BIOGRAPHY
Richard A. (Dick) Lee: Principal, High-Yield Methods

Consultant, author and educator Dick Lee - a pioneer in the development of both customer-centric and O/S (office and service) process - founded St. Paul, Minnesota- based High-Yield Methods in 1994. Since then, HYM has worked nationally and internationally designing process for eBay, Epicor, H.B. Fuller, Honeywell Global Business Services, Remedy and Yokogawa Corporation of America– while also helping smaller local and regional clients including Asset Marketing, Conwed, Lion Precision, Nystrom, Performark, United Way and University of Minnesota.

In 1996, HYM developed and launched Visual Workflow, the first process approach specifically geared for the O/S. While embracing Lean principles, VW cuts against the grain of traditional practices by starting redesign at points of customer contact and working back into the company – instead of starting internally and working out towards customers. VW’s “Outside-In” approach delivers two seemingly contradictory outcomes for companies:

1. Customer-centric operations creating new value for both customers and company
2. Streamlining to reduce labor requirements, typically by 15% to 30%

VW delivers this surprising outcome set by ensuring that the right people are doing the right work (for customers) the right way enabled by the right technologies. The results rise far above what other process approaches produce by focusing first on eliminating waste.

In addition to being a process pioneer, Dick Lee helped architect the holistic CRM movement that’s focused on building customer relationships, rather than CRM software. His books, The Sales Automation Survival Guide, The Customer Relationship Management Survival Guide and Strategic CRM were instrumental in persuading many that CRM is business strategy executed by well crafted, well-aligned business process, not technology. While adept at supporting process with enabling data management and automation systems, Dick never lets technology drive process.

Dick taught for 10 years at the Graduate School of Business, University of St. Thomas. He holds a BA from Reed College and an MBA from Suffolk University.