Industrial Maintenence and Plant Operation

I M P O

• A P R I L 2 0 1 4

EDITOR‘SNOTE
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VOL. 74 • NO. 3 • APRIL 2014
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My high school tennis coach used to occasionally pair us against better players to help
us improve. Though I hated to lose, it
was a good opportunity to bring more
clarity to my own flaws (I had a lot and
still do) and force me to push harder
just to stay in the game. Sometimes I'd
compete better than what I'd expected,
which made me really wonder what I
was capable of. I'm sure many of you
have personal experiences like this, and
that's probably why a recent educational
keynote had such an impact on me and
the rest of the audience.
I attended this talk at the annual meet-
ing of the industrial buying group, NetPlus
Alliance, where the speaker – Rick Wallace
from Next Level Coaching – outlined his
assessment of the lies we tell ourselves
that ultimately hold our businesses back.
As he addressed the internal stumbling
blocks many companies face, several of
these lies turned out to be excuses that
I've seen time and again – and I bet I'm
not alone. Do any of these ring a bell?:

• "We're too busy to be more productive."

• "We'd have more sales if we had more salespeople."

• "We can't afford the best talent out there."

Ultimately, said Wallace, many businesses suffer from "self-limiting beliefs."

If we try to outdo our KPIs by being just a little bit better than we were last year, we miss an opportunity to really focus on significant process and business improvement. This is why we need to benchmark ourselves against the best in the business.

Benchmarking against the best creates courage, said Wallace. This is not to say there isn't a place for small measurable goals -- quite the opposite, in fact.

Creating big, long-term strategic targets
means you must flesh out the stepping
stones and use transparent communica-
tion to gain positive buy-in from your
employees. It means you may need to
get real
with them
about
your
profits, so
they can
under-
stand that
working
more
effectively
isn't just
lining
the pock-
ets of investors; it's allowing for further
internal investment, creating new jobs,
or enabling bigger and better things. And
once you aim high, you need the clarity
of purpose, focus, and execution to all be
in alignment in order to succeed.
Thinking about these points in a man-
ufacturing context, what really struck a
chord with me was this idea of learning
from the best. Based on my experience
visiting manufacturers over the years, I
think it would be rare to find one who
actually knew without a doubt they were
best in class. Most of the folks I meet are
humble, and I've yet to meet one who
has been so bold as to pull out the foam
finger and chant "We're number one"

– even if they've been pioneers in their industries, have flawless safety records, or productivity rates.

I believe that, in this industry, it's possible that the best are hiding from you -- and that's why it's important to find ways of getting to know your peers. Find an association or business group that brings businesses together for collaboration in a non-competitive environment. Even the most minimal networking can yield the kind of feedback you'd never get internally, or from a customer. Ask questions. Be a leader. And God forbid, don't rest on your laurels just as you're starting to learn something. Which reminds me, I could stand another tennis lesson or two.