If all five of your constituencies are not feeling the benefit from your improvement efforts, your improvements are likely delusional. You need steak, not sizzle.

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Political and religious arguments are front page news. Some businesses have chosen to take a stand; some very visibly, others under the radar. Here is how to think about the choice your manufacturing company can make on taking a stand on hot topic issues.

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ERP, Lean, Industry 4.0; does a manufacturer need to do all of these? How do you know where to utilize the power of any of them? Data management and data-based decisions are important in each case, with purpose determining what capabilities to engender.

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Why price shopping expert consultants is not in your best interest: There is always someone cheaper, and always someone more expensive. But that refers to stated price. Great consultants don’t charge by the day, and don’t accept on the surface what you say you need. They constantly ask “why?” Good ones focus on ROI to you and improving the client condition as quickly as possible.

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Customer satisfaction depends as much on your ability to simply do the little things well as on very specialized requirements they may have. These fundamentals may seem boring, but they are in fact critical. Consider these examples in evaluating your own reliable, dependable, and repeatable delivery of the little things.

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Marketing commonly segments customers and markets, but operations rarely does beyond shipping requirements. You can deliver so much more value to your customers by operations defining segments as well. Those can be based on usage environment or other aspects of the customers operations. Segment customers by their operations to improve your own.

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Do you want to compete in commodity markets? Even when a market starts out specialized, they can devolve into regular rebid situations. The big volumes in both quantity and dollars can be alluring but may not be consistent with your vision and strategy. Do all your customer-facing people know which markets, which customers and which orders are consistent with where you are taking the company?

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Your legacy is not yet defined. Consider these suggestions to ensure it’s one that truly matters. It’s never too late to reassess your priorities and adjust your behaviors accordingly. Live out your legacy.

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How should lean expertise be integrated into your organization? Consider these pros and cons of options and ask yourself the most important question of all.

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