Are you a Leader or a Laggard?

Are you a Leader or a Laggard?

Buckley Brinkman, WMEP Executive Director

We are living in times that separate the Leaders from the Laggards. Volatility and uncertainty have become ingrained in the new normal. Change continues to accelerate and affect all parts of the economy. All of this volatility, uncertainty, and change creates opportunities for Leaders ready to embrace the disciplines of Next Generation Manufacturing.

Volatility and uncertainty are parts of the new normal. Five years ago would we have taken 400 point swings in the Dow Jones Industrial Average in stride? Would we have expected the downgrading of the US credit rating? We may long for the more predictable times of years gone by, but volatility and uncertainty will be a part of our world for awhile to come.

The volatility and uncertainty is accentuated by a climate of accelerating change. We now live in a world where communication is instant and virtually free. The technology that makes that possible also makes it possible to collaborate with people around the world to harness the best thinking and bring it to bear on challenges and opportunities facing any organization. This facilitates rapid, profitable implementation of new ideas and approaches to the market that can transform the competitive balance of entire industries.

Instability and change create many more new opportunities than in the past. Many of the traditional business advantages have gone by the wayside. Barriers to entry in many businesses have been eliminated or put into enough flux that new competitors can establish profitable market positions. New business models make it possible to instantly shift their cost structures to match the demands of their customers. Smaller, faster, nimbler enterprises are establishing beachheads in businesses dominated by Fortune 500 companies.

These new times demand new leaders and new approaches. Effective Leaders in these times absorb information – not emotions. They focus on the impact items under their control and merely observe the rest of the world. Leaders maintain a steady direction based on intimate knowledge of their business and their ability to fixate on the elements they can impact. This involves proper attention to the fundamentals – fundamentals defined under the banner of Next Generation Manufacturing.

Next Generation Manufacturing principles define the critical elements for competing in the new economy:

• Customer Focused Innovation – delivering services and products before your customers know they’re needed;
• Systemic Continuous Improvement – establishing a culture that sets new performance standards every day;
• Advanced Talent Management – the ability to harness the full power of the modern manufacturing workforce;
• Global Engagement – taking advantage of the global market for goods and services;
• Extended Enterprise Management – making supply changes that are strong and profitable for everyone; and
• Sustainable Products and Process Development – reducing the organization’s environmental footprint and improve operating performance.

It used to be that you could run an extremely successful manufacturing organization by doing well on one or two of these dimensions. Today, success requires expertise across all of these dimensions. The Next Generation Manufacturing elements create a stable base in turbulent times. Attending to these basics makes it possible to push the limits in global markets without jeopardizing the core business.

We see Leaders making the most of these times, while Laggards struggle to survive. It’s a time of great opportunity for manufacturers. Are you making the most of these opportunities? Step out and become a Leader!