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.
What is Operational Excellence?
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 Mirror Nobody Wants to Look Into
On Leadership, Self-Delusion, and the Six Dimensions That Separate the Real from the Counterfeit I was brought in to work with a company in Florida at the tail end of COVID. They employed a little over 100 people and were a regional manufacturer, first generation family-owned, struggling with profitability just enough to know that real peril was on the horizon. The owner — I’ll call him Warren — had built a great deal of what the company had become. His fingerprints were on everything. He was proud of that, and not without reason. In fact, Warren’s company was the subject…
Founders Desk Archive
featured articles
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…
The Fault Lies Not in the Stars, but Within Ourselves
I hear all too often from professionals in Continuous Improvement how “Senior Leadership does not give me the support I need”. Some go further by making the claim that “Senior…
The need for both KPIs and OKRs
Headline: “Business Metrics Gone Awry: The Dark Side of Relying Solely on KPIs” Subheading: “Corporate Missteps Highlight the Pitfalls of Blindly Chasing Key Performance Indicators” We read about it all…
The Evolution of Continuous Improvement and Operational Excellence: From Tools to People
I was recently the Chairperson at the 10th Annual Global Process Improvement and Operational Excellence Summit in Amsterdam this past March. In my opinion, it is one of the best…
Build Organizational Capacity and Capability – For Free
I was coaching one of the national oil companies in the Middle East, offering mentorship to the director of their operational excellence program. He was frustrated because he had invested…
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…
Expert Contributors
Biannual Supply Chain Report: Five Trends Shaping the Economic Landscape
From disruption to continual risk. After several years of disruptions, US supply chains are entering a new phase in which they are no longer fixed but expected to be in constant motion. Firms are operating in an environment where trade policy,…
Action items for AI decision makers in 2026
Expect a level-set year and a sharper focus on enterprise value. Artificial intelligence has dominated economic and business attention for the past several years. But the hype cycle is slowing…
The Best Manufacturers Build AI with Workers, Not for Them
Summary. Manufacturers are pushing ahead with AI, but workers often feel unprepared, uncertain, and distrustful. Research shows a clear gap between executive optimism and frontline experience, driven by unclear roles, weak…
Why We Love to Hate HR… and What HR Can Do About It
Five smart moves that will help, by Peter Cappelli Summary. Complaints against Human Resources (HR), which are nothing new, have a cyclical quality. They’re driven largely by the business context. When…
Applying Lean Six Sigma Methods to Litigation Practice
A growing number of law departments and law firms are exploring Lean Six Sigma and similar methodologies to continuously improve the way they deliver legal services. By tailoring these techniques…
Whatever happened to Six Sigma?
GE adopted Six Sigma from Motorola in 1995, and under Jack Welch it became corporate religion. But as GE began a long, slow decline, so did the popularity of Six…
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THOUGHT FOOD
the opex vault
Creative destruction in times of covid
Save for a few industries such as health care, it is safe to assume that investment in innovation will plummet during the covid-19 pandemic. It usually does in times of…
Applying Lean Six Sigma Methods to Litigation Practice
A growing number of law departments and law firms are exploring Lean Six Sigma and similar methodologies to continuously improve the way they deliver legal services. By tailoring these techniques…
Mayans Never Predicted World to End in 2012?
Are you concerned that the world may end next year? You can now breath easy. Mayan experts are taking the opportunity to dispel any belief that the ancient Mayans predicted…
The entrepreneurial state
The Economist reports on a new book that points out the big role governments play in creating innovative businesses. Economists have long recognised that the state has a role in promoting…
