Look beyond your immediate customers to their customers, and so on, for cross-supply chain opportunities that could spell win-win-win for all I find that cross-functional teams can be some of the most valuable teams that generate winning ideas. By taking a diverse team of people with different backgrounds and [...]
Published January 30, 2015 I always look for trends as I find that the 80/20 of success comes from watching and proactively addressing trends. This week, it has been obvious that if we are NOT willing to take prudent risk, things are likely to go awry. For example, if [...]
Published January 16, 2015 One of my clients had three sets of ERP system demos this week in a quest to select the best system to meet their business objectives. Not only is it a vital part of selecting the optimal system, I also find that it is always [...]
Published in tED Magazine on December 2014 According to a survey performed by the LMA Consulting Group (lma-consultinggroup.com) in conjunction with the APICS Inland Empire Chapter (apics-ie.org), executives said that succession planning is tied as a No. 1 priority in retaining top talent. This is especially noteworthy when considering [...]
You’re in danger of spinning your wheels aimlessly by having too many priorities. Focus on the priorities that truly impact your business and are aligned with your strategy. I've yet to meet a client that didn't have FAR too many priorities for what could be achieved successfully. Instead of [...]
Published August 15, 2014 According to today's Wall Street Journal, J.C. Penney's climb out from potential imminent disaster continued last month. J.C. Penney reported higher sales, wider margins and a smaller quarterly loss. Although that might not seem like much to celebrate, it is a night and day difference [...]
Technological innovations are abundant, even overwhelming. Rather than trying to modernize at every turn seek to leverage your I.T. department to provide maximum efficiency without non-value added work. We hear a lot about lean, Toyota Production System and the like; however, I rarely hear about Lean I.T. A friend [...]
Believe it or not, there is a time to throw out priorities! As much as I talk about priorities, I'm sure you're wondering if I've lost my mind by saying "don't prioritize". Possibly; however, there is a time to throw out priorities! What do you need to accomplish to [...]
Successful companies forge partnerships with their IT departments to create an ERP system that provides data to make good decisions and provide their customers with an exceptional experience. Is IT viewed as a partner to the business? Or a necessary evil? Or something in-between? Successful companies go down the [...]
Do the systems in your business work together like the interconnected dynamic systems they are? I was collaborating on a book on the topic of increasing the value of your business with a colleague yesterday, and we both latched on to the systems thinking view. We agreed it is [...]
