Updates
Moving from Chilling to Amazing... or more simply put, sink or swim.
One of the benefits of being in the work that I am is the opportunity
to meet and spend time with several hundred senior managers a year. It
is a wonderful opportunity and in many ways paints a picture of where
manufacturing in America is headed. Based on my observations in 2003,
it is heading to China, literally or figuratively. If your competition
is not China, it probably is the equivalent pressure on product pricing
by your customer. From railroad products to frozen food, from medical
parts to automotive, wood products to firefighting equipment…it is the
same story. Enormous pressure on selling prices which in turn fuels the
need for dramatic changes in process, costs, productivity and quality.
It is simply chilling. As one senior manufacturing vice president of a 1,500 employee facility recently said to me, “it’s not fun anymore”.
How
to respond? How do you compete? Some of the answers are obvious, such
as capital, technology, process improvement, lean, etc. They are all
needed, sound and effective strategies. But are they enough? To be
honest, you have to do those things just to stay in the game, and stay
in step with your competition. What is the missing link…the key that
opens the door to real improvement in bottom line results, that gets
you beyond just staying in the game? It is the human factor.
Do your employees have a desire (or not) to drive real and quantifiable
improvement and cost savings? But do they truly know the challenges
before the organization? Do they care? Your payroll and fringes are not
only the largest or second largest expense you have, it is also the
most volatile in terms of an operating financial ratio. Some months
your payroll is 30% of output, sometimes it 40%. The difference is
significant. Not only is it an enormous expense, but your people also drive all other business results.
Your
people answer the phone, design the product, schedule the work, run the
equipment, make the product and check for quality…do they really
understand the issues and do they understand the math? Do they care? What would it take to get associates to act as though they owned the company?
In
2003 those questions were asked and answered in Denver, Kansas City,
Milwaukee, Hartford, Dallas, Norfolk, Chicago, Charlotte and many other
client cities. Clients in these cities saw Amazing things
happen in the offices and plants when their employees came to know the
issues in a way they could understand and get their hands around. These
clients saw the excitement when everyone participated, in an
environment where true gains in organizational performance and finances
where shared Equitably between employer and employee. Payroll costs down 15%, output up 20%, quality costs cut in half, and a new and amazing relationship between the company and it’s associates. They went from being in the game to winning the game. They
deployed our EquiShare(TM) Gainsharing System - a comprehensive
strategy to define, measure, pursue and equitably reward true
organizational and financial results.
One of my favorite
authors, C.S. Lewis speaks about how words lose their clear definition
over time. Do not confuse EquiShare(TM) with the generic use of the
term Gainsharing; there is a world of difference. For twenty plus years
we have been involved in organizational performance. Having designed
over 300 Gainsharing systems and assessed a similar number of plans
designed either internally or by others, we have come to clearly
understand what works and what doesn’t. EquiShare(TM) is a product of
this knowledge and experience.
The best way to completely
understand the subject of Gainsharing as well as the opportunities in
your organization, and the distinctions of our approach, is to
participate in our comprehensive six hour VIDEO WORKSHOP.
A convenient self-paced alternative to the hotel based seminar. This
workshop is intended to be viewed by senior management and offers
thought provoking content into the dynamics of changing the way people
think and perform at work. We believe it will be the best $695 you will
spend this year. If after participating you do not agree, return it for a full refund. Additional detail is available at www.gainshare.com/video.
If
you have already participated in our Workshop, then you may want to
consider an Executive Overview and EquiShare(TM) Value Assessment. This
operating financial assessment provides the forum to discuss in detail,
with data, the specific issues and opportunities that exist in your
organization. We guarantee you never looked at your business this way
before. Call us for complete details at 1-800-835-2681.
What would your business look like if employees performed as though they owned the company? Will 2004 be chilling or AMAZING? Will you sink or swim? Talk to us about the Video or the Assessment. It could turn out to be a better year then you thought.
Best regards,
The Muller Group, Inc.
Karl F. Muller