If all five of your constituencies are not feeling the benefit from your improvement efforts, your improvements are likely delusional. You need steak, not sizzle. The post Are you practicing delusional improvement first appeared on Fulcrum ConsultingWorks Inc. .
Political and religious arguments are front page news. Some businesses have chosen to take a stand; some very visibly, others under the radar. Here is how to think about the choice your manufacturing company can make on taking a stand on hot topic issues. The post When should your company take a stand first appeared on Fulcrum ConsultingWorks Inc. .
ERP, Lean, Industry 4.0; does a manufacturer need to do all of these? How do you know where to utilize the power of any of them? Data management and data-based decisions are important in each case, with purpose determining what capabilities to engender. The post Does industry 4.0 replace lean first appeared on Fulcrum ConsultingWorks Inc. .
How should the new operations leader set her initial priorities? There are both known and unknown challenges that will arise. Here are the steps you need to take to sort out the many issues and answer that question for your company. The post The First Priority of the New Operations Executive first appeared on Fulcrum ConsultingWorks Inc. .
Why price shopping expert consultants is not in your best interest: There is always someone cheaper, and always someone more expensive. But that refers to stated price. Great consultants don’t charge by the day, and don’t accept on the surface what you say you need. They constantly ask “why?” Good ones focus on ROI to you and improving the client condition as quickly as possible. The post The problem with price shopping first appeared on Fulcrum ConsultingWorks Inc. ....
Customer satisfaction depends as much on your ability to simply do the little things well as on very specialized requirements they may have. These fundamentals may seem boring, but they are in fact critical. Consider these examples in evaluating your own reliable, dependable, and repeatable delivery of the little things. The post It’s the little things first appeared on Fulcrum ConsultingWorks Inc. ....
Marketing commonly segments customers and markets, but operations rarely does beyond shipping requirements. You can deliver so much more value to your customers by operations defining segments as well. Those can be based on usage environment or other aspects of the customers operations. Segment customers by their operations to improve your own. The post Why operations should segment customers too first appeared on Fulcrum ConsultingWorks Inc. ....
Do you want to compete in commodity markets? Even when a market starts out specialized, they can devolve into regular rebid situations. The big volumes in both quantity and dollars can be alluring but may not be consistent with your vision and strategy. Do all your customer-facing people know which markets, which customers and which orders are consistent with where you are taking the company? The post Anywhere but automotive first appeared on Fulcrum ConsultingWorks Inc. ....
Your legacy is not yet defined. Consider these suggestions to ensure it’s one that truly matters. It’s never too late to reassess your priorities and adjust your behaviors accordingly. Live out your legacy. The post The important aspect of legacy first appeared on Fulcrum ConsultingWorks Inc. .
How should lean expertise be integrated into your organization? Consider these pros and cons of options and ask yourself the most important question of all. The post Is lean just another silo? first appeared on Fulcrum ConsultingWorks Inc. .
Many of us in manufacturing are familiar with the concept of punch lists. It’s a common ending of a kaizen event. This construction industry concept is NOT a best practice and shouldn’t be picked up by others. Here is why you should consider instead the carpenter’s “measure twice, cut once.” The post The problem with punch lists first appeared on Fulcrum ConsultingWorks Inc. ....
Not every manufacturer has an operations strategy, but none are better off without it. Consider these six questions to assess and improve the value of your operations strategy. The post Testing the value of your operations strategy first appeared on Fulcrum ConsultingWorks Inc. .
What if customers cannot be trusted to define value? Are some entire industries waste? Who should define true value? What brings net positive value to your world? Consider these questions and more in this podcast. The post Waste isn’t defined by customers first appeared on Fulcrum ConsultingWorks Inc. .
To change the world, we need to envision a changed world; that’s much easier said than done. The pace of life altering change is accelerating. We have to look beyond our current world to create or prepare to respond to a drastically different future. Consider these questions. The post Envisioning a drastically different future first appeared on Fulcrum ConsultingWorks Inc. ....
It’s easier than it seems, and more difficult. Easy because it’s all about you; difficult because it’s all about you. Consider these specific examples of how you, and only you, can create a culture that demands motivated and accountable members. You can’t change others. The post Cultures of motivation and accountability first appeared on Fulcrum ConsultingWorks Inc. ....
None of us is right all the time. Where is the line between the strong belief that requires “all-in” and confidence supported by risk management? How can you allow the possibility of being wrong and yet expect people to follow you? The post The danger of “all-in” first appeared on Fulcrum ConsultingWorks Inc. .
Do you wish your employees would make better decisions more often? “Nudge” is a concept that encourages paternalism and choice architecture to improve decision-making. Take a listen to learn how now. The post Nudging Your Employees first appeared on Fulcrum ConsultingWorks Inc. .
You work hard in your business, and are intimately familiar with all the distinctions that make your company special. But you’re really not all that unique. The business processes for most manufacturers are very similar and you can learn from others no matter how dissimilar they appear to be on the surface. Here’s what you need to walk away from ideas you don’t need and leverage those you do. The post But Will it Work in My Business? first appeared on Fulcrum ConsultingWorks Inc. ....
We’re all surrounded by “best practices” in our own businesses, in our industry, and across manufacturing. The reality is that best practices are the low hanging fruit that everyone talks about. You certainly want to pick that up, but long-term success requires much more. Here’s how: The post Beyond Best Practices first appeared on Fulcrum ConsultingWorks Inc. .
It might seem that competitive advantage is a good thing, a key to success. But not all are created equal. In fact, a competitive advantage can undermine your vision. Consider these ideas to determine if your strategic relevance position. You may be wandering, dreaming, irrelevant, or in the optimal “innovate” quadrant. Learn how to tell, and consider specific examples of businesses in each circumstance. The post Strategic Relevance first appeared on Fulcrum ConsultingWorks Inc. ....
Consider these 6 building blocks to successful innovation. It’s not starting from a blank sheet of paper, nor waiting for lightening to strike. It’s a process that you create and improve, learning from what others have done and being clear on what you need. Consider these specific recommendations. And check out my friend and colleague Norbert Majerus’ book on lean innovation at Goodyear – a journey to world class profitable innovation. The post Creating Profitable Innovation first appeared on Fu...
Executives make dangerous assumptions. Too often, in a hurry to move along to the next thing, they assume a decision made is a decision implemented, and an order given is an order executed. Most of the time, neither is true. This propensity to keep going without confirmation is why so many manufacturers struggle becoming good, much less great. Finish Strong is the process I developed to solve that problem. Invest 2 minutes in considering if you are making dangerous assumptions. The post Dangerou...
Short-term, biased, egotistical decisions can be very expensive for any organization. Political leadership has led to the US Military, the best in the world, losing wars and killing millions of people. In 2017 military leadership enabled expensive deadly decisions by the Pacific Fleet. None of those choices were made expecting the massive costs that resulted. But those painful losses weren’t given sufficient credence when making the decisions. While politics can influence your business decisions...
Have you ever wondered why some cultures morph into their surroundings, while others do not? Failure to sufficiently consider differing cultures during a merger and acquisition contributes to the breakdown of operational integration that plagues many deals. My earlier podcast series on successful integration of operations provided a strategic look at integration of cultures . In this podcast, I supplement those with tactical steps to create a culture that enables every employee of the joined ope...
How do merging operations balance the need for speed, throughput and quality of their multiple innovation processes during the difficult first 18 months? Innovation was one of the 8 key factors I addressed in my earlier series on successful integration of operations in a merger or acquisition. Here I answer the questions I received from executives on those recommendations, specifically on why the innovation processes should NOT be immediately integrated. The post Profitable innovation while exec...
M&A deals rarely accomplish the great financial success outlined in the agreements. Failures in integrating operations dominate those unsatisfactory transactions. About 2 years ago I developed a series of podcasts suggesting how to succeed in merging 8 key operational categories. This podcast helps you prepare for rationalization considerations described in one of those earlier podcasts before the ink is dry. Parts, customers and suppliers are just a few of the arenas to examine. The post Ra...
Sharing of knowledge and technology while merging operations will not happen automatically or well without a defined plan. This is true within an organization, and certainly when combining operations in an M&A deal. My earlier podcast on fully leveraging knowledge and technology in this series discussing effective operations integration recommended 4 steps to execute. In this podcast I expand those recommendations to include pre-merger activities, including when M&A is not on your radar....
Success of any merger or acquisition depends on the effective integration of operations. My earlier series on that operations integration addressed 8 key factors, one of which is Supply Chain Management. Now I expand on my earlier podcast detailing 4 aspects of successful integration of SCM. The 2 additional factors addressed here are essential to actualization of intended benefits. The post Supply Chain Management in Mergers & Acquisitions first appeared on Fulcrum ConsultingWorks Inc. ....
Why do so many Mergers and Acquisitions fail to find promised success? These next several podcast expand on an earlier series in which I addressed that question. Follow this methodical process for understanding where the real potential lies, and then take advantage of it. Listen to the earlier podcast expanded on below. The post Follow This Process for Successful Integration of Manufacturing Operations first appeared on Fulcrum ConsultingWorks Inc. ....
While your experience working for a PE firm-owned manufacturer may have been miserable and driven by short term views, that world is changing significantly. More and more are investing in true operational expertise that will thrive over time. The post The Private Equity Game has Changed for Manufacturers first appeared on Fulcrum ConsultingWorks Inc. ....
