Manufacturing Mastery The Path to Building Successful and Enduring Manufacturing Businesses

While there are those who say manufacturing is dying, it is not and will not. Without a universal vow of poverty, growing economies will only increase demand. Manufacturing in the 21st century is not a question of if -- Rather, it is a function of why, what, who, where, and how. The nature and pace of change in those factors are overwhelming many.

Fear, futile resistance, and uncertainty are common. While manufacturing will not die, individual manufacturing companies will if they do not learn to thrive in this new world.

This book is a dynamic guide for manufacturing leaders who want to reduce the ambiguity and overwhelming changes and develop a realistic, progressive, and responsive thinking process that enables success. It provides a business operating system framework that is the foundation for connecting the many pieces of a manufacturing business into an effective, profitable operation. The author walks through the elements, relationships, capabilities, and mutability 21st-century manufacturing requires. Executives of manufacturing companies will be better able to think about and execute viable strategies leveraging the changing economy.

Essentially, manufacturing is becoming increasingly complex, as are business and socioeconomic and political realities. Rapidly evolving technology adds to the confusing environment that precludes ?more of the same, better, faster and cheaper? as a workable business strategy. The tsunami of information hitting owners and leaders is overwhelming many, and it is easy to become frozen in place. Economic growth and improving standards of living require that all of this change be broken into bite-size understandable pieces that thaw the minds of executives, allowing them to assess what is best right now, and move forward. This book does not overwhelm with details and models; rather it provides thinking and examples in small chunks that enable manufacturers to develop and master skills for high-level strategic leadership in ambiguity.

Contents

Acknowledgments.....................................................................................xi

About the Author.....................................................................................xiii

Introduction..............................................................................................xv

1 The Manufacturing Metamorphosis Imperative...........................1

2 If Vision, Mission, and Core Values Don’t Anchor Your

3 Enterprise Capabilities...............................................................25

4 Relationships Were Easier in High School..................................37

5 The Road to the Future...............................................................49

6 The Fallacy of Trickle-Down Strategy........................................59

7 Transitioning Operations from Tactical to Strategic

Thinking.....................................................................................69

8 Overcoming Obstacles................................................................81

9 Strategy Defines Organization....................................................97

10 The Evergreen Manufacturer Begets the Evergreen

Customer...................................................................................107

Appendix......................................................................................... 119

Glossary...........................................................................................125

References.......................................................................................131

Index...............................................................................................135

Rebecca Morgan, President of Fulcrum ConsultingWorks Inc. in Cleveland, OH, has not only helped others do it; she’s done it herself. She served as an operations executive in large manufacturing organizations for fourteen years prior to starting her consulting business in 1990. A prolific thinker and writer, Becky’s consulting and advisory help manufacturing leaders develop dramatic capabilities to create and deliver amazing value to their constituents. Additionally, her published writings, podcasts, and speeches prepare executives to address strategic opportunities and challenges.

Ms. Morgan has BA and MS degrees in economics and additional postgraduate education. She is certified as Fellow by The Association for Supply Chain Management (APICS/ASCM) and was awarded lifetime member status of the Association of Manufacturing Excellence (AME). In addition, she is board approved in Operations Management by the Society for Advancement of Consulting and was inducted into the Million Dollar Consultant® Hall of Fame in 2017, then one of only seventy-five consultants in the world to be so honored. She continues to advise leaders of mid-size manufacturing businesses ($100MM–$1B), serve on both non-profit and for-profit boards, contribute to the body of knowledge, and support media efforts to inform the audience about issues important to manufacturing businesses.

While accomplishing all that, Becky always makes time for sports, motorcycle riding, and world-wide travel. She has experienced more airplane takeoffs than landings. Think about that one.