The Operational Excellence Society is…
a “think tank” that creates and aggregates content for individuals who wish to be high-performance members of high-performance teams at high-performance organizations.
We define Operational Excellence as; “a state of readiness that is attained as the efforts throughout the organization reach a state of alignment for achieving its strategies; and where the corporate culture is committed to the continuous and deliberate improvement of company performance AND the circumstances of those who work there – and is precursor to becoming a high-performance organization.“
The Ground Worth Fighting For: Key Terrain in Military and Business Strategy.
This past December (2025) I had the opportunity to attend Thayer Leadership, thanks to one of my clients, Integra-Cast, a member of the Spartan Aerospace Group, and its CEO, John Buckridge. I am very thankful for being given the experience. It was an awesome training course and one I would highly recommend to anybody (or any organization) that wants to build or improve their leadership skills. My main personal objective was to benchmark my leadership style and skills, home-grown over 40 years of running my consultancy XONITEK, against what is arguably the best. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that…
featured articles
The Ground Worth Fighting For: Key Terrain in Military and Business Strategy.
This past December (2025) I had the opportunity to attend Thayer Leadership, thanks to one of my clients, Integra-Cast, a member of the Spartan Aerospace Group, and its CEO, John…
Best Practices For Becoming a High-Performance Organization
I started XONITEK in August of 1985 in Endicott, New York. I still own its latest incarnation, now located in Sheridan, Wyoming. Having owned my own businesses for the last…
Design Thinking for Operational Excellence
I was the Chairman at an Operational Excellence and Business Transformation conference in Amsterdam this past March (2023) which was produced by CParity. The lead-off workshop was on Design Thinking…
Best Practices for Designing and Deploying an Operational Excellence Program
These approaches can also be applied to Continuous Improvement, Lean, or Six Sigma Programs. I started my first business, XONITEK, in August of 1985. I still own its latest incarnation…
The 9 Questions To Ask About Operational Excellence
Summary; Most companies preparing to launch an Operational Excellence Program do not take a moment to contemplate what their program is hoping to achieve, or even if what they are…
The Importance of a Project Review Board
A key to success in any Operational Excellence or Continuous Improvement program will be found in the way opportunities for improvement are harvested and prioritized; and how well the projects…
Expert Contributors
Growing a Business Successfully Requires a Look in the Mirror
Achieving sustainable growth in any business can often be challenging. A recent study of growth, published in the Harvard Business Review, of 10,897 publicly held companies over a 43-year period…
Facts and Values; The Keys to Operational Excellence in Sales and Marketing
The leaders of B2B companies often face a conundrum in sales and marketing. Their products, services, and talented people solve customer problems daily. Their approaches to awareness, conversion, and retention…
Harnessing core values for success
This article is provided courtesy of theleanmag, a content partner of the Operational Excellence Society. Imagine steering a ship in tumultuous seas without a compass—this is like leading a business without…
What does Excellence taste like?
This article is provided courtesy of theleanmag, a content partner of the Operational Excellence Society. In the culinary world, excellence is often measured by the ability to create unique flavor profiles,…
Five core practices for OpEx
It’s all about the people… … the problem is, that seems hard… The joke often goes that managers pick up the Operational Excellence bible and flip through the chapters: hmmm…
Building Structurally Sound Communication
When was the last time you played Jenga? Maybe you set it up with your kids on a rainy Sunday afternoon, or maybe you idly played it with friends at…
Like what you’re reading?
THOUGHT FOOD
the opex vault
How the great supply chain reset is unfolding
Companies are making their supply chains more cost-efficient, resilient and sustainable in an increasingly uncertain world. Over the last couple of decades, many supply chains have become linear global chains,…
A freight market turnaround in 2024?
Tender rejection data in the FreightWaves SONAR data platform shows that the freight market bottomed on May 14. Since then, conditions for carriers have slowly been improving. SONAR’s outbound tender…
Business in the Clouds
What do you see in the clouds? The best way to explain Cloud Computing is to think of it as a cloud; a sometimes formless void – of unknown whereabouts –…
Why businesses need explainable AI—and how to deliver it
As artificial intelligence informs more decisions, companies’ AI systems must be understood by users and those affected by AI use. Actions in two areas can maximize AI’s benefits and minimize…
