Sustaining Lean Practices: Navigating the Cultural Shift for Long-Term Organizational Transformation
When it comes to lean practices leading to transformations, many organizations make the mistake of focusing solely on the tools and techniques—the 5S implementations, the value stream mappings, the kaizen events. They treat implementing lean practices as a discrete project or initiative, rather than a fundamental shift in mindset and culture. As a result, the […]
Connecting the Dots: 5 Practical Strategies for Cascading Your Strategic Vision Throughout the Organization
The disconnect between strategy and execution can be the Achilles’ heel of even the most well-conceived plans. Without a clear line of sight between the overarching vision and the specific actions taken by each individual contributor, sustainable success becomes elusive. As business leaders, we pour significant energy into crafting strategic visions—analyzing market trends, defining competitive […]
Reviving a Culture of Problem-Solving: Tools and Techniques for Effective Root Cause Analysis
In today’s fast-paced, high-pressure business environment, it’s all too easy for organizations to slip into a perpetual state of firefighting. When problems arise – and they inevitably will – the knee-jerk reaction is often to hastily apply a Band-Aid solution and move on to the next crisis. While this approach may provide temporary relief, it […]
Maximizing Your Expertise with the Right Support
As a business consultant, I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with many smart, driven leaders and teams. One thing that always stands out is that the decision makers I have worked with know their business inside and out, and they understand their challenges better than anyone else. Why Bring in a Consultant? If you […]
Harnessing the Power of Leader Standard Work
During a performance review, I found out my work-life balance was off because I was unknowingly doing three times the work of my colleagues. That made me rethink my approach, and I decided to give Leader Standard Work a shot. By jotting down my daily activities and sorting them into value-added or not, I figured […]
A Strategic Approach to Maximizing Machine Reliability
We’ve all been there before. The manufacturing floor is humming along, hitting deadlines, reaching quotas – all according to plan. And then… A machine goes down. All the progress your team has been making suddenly hits a wall. And the problems spiral out from there. It’s a simple fact of manufacturing production: machinery reliability is […]
Two Quick Key Indicators for Assessing the Health of a Company Before Acquisition
When you’re thinking about buying a company, it’s important to look at more than just the financials. You also need to assess the company’s operational health. What’s amazing is that two of the best metrics for gaining a valuable amount of information on the operations side of things–namely, inventory levels and workforce engagement–can be gathered […]
Driving Strategic Change Through Culture
We have a saying around here: Culture eats strategy for breakfast. In every industry, culture is a powerful force that can either propel or hinder strategic change initiatives, but nowhere is it more apparent than in manufacturing. And as the saying above suggests, a well-crafted strategy alone will not guarantee success unless it’s supported by […]