I started XONITEK in August of 1985 in Endicott, New York.  I still own its latest incarnation, now located in Sheridan, Wyoming.  Having owned my own businesses for the last 40 years makes me uniquely unemployable.  Perhaps that could change given the right circumstances (whatever those might be). Since the very beginning, the purpose of...

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https://www.buzzsprout.com/2328296/episodes/15618466 In this episode, Joseph Paris dives deep into leadership and the pursuit of Business Excellence. He talks with Sebastian Huber about how it all started with a LinkedIn group that grew from 50 to 180,000 members and explores whether Excellence is an attitude or a goal. Paris highlights the importance of true emotions and the feeling...

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Welp, to start-off the year, JP pulled a major boner. We got together for this session on January 8th and it was a pretty good session; that is, until JP realized he forgot to hit the “record” button at the end of the session when he went to turn the recording off… DOH! So, you...

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I have known Michael Webb for several years.  He has been a member of the Advisory Board of the Operational Excellence Society almost since its inception and led the Operational Excellence Society Chapter in Atlanta.  We start the podcast by discussing the application of operational excellence and continuous improvement principles to sales and marketing activities. ...

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The leaders of B2B companies often face a conundrum in sales and marketing. Their products, services, and talented people solve customer problems daily. Their approaches to awareness, conversion, and retention make sense. They’ve tried to improve training, coaching, automation, incentives, and more. Often more than once! And despite many attempts, growth and profitability are unsatisfactory....

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Global trade patterns are reconfiguring. More shifts are likely and businesses need to be aware of the potential trade-offs of different paths ahead. At a glance Introduction Trade reconfiguration has been making headlines. In 2023, Mexico became the United States’ largest goods trade partner. Vietnam’s trade with China and the United States has been surging....

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With digital opportunities sweeping the supply chain landscape, readiness and line of sight will be paramount to success. Advanced technologies are shaking up the supply chain world. With quickly evolving capabilities across generative AI, data analytics, automation, machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain and more, the ‘smart’ supply chain is well on its way...

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This article is provided courtesy of theleanmag, a content partner of the Operational Excellence Society. Imagine steering a ship in tumultuous seas without a compass—this is like leading a business without core values guiding the way. You might eventually achieve your goals, but it might take a long time and involve unnecessary and costly detours. In...

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Summary. As they strive to make their supply chains more resilient, global companies are grappling with two challenges: the difficulty in discerning potential sources and the extended time required to find, vet, and onboard new suppliers. Companies such as Walmart, Tyson Foods, Koch Industries, Maersk, Siemens, and Unilever are using AI tools to swiftly find...

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New systems can learn autonomously and make complex judgments. Leaders need to understand these “autosapient” agents and how to work with them. Summary. AI has been subtly influencing us for years, but a new generation of vastly more capable technology is now emerging. These systems, the authors write, aren’t just tools. They’re actors that increasingly...

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A framework for navigating the worst of what AI, quantum computing, and other new technologies could create. Summary: Next-generation technologies are poised to cause society-shaking shifts at unprecedented speed and scale. Generative AI, quantum computing, blockchain, and other technologies present novel ethical problems that “business as usual” just can’t handle. To meet these challenges, leaders...

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Headline: “Business Metrics Gone Awry: The Dark Side of Relying Solely on KPIs” Subheading: “Corporate Missteps Highlight the Pitfalls of Blindly Chasing Key Performance Indicators” We read about it all the time; in a shocking turn of events, the business world is abuzz with meteoric fall of some company and its CEO, its CFO, or...

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Operational Excellence By DesignTM 2023 Nov/Dec Holiday Edition         Monthly Musing Connecting With Us Founder’s Corner – Joseph Paris Considering the Entire Employee Lifecycle This article explores the 10 Steps of the employee lifecycle; from recruitment through off-boarding (whether this is by promotion or separation) and the efforts and actions that can...

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My guest today is Scott Lushin, Senior Manager of Global Operational Excellence at Donaldson Company, Incorporated. In this episode, Scott takes us through his professional journey. Starting off in retail automotive and the restaurant business, it is obvious that has two passions; problem solving and leadership. Although his passion for problem-solving made itself readily apparent...

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I wrote an article entitled “The Strategic HR Department” where I shared my thoughts on the characteristics of a Human Resources Department that is strategic with a purpose of being an accelerant of the organization’s ambitions rather than one that is a bureaucracy whose emphasis is on compliance. Of course, compliance is an important responsibility...

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Welcome to another episode of The Outliers Inn With it being near the end of another year the theme of this episode is endings and beginnings where we will speak with our guests about what might have ended for them this past year and what they look forward to beginning in the next. We have...

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This article is provided courtesy of theleanmag, a content partner of the Operational Excellence Society. In the culinary world, excellence is often measured by the ability to create unique flavor profiles, master cooking techniques, and present dishes that are visually appealing. Chefs spend years honing their skills, experimenting with ingredients, and perfecting their recipes in order...

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The logistics sector follows the lead in process automation, technological innovation, and environmental conservation in a constantly changing terrain. Logistics organizations need to quickly adjust to innovative technologies, cutting-edge procedures, and strategic approaches in order to survive and prosper in this age of intense competition. As logistics technology continues to advance, the sector should anticipate...

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CEOs globally recognize the potential of artificial intelligence (AI), but most are encountering significant challenges in formulating and operationalizing related strategies. While over two-thirds see the need to act quickly on GenAI, a similar proportion also report being stymied by uncertainty in this space, making it challenging to respond at speed. While the vast majority...

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Companies are making their supply chains more cost-efficient, resilient and sustainable in an increasingly uncertain world. Over the last couple of decades, many supply chains have become linear global chains, stretched to their limit in pursuit of efficient, mass production with low-cost countries, just-in-time inventory and limited inherent resilience. These models were geared towards growing...

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Summary.   Modern work is inherently project-based and collaborative. We are all project managers to some extent. From film directors and restaurant owners to lawyers and accountants, many professions involve managing projects. For everyone, not just project managers, mastering timeboxing can be a gateway to bridging the gap between intention and execution. You’re probably already timeboxing, at...

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Operational excellence (OpEx) is an approach to business management which emphasises continuous improvement across all aspects of a business, within all its processes, by creating a culture where management and employees are invested in business outcomes and empowered to implement change. It allows organisations to reach higher levels of service and product delivery through better...

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It’s all about the people… … the problem is, that seems hard… The joke often goes that managers pick up the Operational Excellence bible and flip through the chapters: hmmm ‘Create Flow’? Sounds confusing… what else we got? ‘Pull at the rate of demand’? Ok, ok, whatever that means…. ‘Remove Waste’! Aha! THAT I like…...

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Operational Excellence By DesignTM 2023 October         Monthly Musing Connecting With Us Founder’s Corner – Joseph Paris Safety comes third… At a conference, a speaker was sharing about his company and their values. The last value listed was “Safety” to which he stated; “And at ACME Company, safety comes first.”  I asked;...

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Hello and welcome to another edition of State of Readiness. I am your host, Joseph Paris.My guest today is Ben Guttmann, Author of “Simply Put; Why Clear Messages Win―and How to Design Them.” We start the conversation going back to high school where Ben was fortunate enough to have attended a high school that had...

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Several years ago I was at an Operational Excellence Conference here in Frankfurt.  As with most talks, the speaker started by introducing the company he worked for and what it did.  He then proceeded to list the companies values, of which there were five or so. The last value on the list was “Safety” to...

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So welcome back to The Outliers Inn! In spite of the incredible odds that recent history has demonstrated, Mule finally gets the timing right and is able to join as the co-host. It’s just as well, because Don, “The Beer Man” is MIA for today’s episode. Mule starts by sharing the reports of automobile break-ins...

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When was the last time you played Jenga? Maybe you set it up with your kids on a rainy Sunday afternoon, or maybe you idly played it with friends at a brewery. Either way, after you built up this precarious tower of wooden blocks, you had one goal: to keep it from falling down. As...

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