Don’t Startup
Over the last 10 years, I’ve worked with a number of startup companies that have passed through EnterpriseWorks, the UIUC technology incubator here in Urbana-Champaign. These entrepreneurs are always very smart and very hardworking. They are also likely to fail. Even with this early support system, the odds are stacked against them. According to the […]
Don’t Focus on Margins
I recently had the opportunity to attend an event hosted by the Idea Collective Small Business Community (The Idea Collective Small Business Community | The Hub) where Marcus Lemonis was a keynote speaker. (If you don’t know Marcus, check out the CNBC TV show The Profit or Google him to see his amazing pedigree.) Marcus […]
Don’t Be a Visionary
Visionaries are often seen as innovators. I disagree. An innovator constantly adapts to the environment and improves the business in ways the visionary can’t see. Visionaries get stuck. They tend to see their reality only. They don’t adapt well. They aren’t terribly receptive to feedback or criticism. If they achieve their vision, it is “perfect” […]
Don’t Improve Your Processes
Yes, you read that right. I repeat, don’t improve your processes! If you haven’t read my blogs titled Don’t Continually Improve, Don’t Adjust, Don’t Focus on Cost and Don’t Be Efficient, please consider doing so as this blog builds on the concepts introduced there. Here’s why you shouldn’t improve your processes. The focus on process […]
Don’t Give a Volume Discount
Volume discounts are both a standard business practice and a standard customer expectation in many industries, but it is likely that this is harming both the business and the customer. Skeptical? Good! But please read on anyway. So, how is this bad for your business? Let’s start with the obvious: you are getting paid less […]
Don’t Count the Ants
I know. This blog title is a little more cryptic than usual, but hear me out. Twice in the last two months I saw a post about KPIs on LinkedIn. In both cases the person posting was bragging about their comprehensive list of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The last one I saw had over 300! […]
Don’t Focus on Cost – Part 2 of 2
Some years ago, I was visiting a manufacturer of railroad car couplers, the big connectors that hold the cars together. Their biggest material expense was the coupler itself. They purchased forged pieces and then performed secondary machining operations to get a finished product. While visiting, I was told that they purchased the forged parts from […]
Don’t Focus on Cost – Part 1 of 2
If you are a manufacturer, there are only 3 areas where you can cut costs. And if you’re an operations manager for a manufacturer, you have probably been asked to cut all three at some time. The areas in question are materials/inventory, operating expenses, and labor. Cost cutting is almost always a short-sighted attempt to […]
Don’t Adjust – Part 2 of 3
In Part 1, I focused on variation and subsequent adjustment of a physical system such as a machining operation. But this doesn’t apply only to systems where you are making a physical product. This applies to any system with outputs that can be measured. Consider sales activities. A very common practice is to give a […]
Don’t Adjust – Part 1 of 3
Every once in a while, I return to the classics. I was rereading some Deming recently and was reminded of the funnel experiment. (If you don’t know who W. E. Deming is, look him up as soon as you finish this blog.) Dr. Deming used the funnel experiment to demonstrate the effects of statistical variation […]