The magic wand to reach excellence in business does not exist. What does exist though, is a proven, systematic approach to support the business growth. It requires discipline, resilience and dedication.
1. Research
Principles of quality assurance and best practices of continuous improvement apply to all industries. The world is changing rapidly and so does the technology. The first step you should consider if you want to keep up is to allocate time to research. What some people call web browsing can become your foundation for regular updates on tools and methods applicable to your business. Do you think the Lean Six Sigma has passed its prime days? Wrong. Google it to see how it’s helping companies around the world to meet their hard financial goals.
Research time is never wasted time!
As it happens we have a free library you can use. Click the link below:
2. Learn
Once you get your head around the latest developments in the area of your interest, narrow your focus to what can be useful to your business. Dig deeper into details of technology, methods and applications. Run a quick reality check:
- How my business can benefit from this?
- What is the initial investment required?
- Do we have skills and competencies to use it?
- How long will it take to adopt it?
- Can we justify the cost of implementation?
Maybe it’s time to upgrade the machine park? How about moving away from manually managed tasks to full automation? Build a strong business case to secure the funding. Make sure that numbers stack up.
3. Challange
A strong business case is paramount to your success in securing the funds. Be prepared to face the resistance to change. Challenging the status quo is always part of the improvement process. Frustration may hit you hard. How many times have you heard:
- We are short on cash
- We have not budgeted for it this year
- We have other priorities
- You have managed to live without it, keep going
- Is it essential?
- You have chosen an awful time to ask for it
People usually start by looking at the price. If the cost seems excessive they quickly reject the idea. Challange those who reject the opportunity to save money. Do they understand concepts of initial investment, ROI etc.?
4. Improve
Have a project plan ready before you reach this stage. Implementation will most probably uncover more challenges and roadblocks. The biggest challenge of them all is to keep going no matter how difficult or frustrating this may be. Execution is vital.
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