As the year winds down and organizations reflect on the challenges and accomplishments behind them, a new kind of uncertainty often emerges – what will it take to carry this momentum into the coming year? The truth is simple: finishing strong and preparing now for the strategic changes ahead is critical to positioning your organization…
There’s a lesson I learned in the late ’90s I won’t forget. I was running the supply chain for a telecom company during a boom cycle. Business was exploding, and like a lot of companies at the time, we were pushing hard—ramping capacity, driving suppliers to increase output, and betting big on our forecasts. We…
Most organizations don’t realize how much value they’re losing through their supply chains, missing key opportunities in supply chain optimization and digital transformation to drive operational excellence. I’ve seen it time and again: inventory that looks healthy on paper, but in practice, it’s either stuck, stale, or scattered. Metrics that are being tracked religiously, but…
No matter your industry, key performance indicators (KPIs) have become the lifeblood of organizational decision-making. Leaders at all levels rely on these quantifiable metrics to track progress, identify areas for improvement, and ultimately drive their companies toward their strategic goals and objectives. But all too often, the KPIs that organizations choose to focus on fail…
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…
As business leaders, we’re all familiar with the importance of having a clear, well-defined strategy. It’s the roadmap that guides our decision-making, resource allocation, and long-term vision for the organization. But too often, we find that strategy and execution exist in separate silos, with a significant gap between the lofty goals we set at the…
Interest rates have always had a profound impact on the manufacturing sector. As an economic inevitability, their rise can take businesses by surprise, triggering a series of responses to mitigate the effects. While I’m not an economist, throughout my decades in the industry I’ve noticed several trends in the industry as businesses grapple with these…
As a strategic planning expert, I’ve seen firsthand how the right KPIs can help manufacturing companies achieve their goals. When KPIs are aligned with strategy, they can provide a clear roadmap for success. They can also help to identify areas for improvement and track progress over time. The Symphony of Strategy and Metrics I…
Once, early in my career, I was standing above a Toyota assembly line in Japan. Looking down at the plant floor, I realized that at any given time, a hundred different kinds of vehicles were rolling off the line. I felt like being there and seeing all of this was essentially akin to giving away…
In my work with companies across the manufacturing landscape, I see it all the time. While many companies are great at creating strategies, very few are adept at deploying and managing them. Many companies mistakenly view their budgeting cycle as strategy deployment, keeping their focus solely on spending money on the things they predict will…
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