...), industry (key drivers, trends, competition...), and the division you are placed in (history, role, importance...). Oh yeah, I failed to mention the actual tasks / responsibilities you are to complete by summer's end. This usually has a few deliverables, pending on what you are doing, such as a tool or model, a plan, statistical analysis, a report, etc. This is not to mention the time it takes to get acclimated to your surroundings and enjoy yourself wherever you are staying.

Now, imagine that internship experience is a balloon animal. It takes a while to learn how to make it, get comfortable with your material, and create some sort of creature from it. After a while you figure it out and finish your task at hand, usually with something that looks like this...

.

To put a Tauber project into comparison, its like taking your typical balloon animal (a dog) and making trying to make it into something like this...

The project is longer (14 weeks v. a typical 10 weeks), there are more "legs" under scope (cross division relationships, larger tasks, integration), and higher expectations (both from the amazing sponsors and yourselves.) The projects are certainly great tasks that tie operations concepts to vital business needs. Oh, and there's an academic report that I forgot to mention...

If I am scaring you, let me clarify something before you stop reading... The Tauber Institute sets you up for success! First, the projects are scoped before they are even pitched to ensure students can make an impact. Second, you gain great training / exposure in modules (as mentioned in previous posts) and the detailed structure of deadlines. Third, you get access and the strong support of a Team Dynamics Coach, Communications Coach, Faculty Advisors, and Co-Director. In other words, you and your partner are not alone. To put things back into perspective.... think of creating an "Elmo" balloon animal on your own when you are just trying to figure out how to make a dog! You need the help of a friend or clown (okay, this is not a good comparison anymore... but you get my point...)

Back to my project! Since my last post I've learned a great deal more about the CPG industry, past efforts to solve this Chewy capacity planning issue, and most importantly what drives decisions here. In a nutshell, I've assessed the original project scope and made a proposal to solve these issues. To solve the issues that currently exist, my partner and I are working on two models: 1) a model to help the day to day tasks and scenario planning (done in Excel) and 2) a model to aid in long term optimization (done in a program titled GURU.)

Now, I am not an expert modeler in Excel, and had no idea of GURU before I came here, but I've been working with two modeling teams in India to revamp an existing model and build a robust optimization model. We meet twice a week (on average) and discuss which input data to use, how granular the detail needs to be, and other questions of the like. If this wasn't enough, my partner and I have been looking into the workflow of how these efforts will be implemented once the tools are in place. This is the most challenging part as the tools and processes currently do not exist, past efforts had inter-dependency bottlenecks, and these tools will be new (or updated) from the current process.

The great benefit of both tasks is how much I am learning. This includes things like how to influence people, how to the impact of technical drivers, or where to go when you need an answer. I've met over 45 people to date and each has had a contribution to our project and our thought process. As a summary, I love what I'm learning and have learned so much. The project is challenging, as are the academic responsibilities, but you have all the resources you need!

Also, I should share that I had my "mid-point review" yesterday with my Faculty Advisors, Co-Director, and General Mills team. We discussed our learnings, progress to date, and future steps. The feedback we received was not only helpful but positive! Hence, I pat myself on the back and am ready to keep moving! Shocking this is nearly the "mid-point" of the summer already!

Following our 3 hour get together, a few of us attended a Tauber Alumni Dinner in the city. We went to an outstanding restaurant called "112 Eatery" which left the crowd (GMI employees, Tauber Faculty, Alumni) full and satisfied!

Minneapolis Tauber Alumni Dinner Attendees

From left to right: Tom Hamilton (Tauber Student), Judy Jin (Faculty Advisor), Bruna Ferro (Tauber Alumni), Natalie Henderson (Tauber Alumni), Lindsay Lyons (General Mills), Billie Fienhage (General Mills), Al Woodliff (Tauber Co-Director), Paul Lokar (General Mills), Mike Peterson (Tauber Alumni)

Looking forward, I cannot promise when I will post next. What I can promise is that my Tauber experience will impact me as an employee, leader, and person (if it hasn't already!) Until next time, enjoy the great summer weather wherever you may be! I'll be busy coaching baseball (http://www.miracleleaguemn.com/about.html) and enjoying the outdoors!