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
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 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…
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…
Eulogy of a Continuous Improvement Program
When you were born, everyone could see the twinkle in your eyes for the fire and passion you held. As you grew, you became inspired by the reported accomplishments of…
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…
Scaling and Sustaining Your Education and Training Program
I have been helping companies design and deploy their Operational Excellence (“OpEx”) and Continuous Improvement (“CI”) programs for a very long time. Mind you, I was not born with this…
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
4 ways to boost enterprise resilience with systems thinking
Why It Matters. It’s not enough to excel at a steady state — firms also need the resilience to respond to irregular operations and conditions. Systems thinking can help. Fresh…
Execution Is a People Problem, Not a Strategy Problem
HBR examines and reveals the root problems of strategy execution, largely identified as having to do with “people” – and not the strategy itself. This article means that however hard…
FOUR FOUNDATIONS: THE JOHNSON CONTROLS MANUFACTURING SYSTEM
BTOES Insights presents this case study on the Johnson Controls Manufacturing System – just one of the very best Award-Winning Examples of Successful Operational Excellence from the Business Transformation &…
OpEx Society – Egypt Chapter – 14 January 2017 Meeting
In this issue: – Big Data & Internet of Things (IOT) – Budgeting in Turbulent Economy Big Data & Internet of Things It’s been a challenge for all those dealing…
