Operational Excellence is 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 – to pursue ‘Operational Excellence by Design‘, and not by coincidence.
Joseph F Paris Jr; Founder
The Silver Bullet of Business Success
3 Powerful Questions that will Quickly Unleash the Extraordinary and Profitable Leader in You! 1. Do You Really Understand What Is Really Important? When a leader can truthfully and accurately answer this critically important question, the power of the 80/20 Principle can then be tapped and exploited to motivate the type of behaviors that will…
The Myth of Japanese Companies and Management
It seems that at every Conference, Symposium, or other gathering of higher-learning and thought-leaders – where the topic is Lean Six-Sigma – many of the attendees, and almost all of the speakers, glorify and hold with the highest veneration the supposedly unmatched performance and prowess of Japanese companies and their management. Enshrined as proof-positive in…
The Dangers of Complacency
Complacency – (Satisfied: Self-satisfied, usually in an unreflective way and without being aware of possible dangers) What does a car, a business, or a person have in common? I had never given it much thought until I recently went to start my car after work, which has 100,000 plus miles, and found that as soon as I…
OODA and Agility; Reaching a Conclusion Faster
Since the beginning of recorded history, great leaders of engagements have known two things; 1) Time is the enemy with speed and decisiveness in making a decision being an advantage and 2) there is no such thing as the perfect plan. Therefore the ability to adapt as circumstances unfold is critical to success. Sun Tzu,…
Escape the Improvement Trap; What Elite Companies Do to Improve
Over the last twenty years, organizations have adopted many different improvement programs – TQM, Re-engineering, Lean, Six Sigma, etc. Despite working hard to adopt/apply the particular improvement methodology, very few organizations actually experience a true transformation and radically improve their competitive position. The competitive position typically stays the same since competitors also advance by adopting…
Stream-Mining Work: Connecting the Crosscurrents of Knowledge by Kelvin F. Cross
The vice president of leading HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) laments: “We know how to streamline work from point A to point B, but we don’t know how to routinely and rapidly streamline learning from our collective experiences, especially across our disparate functions and processes.” She is not alone.
