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Insights on Excellence | Insights
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ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
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 Stephen
Hawley Martin is
a former principal of The Martin
Agency in Richmond and the author
of more than half a dozen books including
his newest, Lean Enterprise Leader:
How to Get Things Done Without Doing
It All Yourself.
He is editor
and publisher of The
Oaklea Press, a book publishing
business dedicated primarily to helping
business executives increase productivity.
He can be reached at shmartin@oakleapress.com
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Is it a cost or an investment?
March 7, 2006
Business executives hear proposals almost daily on terrific ways to spend
the company's money. But the question for people controlling the purse
strings must always be: Is it a cost or an investment? The key to effective
cost control is determining if the money spent would be a cost (for something
that would be nice to have) or an investment (for something with an expected
return that is critical to success to business).
Read
more ...
What really is behind the decline in the
number of U.S. manufacturing jobs?
February 28, 2006
For more than 10 years, manufacturing
companies around the globe have been changing the way they work.
Most people employed in service industries may have barely noticed,
but this transformation has resulted in huge benefits for almost
everyone. It's a primary reason that labor productivity has been
up about 4 percent annually in recent years and the prices of manufactured
goods have remained steady, or even dropped.
Read
more ...
Just what is a lean enterprise?
February 21, 2006
People who don't know about the lean movement
and what it entails often assume it simply means doing more with
less. They think this is accomplished by having everyone work
harder. They are wrong. More is done with less by having everyone
work smarter.
Read
more ...
How to take the next step in your continuous
pursuit of excellence
February 14, 2006
General Motors recently announced
it will trim 30,000 jobs and close nine U.S. plants over
the next few years to balance production capacity and demand.
That's big news, and in GM's case, absolutely necessary
to bring costs in line with competition. You see, 30 years
ago the company had about 60 percent of the market for
cars in North America. Nowadays, that's more than all major
domestic automobile companies combined.
Read
more ...
Five steps leaders can take to get the
whole team pulling its weight
February 7, 2006
According to recently published
data, 31 percent of college-educated male workers regularly
log 50 or more hours a week at work, up from 22 percent
in 1980. About 40 percent of American adults get less than
seven hours sleep on weekdays, up from 34 percent in 2001.
For these folks, meals are rushed and lunches are choked
down on the run. Yet a recent study by America Online and
Salary.com says the average worker wastes 2.09 hours a
day surfing the Internet, chatting with co-workers, running
errands or making personal phone calls, costing employers
about $759 billion a year in unproductive salaries.
Read
more ...
Six Quick and Easy Ways Companies Can Save
January 31, 2006
There's not an executive alive who wouldn't
cut company expenses if it could be done without sacrificing
quality or service, and if the move didn't take a lot of effort.
The problem is finding the time to figure out where to cut and
how such savings can be realized.
Read
more ...
How to create accountability and urgency
to reach your company's objectives
January 24, 2006
In companies that still operate through a traditional hierarchal
pyramid (with employees at the bottom reporting to managers,
who report to supervisors,
who report to vice president-directors and so on) responsibility for
accomplishing objectives usually rests with those who report to the chief
operating officer or the CEO. These top reports have the job of lighting
a fire under those who report to them, who in turn light a fire under
those who report to them, and so on down the line. But what happens when
the hierarchy has been eliminated and the company operates through interlocking,
empowered teams? How can management create urgency and be sure progress
is being made?
Read more ...
A win-win strategy is the best way
to succeed in negotiations
January 17, 2006
Let's face it. People make decisions based on their own interests.
It follows, then, that the key to successful negotiating is finding
creative
and effective ways of satisfying those interests - theirs, while meeting
yours as well.
Read more ...
When it comes to teamwork, diversity
prevents myopia
January 10, 2006
Cross-functional teams can be extremely effective, particularly
in tackling a specific challenge or opportunity. The question
is: What's the best
way to set one up and to organize it to ensure the maximum chance of
success?
Read more ...
First five steps every executive should
make when taking charge
January 3, 2006
At the end of 1995, a good friend of mine, William T. Monahan,
was given the opportunity to form and lead a $2.4 billion business
made up of units
being spun off from 3M Co. Most people would jump at such an offer, but
Bill knew it wasn't going to be a rose garden. The units were being let
go because they were a drag on 3M. Still, Bill's the kind of guy who
doesn't mind taking a calculated risk. He'd been successful in previous
turnaround situations, so he took the job. In short order, it was apparent
he had a bucking bronco on his hands.
Read more ...
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Stephen Hawley
Martin is a former principal of The Martin Agency in Richmond
and the author of more than half a dozen books including his
newest, Lean Enterprise Leader: How to Get Things Done Without
Doing It All Yourself. He is editor and publisher of The Oaklea
Press, a book publishing business dedicated primarily to helping
business executives increase productivity.
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