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by Steve Wilson

Wilson will join us at the Marketing & Distribution Convention to kick off a series on operational excellence. He introduces the idea of readiness here and will explore it in-depth in October.

I have been a part of continuous improvement circles for the past 25 years. Since my work began, the phrase “operational excellence” has become more in vogue, and with its prolific use has come an abundance of definitions.  

My friend Joseph Paris introduced the best definition I have found. Paris is an internationally respected expert in operational excellence. In his book, State of Readiness: Operational Excellence as a Precursor to Becoming a High-Performance Organization, he defines operational excellence this way: “a state of readiness attained as the efforts throughout the enterprise reach a state of alignment for pursuing its strategies—where corporate culture is committed to the continuous and deliberate improvement of company performance AND the circumstances of those who work there.”

In the first chapter, Paris adds this powerful statement: “When a company reaches a state of readiness, it attains a situational awareness and command of its capabilities—the ability to see and anticipate opportunities and threats.”

I have had opportunities to see inside many of the country’s leading manufacturing operations, each of them striving to differentiate themselves from competitors. In plants doing the best in their respective industries, I consistently see the systematic implementation of Lean, Six Sigma, or some other form of continuous improvement as a beginning point. These tools mature to the point of enterprise-wide deployment. Every area is targeted for improvement; everyone engages—front line, back line, front office, back office, everyone.  

As these operational excellence methods have gained widespread use, their potential to be a factor for differentiation has diminished. I believe, however, that significant opportunity still exists, and the defining factor in success is readiness.

We need to look no farther than 2020 to see evidence of that.

The coronavirus has wreaked havoc on North America and the world. As both a small business owner and an employee of Iowa’s manufacturing extension program—the Center for Industrial Research and Service—I have talked with company leaders describing the negative impact of the pandemic. Quarantines brought production to a halt in some cases. Supply chain disruptions created mayhem. Virtually no organization was completely unaffected. Amid the confusion, however, we heard reports like these: 

James Dyson designed a ventilator in 10 days, then produced 15,000.

Tesla, GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler all pledged to help produce the devices in the U.S.

MyPillow took on a new production direction and manufactured face masks for hospitals.

Dyson, in an interview shortly after he designed the ventilator, said this: “The core challenge was how to design and deliver a new, sophisticated medical device in an extremely short space of time.” 

There lies the essence of the challenge of the 21st century: time. 

A common theme among companies working to break from the pack is striving to increase the clock speed— or execution speed—of their business. Better products are expected in shorter and shorter cycles. The answer is a constant state of readiness.  

What we saw among companies who responded to needs created by the pandemic was a state of readiness. They knew their capacities and capabilities and were structured to expedite decision-making. As a result, they increased their value not only to their original end users but thousands of others.  

Disruptions, whether they originate from a virus, competition, shortages in raw materials, low employment rates, or technologies, are here to stay. The strategic advantage of the future will go to organizations that are able to respond to these disruptions deliberately, decisively, and with minimal delay. 

Steve Wilson is an operational excellence consultant, coach, and trainer. In addition to his session on readiness, he will participate in a panel on how the shortline industry has changed as a result of COVID-19.