The need for organizations to improve productivity and quality is at an all-time high. With competition increasing exponentially, effective operations management and decision-making can have a major impact on your organization’s success. Operations is at the core of most businesses because it tends to consume the most resources in labor, materials, equipment, energy, and capital… Read More »

In Seth Godin’s book The Purple Cow, he describes the experience of driving with his family through the European countryside and being enthralled by all the brown cows. He noted that their excitement did not last long, however, and he began to wonder what would happen if there were purple cows standing in the field…. Read More »

The most important aspect of business success is leadership. Peak performance depends on it. Leaders set the direction and then help everyone head in the same direction. I often run into leaders who are trying to do it all. They usually tell me that no one can do it as well as they can so… Read More »

Is your business organized to meet customer needs effectively and efficiently? Is your management team focused on meeting customer needs? Are you having an impact on the customer? What do they believe about your company? Have you asked them? Your customer beliefs about your company affect their actions which has a direct affect on your… Read More »

The first time I visited my client’s two locations in China I immediately recognized the symptoms of the lack of a clear vision and direction. The team was working hard every day without a clear understanding of what the end results should be and why they were doing what they were doing. This made it… Read More »

In graduate school, one of the instructors (a business person, not a professor) told us something I have never forgotten. He said that business was relatively simple and amounts to this: Find a need, fill the need, and collect a check. Then he added: Don’t screw it up in the middle because most business owners… Read More »