Business Management - Productivity/Process Improvement

Owning a business is the opportunity of a lifetime! We've all seen the "rich" and "famous" doing it, right? But, like in Alice’s Wonderland, in the mythological and uncharted world of business, we can have an entrepreneurial attack and jump in with both feet—down the “rabbit hole” of owning our own business—only to find that nothing is quite what it’s supposed to be.

Worzalla has announced an agreement with SoftSolutions to install the Flex Real-time Production Management platform across Worzalla's Stevens Point, WI, production facility.

One thing I’ve learned about implementing systems over twenty-plus years—you need the INPUT and buy-in from your employees, so if they want something as small as using the color purple to improve a system, you just go with it.

Why, you might ask, do franchises succeed? The simple fact is—they have proven systems for operating, which ensures quality and service. Yes, franchises have their problems; they’re NOT perfect.

I met with several business associates and affiliates recently to plan an upcoming Webinar we had titled, "Boss in a Box,” a nickname some had given our software, System100, because it allows companies to operate AS IF the boss/owner has been cloned, so as to oversee every job at once. One associate, Merle, a business owner from Hendersonville, TN, is an authentic country boy (the real deal, y’all!), and amazingly good-natured about being called our “redneck millionaire,” due to his molasses-slow southern drawl, and his business success.

I have no problem with business owners who enjoy working in their companies as production managers, or wearing a multitude of hats. I know many owners who have been happy and successful operating their businesses that way. As for me,

There will be good days, and there will be bad days in setting up really workable systems for your business. You will encounter push back and, unfortunately, abuse. But, implementing and adhering to great systems proves the need of them in the end!

As our businesses grow, we tend to make do with the space and walls in place with very little thought given to the most efficient workflow. The anticipated expense and disruption of activity often prevents us from making the changes to work spaces and customer areas.

The industry continues to shrink, as evidenced by a brisk 2013 transaction season, capped by the jaw-dropping pickup of Consolidated Graphics by RR Donnelley. And while it was by far and away the biggest deal in '13, a glimpse at the PI 400 can provide further evidence of a shrinking market.

In my business—when we first put a system in place to measure ALL of our non-conformances—I was stunned, to say the least, at how much money we were losing on jobs having to be reworked; not to mention the other non-conformances plaguing our company.