Great leaders understand the standard is the way the organization learns and succeeds through continuous improvement. Standards help people stay safe; personal protective equipment, designated walkways, lock out tag out. Standards help ensure a quality product. And Standards allow us to see problems quickly. So great leaders know that when the standards are not followed […]
Do Leaders Need Standard Work?
Effectively leading your organization requires an expectation for the specific work carried out by the operation. Standardized steps for checking in a guest at a hotel, renting a car to a traveler, or assembling a cell phone in production are necessary for stabilizing a business. But do the leaders need standard work? There are two […]
Just do it!
When things get tough and the road ahead looks overwhelming, the best organizations don’t get held up waiting for I.T. solutions or new equipment or new superstar managers. They know that continuous improvement comes from action. Action on the shop floor or where ever the value is added. They don’t let “great” get in the […]
Great Leaders Chose We Over I
Most leaders get more than their fair share of blame and many of the best leaders own it as part of their role. Praise however is hard to come by, but when it does the best leaders are sure to share it with the team. There are two benefits to owning the blame and sharing […]
Focus on the Critical Few
World class organizations are keeping their daily management processes alive with the help of technology. Zoom meetings and excel spreadsheets designed to bring people together to ensure the company’s strategy is being executed are turning out to be a value approach, but they do propose a risk….. The risk of not focusing on the critical […]
Great Leaders Focus on Healing
All leaders face adversity. Often leading includes leading through adversity. It is a necessary part of the role and a skill. One characteristic great leaders avoid is focusing on the wound and the pain. They do focus on the problem, but with a healing – move forward mentality. They focus on the actions that are […]
Communicate and Follow-up – Pillars of Leadership
World class organizations look to their leaders to lead during uncertain times. There is often not much the leader can control and the situation around them is constantly changing. Great leaders rely on two pillars of leadership that support their approach and their organization as they lead through the crisis; Communication and Follow-up. Communication Operational […]
A Critical Time for Critical Spares
Continuing operations not only require you have the people and supplies in place to make your product, but also the equipment. In a critical time like this it is important to review and update your supply of critical spares. Critical spare parts are the parts within critical equipment that, should they fail, will badly reduce […]
What Drives Cost in Your Business
Plant managers of world class organizations know exactly what drives their costs in their operations. While they do not count every penny, they do know the key drivers of expenses. For most organizations those key drivers fall into two very obvious categories; labor and material. Labor Costs Labor costs are incurred when you pay employees […]