Operations/ Supply chain - Management
A way to notch types of work is by grouping them into the following:
▲ Scale it
▲▲ Set the Standards
▲▲▲ Process and Flow
▲▲▲▲ Do - Execute
▲▲▲▲ Do - Execute
Most companies have teams of members being assigned to complete various tasks.
‘Getting it done’ is basic, yet it could be of different quality levels.
A fun example:
A young journalist was asked to report on the wedding of a super-rich family in town.
He returned empty-handed.
His boss asked him, ‘What happened? ‘
He said, ‘The wedding was cancelled. ‘
... The boss: ‘In that case, you could have found out about the drama and reported on that. ‘
(‘Do or Execute’, actually is part of what we all do. )
▲▲▲ A higher level of management is of capacity to design the flow of tasks/processes for assigning to different posts/people, to achieve better productivity and results.
▲▲ Going higher, the management has that holistic view and capacity to set the standards that govern the flows/processes and all related performance.
▲ The top one, ‘Scale it’ links the functions to the overall business goal, adjust, shape and lead it to achieve the magnitude of collective success. A lot behind this!
Many companies have been operating at ‘Do’ + ‘Process/Flow’ levels.
Managers spend a lot of effort managing people to complete tasks as per processes.
The good side is, operations are enjoying great stability.
The opposite side, gradually things are falling behind and may not support that well of the business’s development.
A business won’t change tasks/processes/standards every day. No one likes it.
One way to eliminate the negative effect of ‘being too stable’ is fostering a culture that encourages all to think of better ways to improve work around them. (Easy said here, actually a lot to be put in place for this.)
Another is assigning/engaging catalyst leaders, from inside or outside to lead the happening of bigger scales of iterations/transformations.
The good candidates are those who know the right things and lead the happening in the right ways - i.e. the ones who could design and deliver tailored-fit solutions for the specific business contexts.
Otherwise, time, money and effort shall be spent in vain.
A small marketing note, on supply chain optimisation, we assist with all the levels up to Scale, as an external or embedded force to your business.
And we provide ongoing lifetime support as needed. ⚓️
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