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Though closely related, building a house and maintaining a household are two very different activities.  When building a house, there are many one-time-tasks that are completed with each one adding to another to make the project greater until completion.  These tasks include sequential activities such as clearing the land, pouring the foundation, putting up walls, and adding a roof. Once a house is built, the builders walk away, and the house will still stand.     On the other hand, maintaining a household involves ongoing tasks that need to be completed on a monthly, weekly, or even daily basis in order to see the atmosphere thrive.  This might involve trimming shrubbery, cleaning a pool, or even grocery shopping.  The maintenance does not stop there; the occasional new or even urgent task might emerge that could be added to your list of repeated activities.   The above illustrations can easily apply to a business environment, but it is of utmost importance that the proper management tool is used. A situation with a defined end and multiple milestones calls for a POAM, while repeated activities best call for a task list. Knowing what tool to use will optimize results and minimize confusion.    “Plan of Action and Milestones,” more commonly known as POAM, is best utilized when each action taken is required for progression and deemed a milestone.  Generally, there are two types of actions that can be considered: those that are sequential (completed one after another), and parallel (completed at the same time).  The result of each of these milestones is clearly defined and trackable.  Using a POAM can trace progress which encourages employees to stay dedicated and focused on completion.   When the activities necessary for completion are repetitive, a task list is a better tool to use.  Task lists generally contain activities needed to maintain an atmosphere.  These lists can be altered in a sense where activities can be added or taken away.  Actions that are added may be tasks that were initially unexpected, but necessary for a short amount of time.  Your company will greatly benefit from your knowledge of when to use a POAM and when actions require a task list.  These tools are often mixed up with one another or considered interchangeable, but they are not. Know what each tool is.  Know when to use each tool.  Implement and reap the benefits of organization and progression within your business!   For more tips and tricks on best business tools, visit www.GesGrp.com 

Executives often wake up to find hundreds of emails in their inbox.  Out of these hundreds there might be half that they entertain and read.  Divide those in half and you might find the actual number of emails that get responses.  Perhaps one more divide would result in messages that directly involve the individual executive.  Colleagues often forget the hierarchy of communication and how it is directly related to time management. Executives should not be burdened by minimal tasks or issues that arise as employees progress with their responsibilities; they should simply see a well-put-together result. Not every email sent out must reach the inbox of the tip of the pyramid.  More often than not there is someone you may have already collaborated with who can answer your questions accurately and in a timely manner. How do you know who to contact? Downward Communication: When presented with a task that needs to be completed, it might be best to delegate responsibilities to those who report to you. This way you will be able to place an expected date of completion (EDC) and hold those you manage accountable. Seek Out the Source: There are times when more information is needed before completing or managing a task. First, look to those who specialize in that genre of information.  Is it something about marketing?  Contact the marketing department.  Are you looking for files regarding a previous contract?  Perhaps you should look for someone who is in administrative support.  Going straight to the source of information will quickly lead you to where you need to be without being pointed in several directions and wasting precious time on the clock. Upward Communication: It is best practice to begin your day by asking your superior what information or task completions they need you to accomplish that day. Ideally, subordinates present their results to their superiors without having to go through them to assist in the process. If the information can’t be found any other way, seek out the person you directly report to for assistance.  Notice the specification of “directly report to”.  This does not mean contacting the head of the company or ignoring the hierarchy of communication. The most important take away from this information is to hold off on including the top level of management on all of your emails.  Although you may think it is good for you to keep them in the know, you do not want to be the cause of those pesky emails piling up in their already flooded inbox. Collaborate with those around you; do not CC or contact the company head if it is a minimal task or does not directly relate to them.  This is the best way to utilize your talents and make effective moves in a timely fashion. For more blogs to read, visit www.gesgrp.com.

Accomplishing More with Less: A Powerful Business Lesson from Covid-19 Not many business plans include how to handle pandemics or how to address shut downs and extended absences.  The 2020 Covid Pandemic challenged both small and large business in unimaginable ways; pushing companies to find creative solutions to stay afloat during such a trying time.  Many businesses were able to successfully adjust and adapt. The larger companies, with 5000+ employees, managed to figure out ways to continue operating despite the many the challenges they had to face.   Throughout this ordeal, many have learned important lessons that should be carried over beyond the Covid-19 shutdowns. Some companies saw improved cost & schedule performance despite lower attendance rate. How could these companies get more work done with less people? The answer is simple:  a deficit in NVA employees.   Non value added (NVA) employees are those employees who go to work but don’t intend to actually perform their duties. NVA rate varies between companies and tends to be higher with larger companies where the supervision ratio is greater or within companies that foster a culture that does not value productivity.  NVA employees tend to hang out in pairs; stereotypically gathering near coffee stations and tool cribs.  They often roam the hallways looking to distract other employees who are trying to accomplish their daily responsibilities. These are the employees that move at a sluggishly-slow pace when on the clock, but race to parking lot at the end of shift. NVAs have frequent absentees, providing poor excuses on Mondays and even less believable ones on Fridays. They are often the first group to volunteer for furloughs and lay-offs.  NVA employees tend to have a negative impact on morale, productivity, cost and schedule.  Some may wonder why companies keep or tolerate NVA employee.  Common reasons Include:  Failure or refusal to document and track this group.  Therefore, supervisors find themselves unable to convince HR to take action.  Company Culture that condones lack of productivity.  NVA employees having each other’s back, pretending to work at certain times just to keep the job.

The Most Effective Way to Minimize Downtime in Manufacturing is… #1 Do Not Plan for It: Sounds obvious but it’s NOT.… Too often management fails to assign enough work for their employees.  They tend to underestimate how much work someone can actually achieve when completely focused and working against the clock. In some cases, employees were assigned an average of 4.5 hours of work for their 8-hour shift.  How logical is it to only hold employees accountable for slightly over half of a full day’s work, when they are being paid for double the amount of productivity?  This proves to be a complete waste of resources. Will planning for less downtime be more effective?  After applying the PDF Factor (Personal, Distractions, and Fatigue) Management should expect at least 6.5 productive hours per employee/shift. When assigning 4.5 only, they are planning for 30% built-in downtime. It should not stop there.  Not only should management assign 6.5 of practical work, but they should provide employees back-up tasks in case they run into obstacles in their primary job.   Broken tools, other trades in the way, lack of materials or additional reasons that prevent an employee from completing their task should not be expected, but it would be beneficial to prepare for hurdles in a way that denotes busy work and promotes some kind of advancement.  This way, money spent truly is money earned. The potential annual cost of downtime can be exemplified as follows: 2 hrs. X 500 Employees (Average production Facility Crew Size) Multiplied by $49.00/hr. (Average burdened Manufacturing Hourly Rate) Multiplied again by 257 working days per year equals… $12,593,000 of Potential Annual Cost of Downtime. This example proves that adding downtime to the day can be quite costly.  Avoid this blunder all together by knowing what your employees are capable of completing.  Assign designated tasks to ensure that their time is being properly utilized in ways that benefit the company. For more blogs to read, visit www.gesgrp.com.

In my 20 years of working with dozens of manufacturers, I have witnessed a frequent battle between Operations and Marketing. Finance often allies with Operations and Sales supports Marketing; all while the CEO usually gives the final word.  The battle has begun: How many SKUs is too many?  How many is not enough?   Whether it’s the food plant, lamp manufacturer, or toy maker, how many shades of grey you actually need to satisfy every taste and capture every customer is debatable.  Growing product lines create a logistical yet operational nightmare if not properly planned or controlled.   Every additional SKU requires an extensive upfront setup: mold making, parts ordered, equipment calibrated, and trial runs.  These are only a few of the contributing factors; the list continues.  Not to mention production interruption from excessive changeovers that results in schedule delays and increased cost. Hidden costs tend to be under-captured, overlooked, or underestimated when it comes to a new product launch.  However, “The RIGHT customer is always right” trumps all. It’s not easy to balance efficiency and customer satisfaction. In the name of customer satisfaction, desire to increase market share or simply keeping current customers, companies accepted the fact that introducing a new product is an unavoidable business expense. Marketing and Sales have no easy tasks. They have to predict economic trends and customer desires, while outperforming the competition.   Nevertheless, there are ways to minimize the impact of introducing new SKUs on efficiency:  1. Product Mix Production Optimization Process  To minimize the negative impact on production ask yourself: how, when, how much, and what to produce. These simple questions have been implemented in many companies and always provide important information.  2. ABCD Inventory Analysis  This is a comprehensive study of inventory turnover to determine production runs, MOQ, and product line reviews.  3. Insourcing vs. Outsourcing   Can a third party produce the new product for market testing faster and cheaper than you so you can continue to focus on your core competency?  4. Minimize Downtime  Review internal factors such as operational improvement to minimize changeover downtime and external factors like customers purchasing habits. Suggest slight alteration that can benefit both parties.   5. “Teamwork Makes the Dream Work”  Sales will always make the challenging promises to get the business and Operations will always have to deliver. Without Sales, there is no need for Operations. Making excuses and accusations result in zero outcomes; save your energy and tackle the issue as a team.  You’ll have a better chance of winning. Read more articles on our website, visit www.gesgrp.com.

Trust but Verify: How the Truth can be Eroded at Every Layer of Management  It’s true that some leaders live in the clouds of management and their view of the ground (aka production floor) is often blurry and distorted.  Perhaps they are missing the red flags being waived as a project falls behind schedule, perhaps they can’t hear the S.O.S cries from employees needing more direction.  Either way, problems within a project can go unnoticed by those who are furthest away from the physical labors of production.   Sometimes it takes an outsider, such as a consultant, to detect, highlight, and address the apparent disconnect between the ground floor and the top floor.  A common observation made is that management by PowerPoint, Emails, and VP briefings is not enough. Leaders need to venture beyond Mahogany Avenue and walk the plant floor as often as they can.   One effective solution to enhance face-to-face interactions is to replace some office meetings with “Walk and Talk” meetings. These are beneficial to everyone in the organization; not to mention the health benefits of exercising that come along with it!  Some of the most powerful business leaders that I’ve met or heard of start their day by walking the production facility.  They stand at the front entrance to greet employees as they come in to work.  They replaced the “Gym Lunch Hour” with facility tours, or attended “Lunch & Learn” with their employees.  Their faces are seen, and they take the time to spend their time with the employees that run the floor.  It’s so important for employees to see and interact with their leaders on a regular basis in order to build trust and mutual respect. Furthermore, leaders can learn a lot from spending just a few minutes talking to their employees. They may even gain an understanding of the important issues that are omitted from PowerPoint presentations; often filtered out by the 4-7 layers of management to avoid “looking bad or incapable”.  I’ve often told clients that with every layer of management, they are losing 10% of the facts/truth.  If you really want to know what’s going on in your company, hit the floor.  Some may argue that leaders need to operate at 30,000 feet to avoid distraction by tiny details or be perceived as micro-managers. Most effective leaders can strike a balance between micro-management and invisible management.   In addition to floor time, it is recommended that leaders invite outsiders to perform a regular “pulse check” of the organization. It is fascinating how much critical information an experienced consultant can uncover in a short period of time and be able to bridge a gap between what is reported and the actual “State of the Organization”.  Many effective leaders rely on their outer circle of trusted consultant(s) and advisor(s) to tell them what their inner circle falls short of reporting. Whether it’s fear of committing career suicide, or facing retaliation, withholding important facts can sometimes result in setbacks to the entire organization.   To be an effective consultant you must have an equally strong relationship with every layer of management yet the strongest of all needs to be with the general workforce.  Read more articles on our website, visit www.gesgrp.com.

Top 10 Things to Improve Your Business Improvement is constantly needed within every business. Whether there is a desire to increase sales, improve customer satisfaction, or gain revenue, there is always something a company can better. Here is our exclusive list of the top 10 practices that can help improve your business:  Set Realistic Goals  Although the goals set by a business are essentially a theoretical aspect, it considerably helps heighten the business. A major focus of every company should be to set up attainable goals (See S.M.A.R.T Goals).   Get Control of Finances  Finance is rightly considered to be the lifeline of a business organization which no business can survive without. If an organization desires to make rapid financial improvements, they must obtain the source of the problem and improve the management of their finances.  Sharpen Marketing Skills  Currently, marketing is regarded as the most important function of any business. Thus, an entrepreneur must strive to sharpen their marketing skills and stay up-to-date on the latest media trends in order to improve that aspect of their business.   Be Innovative  Innovation in business activities is what keeps a company thriving. Whether they are managerial or technical aspects, these tactics are extremely important to the continual growth and timeless prosperity of any organization. Innovation in products, services, and decision making are key factors for a business to remain relevant and successful.   Learn from the Best Practices  There are several ways in which businesspeople can learn and professionally grow. The best way is from experiencing and observing other successful practices. A business organization can only benefit from adapting lucrative techniques from other prolific practices.  Know Your Competitors  An organization that has no knowledge of its present and prospective competitors will struggle to establish itself on the business front. It is important to always take note of the competition and to accurately and actively counter their actions.   Recognize Human Assets  A business, no matter how big or small, cannot achieve success without constant dedication from its employees. Therefore, entrepreneurs and their management team must recognize employees as assets; inspiring them to work hard and contribute to any improvements.  Always Be Timely  A key factor in the success of any business environment is time reliability. Regardless of how exceptional a plan may seem, if it isn’t conceived on time and put into practice, it will bear no results. Improving your timely action improves your business.    Actively Monitor   Overseeing a business is a constant, ongoing process. In order to establish great results, perpetual monitoring of the organization is a necessary task. By monitoring the business environment, executives are able to learn what is working and what is not.  They become more than just a name, but active participants in the cooperation who thoroughly know the ins and outs of their business.   Hire a Management Consultant  Naturally, entrepreneurs and management teams of business organizations sometimes find themselves struggling at crucial times. Times like these are when most businesses discover that the best way to obtain guidance and advice is by hiring a management consultant.  Management consultants are professionals that actually help businesses grow by enhancing their performance through data analysis and various services. They work closely with business dynamics and develop a successful plan of action to dramatically improve the business.   Read more articles on our website, visit www.gesgrp.com.

Add Too Much Information (TMI) to your Business Glossary TMI can distract from the purpose of any professional document or presentation.  We once found ourselves faced with an accountant who was generating reports with the purpose of explaining the report. This sounds exactly as complicated as it actually was.  These reports literally exceeded 200 pages and she distributed 8-12 copies every month. I am sure their photocopy distributor was a very happy provider!   This accountant’s team of 3 people wasted countless hours and resources preparing reports that hardly anyone read or reviewed.  As we began working to simplify the issue, we introduced our “Paper Reduction Act” process also known as the “Save the Trees” Campaign:  Identify who needs to know which information.  Is the information available electronically? If not, can it be converted?  Identify and print KPI’s only and provide an index with hyperlinks to supporting documents.  Monthly reports decreased to 9 pages in length and this practice was promoted across other plants. The accountant we worked with was recognized for her efforts in improving the system. Not only did she accept and embrace the change, but she also became an important advocate and supporter of our endeavors.   Read more articles on our website, visit www.gesgrp.com.

What Makes an Effective Management Consultant?  The consulting industry is known for its high-performance workers who are considered to be the best in the business.  But what does it take to succeed in such a competitive field?  While some may think having an Ivy League diploma is enough, they are unaware of what is truly important in the consulting field. There are certain qualities and techniques to practice that are undeniably crucial for any management consultant to thrive:   Listen to the Client  Listening, in general, is a great skill. In consulting, listening to the client and key managers will help identify 85% of the problems. Many clients know where the issues are with their organization.  They just don’t have the time, skills, or experience/resources to tackle them.  Don’t Worry about Recognition  Whether it’s your idea or not, if it makes sense and it’s beneficial to the company, put it in play. Remember: the score card is based on earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization (EBITA), not who came up with the idea.  Bridge the Gap  Identify the disconnect between layers of management. If C-level, Mid-Level and Floor supervisors do not directly relay their messages and depend on others to do so, only 20% of the communication makes it through.  By identifying and bridging the gap, there leaves less room for errors and rework.  Get Involved  Observe the overall process from the highest level of authority, but when it comes to implementation, start from the base and work your way up. Remember: it’s the boots on the ground that are fighting the battle, so get down and dirty beside these soldiers; put your steel-toed boots and your hard hat on and gain firsthand experience.  Understanding multiple levels of staff proves you have conducted important research.  This will entice executives to be more supportive of your proposed solutions.  Be Realistic and Transparent  Consultants are not there to build a business from nothing.  They are trying to promote better business practices and formulate a plan of action that will bring success and growth to a company.  Do not claim expertise in areas you do not have expertise or experience in. Doing so will lead to guaranteed frustration and failure.  It is much more difficult to re-establish credibility once you have lost a client’s trust.  Keep It Professional  The client is paying for your skills, knowledge, and experience. Stay objective and fact-oriented, not overly complementary or offensive. Do not lose sight of the mission or the project laid out before you.  Emotions, personal beliefs, and most importantly, egos must be kept at bay.  Be professional but approachable; direct but not arrogant.  Express your views but hear their concerns.  Enjoy What You Do  Any working individual should wake up every morning enthused to begin another productive day. Being a “road warrior” is not an easy life, especially if you have a family at home. It is important to enjoy the thrill of the unknown; solving business challenges, blending 100’s of personalities into one mission statement, and figuring out years of problems within weeks, all while solving them in months.  Enjoying the job is the most important attribute of any consultant.  Read more articles on our website, visit www.gesgrp.com.