Business Management - Productivity/Process Improvement

The FUNDAMENTALS are the way a business runs/operates from the time it opens in the morning until the time it closes at night. It’s amazing how many companies do NOT take the time to consider these all-important details.

“Shoot-from-the-hip” job applicant interviews reveal very little of the information that needs to be known up front; information that is usually only found out after the person’s hiring. “I just go with a GUT FEELING, and I normally get it right!”

I’ve interacted with many management combinations at family-owned businesses, so I know first-hand the challenges they face. The main one is how to keep from permanently damaging relationships, as family members are in constant contact as they deal with the stresses of the business.

Kent, one of our clients, was on a tight deadline to update his company’s quality control systems, or risk losing a large share of his business. To Kent’s mind, that was “Never Never Land!” The largest hurdle to overcome was how to ensure the input of correct data.

Many companies are reassessing current business models and rethinking production operations to gain greater efficiency. In order to effectively manage and embrace change in the workforce, one must look into human behavior at the individual, group and organizational level.

Many times, owners and managers assume people should know or remember how to do something after being shown only once. But, SIMPLE TOOLS OF THE TRADE—like well-conceived systems/procedures—can pretty much guarantee a job will be done right.

I’ve written before on the importance of intelligent pricing and its impact on profitability. A question I often get is, “Should I announce a price increase?” My answer is, “No.” Why call attention to an increase and invite shopping around by clients?

The prospect of passing on the business I started in 1988 has been on my mind for some time now. I believe we owe it to our children, the next generation, to help equip them to do the same for their children.

I just finished reading “Onward,” a fascinating book by Howard Schultz, president of Starbucks. I was inspired by the way Schultz faced and acknowledged his company’s challenges. Around that same time, we lost 60 percent of our printing business almost overnight in 2009.

My orientation—should I say, my DIS-orientation—into the world of printing, in 1967, was at Kennedy Print Shop. Mr. Williamson introduced me to the shop foreman and a journeyman pressman who gave me my orientation. It went something like this: