Body of Knowledge

  • From Zero to Hero

    One of the main problems with companies is that their sights are often set too low—using efficiency measures that don’t reflect their operation’s full potential. For example, a recent analysis of 27 manufacturers showed that on average the companies were operating at 71% of their maximum efficiency.  However, a deeper analysis based on their assets’ “true…

  • The Eureka Moment

    “First comes thought; then organization of that thought into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination.” Napoleon Hill Almost all of us have experienced a “ Eureka Moment ” – a moment in our lives where we have had a great thought…

  • Customer Calls Reliability 360; Addressing Future Challenges @ the Speed of Light

    The Misconception of Reliability and Availability After a 10 year reliability journey that takes me across the appliances, power generation, aerospace, component placement, electronics design, wireless, and finally the cable industries, I would like to share my astonishing discovery with my friends and foes alike. My focus will be on the cable industry where my recent…

  • Eliminate Unnecessary Customer Calls

    Are your call center costs way too high? Are your customers’ experiences way too low? Poor customer care is not only pervasive and widely publicized, but seems to be getting worse. Witness the recent uproars about Dell Computer and AOL. More and more I have seen clients that are frantic, though internally focused, saying, “Our budget for handling…

  • A Value Proposition: Managing Costs with ERP

    I read a great blog post regarding the Value Proposition of seat belts.  Seat Belts!  Who would think that seat belts needed a marketing plan?  Then again, I can remember riding in my Dad’s old Chevy pickup when I was a kid – and I’m fairly certain the thing didn’t even HAVE seat belts.  However, if we can all…