Expert Advice – Page 3 – McAlister Tactical Strategies

You Either Know or You Don’t

October 3, 2014October 3, 2014 mcalisterts 0 Comment Expert Advice, Management Skills, Uncategorized assumptions, communication, customer seviice, Expert Advice

Creating a problem for customers is never a good thing. But as Forrest Gump said, “It happens.” Over the years I found that the manner in which we deal with adversity is as important as solving the problem itself. If we learn from the situation and improve future performance, then there is no failure.

I was involved in a major crisis several years ago and it forced me to re-evaluate many of my assumptions. We gained tremendous insights as we worked through the situation and when it was finally resolved, we defined three general actions that needed to take place to manage future major customer service crises. I will summarize this a little later. First, I would like to explain how my assumptions caused a problem:

An ingredient problem created a recall situation resulting in 50% of my 1 million case inventory being unavailable to ship to customers. It was clear that the out-of-specification product would not be shipped anytime soon, if ever. Also, the production network was running at 90% capacity at the time of the recall, therefore we knew recovery was going to take a while and most of our customers would run out of product within the next few weeks. It was going to get very uncomfortable very quickly.

Since I was the supply chain manager for the affected product line, I was responsible for the operational aspect of the recovery plan, and point person for all communications to Management regarding the timeline for the inventory recovery.

For the purposes of this entry, I won’t discuss the technical aspect of recall, only the business and operational aspects. Rest assured that the recalled product did not injure consumers.

With half of the inventory unavailable, we knew that providing replacement product to our customers was going to be a big problem. I had to determine how we were going to quickly replace the ‘bad’ inventory. It should have been a mathematical exercise. Unfortunately, the next few weeks of the journey were fraught with surprising discoveries, most of them unpleasant.

“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.” ― Isaac Asimov

Within the first few days of the crisis, I used a phrase that I now live by: “You either know, or you don’t.” I quickly learned that making assumptions is a risky business.

The most upsetting discoveries were around the planning system and the ability to generate a clear recovery plan. We discovered the planner was not diligent in keeping the plan up-to-date. In a nutshell, we really didn’t know how much product was in the inventory. Then we found a discrepancy in the production run rates, so we didn’t know with certainty how many cases of product we could make in a day. It became clear that we had been flying blind before the crisis occurred. My first bad assumption was since our customer service targets were being achieved, the systems were working and all of the parameters were correct.

Suffice it to say we corrected the planning issues very quickly. That was the good news. The bad news was we determined it was going to take 2-3 months get the inventory back to normal due to the size of the problem. For our customers being out of stock for a day is a problem. This was a bitter pill to swallow.

A second misguided assumption was that a protocol existed for clear internal communication. None of my colleagues could provide a good template for this, so we wasted no time and created and a straight-forward way to accurately ‘depict’ the inventory position while estimating the recovery date of each item. My team devised a color-coded chart that showed when inventory would be available to customers in future weeks based on the current production plan. The charts greatly assisted Management’s understanding of the situation and greatly assisted company decision making.

The last unfortunate assumption was the existence of a standard protocol for communicating information to our customers. A problem of this scale hadn’t occurred in the past and a protocol didn’t exist. In a matter of days, Sales and the supply chain developed a method for communicating the inventory status to the customers so they understood when they would get the stock they needed for their stores. As the communication with customers took place, it was not always an easy discussion between the sales force and the customer. In the end, the customers stated that it was better to get accurate information, even if it was bad news.

After reassessing all of the assumptions, here are three practices to consider:

Work diligently to understand all of the circumstances behind the issues. If there are operational assumptions, question them and correct all errors. For example, scrutinizing the planning systems allowed us to determine that the production rates were not accurate. Correcting this issue made it possible to develop an accurate recovery timeline. Success came when we clearly understood the capabilities and capacity of the system.
Develop a visual system to show critical information to the decision-makers. Visuals can be easier to understand than words. It’s important to quickly and crisply explain the situation to Management. In my example, developing a color-coded system for showing the recovery plan timeline for each item was critical for gaining the support and trust of the business team. Once this trust was established, communication was clear and decisions were much easier to make.
Execute a simple protocol for keeping customers informed. With accurate inventory information being readily available, the timing and method of delivering the information to the customers will be simple. As discussed above, using the color-coded charts allowed the sales team to explain when the customer should expect the product to be back on their shelves.

Although the situation discussed in this entry was painful for the business, the changes made to the business processes substantially improved our ability to address issues and improve customer service going forward. It’s worth noting that many of the practices developed during this particular situation became company-wide practices. We were able to turn a negative situation into a positive result.

At the end of the day it’s important for the decision-makers and operations managers to have a crystal clear view of their operations. I would highly suggest that when looking at your own operation, you question assumptions associated with systems and communication protocols. Either you know or you don’t.

Photo credit: depositphotos.com 53306307 Ai825

Collaboration or Else

September 26, 2014September 26, 2014 mcalisterts 0 Comment Collaboration, Expert Advice, Management Skills collaboration, Expert Advice

In today’s business world, the functional business teams can no longer work in isolation or in ‘silos’. I have always felt the need for collaboration. I’ve enjoyed numerous opportunities to collaborate at a personal level and I have successfully influenced collaboration amongst functional groups. My journey toward understanding that it was collaboration or else began over 30 years ago.

A lot has changed since my wife and I moved into our first apartment in Woodridge, Illinois during the summer of 1981. That was the summer I started my career in the food industry. Back then most manufacturers followed many of the same practices used since the post-WWII years. ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ was a common theme. Most of us in the Baby Boom generation were more than happy to benefit from the foundation laid by the hard working men and women of Tom Brokaw’s ‘Greatest Generation’.

One of the advantages of being in the business for the past 30 years is having the honor of seeing huge changes in how food manufacturing has adapted to the constantly changing world. Looking back it’s easy to understand why we wanted to maintain the status quo. Unemployment was relatively low and energy was cheap. There wasn’t a huge amount of pressure in 1981 to change the paradigm.

But as escalating energy prices and inflation drove down profitability, the business environment evolved rapidly. Private equity firms completed leveraged buyout transactions that rocked the food industry. Companies were bought and restructured resulting in huge layoffs, signaling the end of the ‘fat and happy’ style of business. As a young man learning his way around the business world, it was clear I would need to adapt in order to survive.

Around this time we found ourselves asking what would it take to survive a leveraged buyout? It quickly became clear that if the new owner asked, ‘who gets the job done around here?’, the names that come up the most would survive.

With the environment changing dramatically, I knew I had to look at my work differently. If I wanted to ‘be in the conversation’ my instinct told me that a collaborative approach to my job would go a long way toward being productive as well as being recognized by co-workers as an excellent team member.

When I moved into management roles, I took this concept to the next level; I knew that collaboration between functional groups in a manufacturing company would be crucial to success in the business world.

Current business practices and collaboration

In Top Food Entrepreneurs Dish on How the Business Has Changed , INC on-line magazine, several key food industry executives discuss how consumer behavior has changed dramatically over the past 30 years. They emphasize that consumers are savvy and information is available very quickly through the use of social media.

Smart companies use the ability to ‘hear’ their consumers through social media to their advantage. However, to be in a position to rapidly respond to consumer demands, food manufacturers must be flexible from a manufacturing perspective.

Even if a company has the physical assets to rapidly react to changes in consumer taste, they must be able to harmonize the business and operations teams. It is imperative that the supply chain be fully synchronized with the business team. In other words, success depends upon a true collaboration between Marketing, Sales, Finance, and the Supply Chain.

“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.” – Henry Ford (link to reference)

To facilitate collaboration I have used a ‘Core Team’ approach. Here is the basic process for making this happen:

Assemble the ‘Core Team’ – The supply chain manager responsible for the day-to-day planning and operations will work with business counterparts to determine who would be a member of the ‘Core Team’. The business functions must be represented; i.e., Marketing, Sales, and Finance. Production planning, Manufacturing, and Procurement would also be members of the core team.
Establish a team charter – It is very important to ensure everyone on the core team understands the purpose of the meetings and how each member will contribute. The goal of the Core Team is to create and maintain a platform for the business team to understand how the Operational function impacts the success of the business and vice versa. For example, the Supply Chain representative will provide explanations to the team regarding customer service issues. Since the Sales manager is at the table, they will be able to talk about demand, e.g. under-forecasting. If manufacturing issues are creating the problem, Operations explains the actions taken to correct the issues.
Ensure transparency – The core team will be successful when current data is made available to the entire team. This data must include information and insights into current issues as well as potential issues facing the supply chain in the future. For example, the business team shares sales projections for the next few years on a regular basis. This is critical for ensuring that production capacity is available for future growth. The more transparent the information is between the functional groups, the more efficiently and effectively the core team will operate. An effective core team will result in a successful business.

You may be thinking this core team concept sounds very similar to the S&OP (Sales & Operating Plan) process. The primary difference between the core team and an S&OP process team is the core team agenda is more holistic as opposed to the financial focus of S&OP. In other words, S&OP is more about the ‘what’ and hitting the financial numbers; the core team will determine how the business team will reach their targets. The purpose of the core team meeting is to form a true collaboration between functional groups and ensure everyone understands how the business is going to succeed.

When I think back to those days in the 80’s and the looming threat of being purchased and potentially unemployed, fear was the driving force behind becoming more collaborative. Not being able to respond to the customer and consumer is the modern ‘fear’ driving change in today’s business world. As the paradigm shifts, collaboration at all levels in the organization is the key to being successful in today’s constantly changing environment.

As it turns out, for most of us collaboration or else will keep our companies successful and ourselves in the conversation.

Photo credit: Depositphotos 9959012 michaeldb

How Many Jars Do You Buy at a Time?

September 20, 2014September 20, 2014 mcalisterts 0 Comment Expert Advice, Food Safety, Management Skills Expert Advice, Food production, Food safety

Excellent food safety is a lifestyle choice. It’s a cultural thing… it’s a way of life. Having a good quality program in your plant or at your company is similar to a production facility having a good employee safety culture. A safety culture helps to ensure that everyone gets to go home to their family at the end of the day. I look at food safety at the plant or corporate QA level in the same way. As everyone does their jobs every day, their attitude and behaviors toward quality, contribute to the ‘culture of quality’ and keeping our consumers safe.

Food quality has many facets, but the most important aspect is food safety. Quality programs protect the people we love and there are very few issues as emotional as those around food safety and security. I recently read about a little girl dying from E. coli O157 food poisoning. Her friend was very sick because he ate the other half of her turkey sandwich. For more information, click here: E. coli kills Oregon girl.

It’s very difficult to say where the source of the contamination occurred, but rest assured each and every ingredient in the sandwich will be scrutinized. As a parent, our hearts go out to the families. As a Quality professional, I want to ensure everyone in my sphere of influence is doing everything possible to keep this from happening to our consumers. We are often encouraged not to let emotions affect our work, however when it comes to food safety, my emotional response clearly motivates me to do my best to prevent contamination whenever possible.

When it comes down to it, food companies are selling trust. Consumers don’t want to think about food as a source of risk. Most of us ‘trust’ our food supply and don’t think about getting sick when we eat something.

“All I ask of food is that it doesn’t harm me.” Michael Palin (Monty Python’s Flying Circus) link to quote Michael Palin is a comedian, and he makes a serious point. Our food supply should not cause harm. Unfortunately, things happen and quality professionals must be extremely vigilant when it comes to food safety in their production facilities.

Identifying and eliminating potential sources of contamination is a difficult task. Having personally spent countless hours performing inspections and developing food safety programs, I believe it is possible to prevent the vast majority of quality incidents before they turn in to major problems.

Several years ago, I was the Quality Manager at a plant making a ready-to-eat product. One day I had a great discussion about food safety with the line operators. I asked them how many jars of our product do we think our consumers buy at a time. Everyone said they most likely buy one jar at a time. I said to them, “Then as consumers, our ‘experience’ with most food products is one jar at a time.”

I sensed that they were getting my drift when they rolled their eyes. I understood why my audience was a little skeptical because their particular production line could make over 300,000 jars of product every day. I’m sure they were thinking, ‘How could they possibly watch every jar on the line?’ I said to them, “We may produce thousands of jars a day here, but it is our job to make sure that every single jar is right. When it comes down to it, we sell one jar at a time.”

This insight hit home. Instead of being focused on how many jars we could make every day, the operators realized they needed to see the world from the consumer’s perspective; one jar at a time. If there was something happening on the line or in the production process that potentially compromised the quality of the product, it had to be addressed immediately. As we now say: “if you see something, say something.

“Food safety involves everybody in the food chain.” – Mike Johanns, US Senator link to quote

How do we help the workers in the plant understand they are the most important link in the supply chain with regards to food safety?

I knew there was a tendency to let ‘management’ be responsible for quality at that facility. I also knew the best defense was on the front lines of the battle. To change this mindset, we conducted a plant-wide education effort and made it clear that everyone was responsible for quality and food safety. Here are some of the principles we enacted to change the culture and truly improve food safety:

Everyone working on the line was given the authority to stop the line if they saw something that could create a situation where foreign material contaminated the product. This sounds like common sense, but in many plant cultures, stopping the line is frowned upon. We made it clear that anytime foreign material was visible on or near the equipment, the line must be stopped immediately and the material removed as quickly and cleanly as possible. No questions asked. Enabling the operators and line workers to stop the line anytime they saw the potential for contamination was very empowering and sent the right message to everyone in the plant.

Quick inspections or mini-audits were performed on a frequent basis to ensure conditions compromising food safety were rapidly identified and addressed. We found that a daily checklist performed by a line operator was the most effective way to stay on top of the situation. Thorough audits are helpful, but if they are performed once a month, a problem can manifest and create an unsafe condition for several days or weeks before being corrected. A combination of daily inspections and thorough audits enabled us to correct any potential issues quickly.

Enlisting the sanitation teams to help identify possible environmental sources of contamination was a key to controlling the situation. ‘Environmental’ exposure is very difficult to detect and it usually requires a different approach to identify the source of contamination. We asked the sanitation team to think about the environment from a worst-case scenario perspective. For example, what if the source of contamination was the mop buckets and contaminants were being brought into the production environment during the cleaning process? There may be assumptions about the mop buckets being clean because they hold the sanitizer, but is it possible the wheels of the mop bucket are not fully sanitized? Involving the sanitation crew and supervisors in a thorough review of the practices was a key to uncovering these ‘environmental’ risks.

Those of us working in the food industry have the daunting responsibility of preventing our consumers from having a bad experience on all levels, especially with regards to food safety. The line operators are the last ones to ‘touch’ or see the product before it is shipped out. When they are empowered and encouraged to act upon any potential source of contamination, the vast majority of the potential issues are corrected before they become problems. Instilling a ‘culture of quality’ is the best defense against a food safety problem.

Photo credit: Depositphotos Weat 44731215

Can I Trust That Character?

September 10, 2014September 10, 2014 mcalisterts 0 Comment Expert Advice, Management Skills, Uncategorized Character, Competency, Covey, Trust, Vendors

Over the years I’ve had the honor of leading many groups of people who depended on my character to support them and help them become successful. In my world, I only considered myself successful if the people around me were successful. To make my organization successful, there had to be mutual trust and it was of paramount importance that everyone one around me trusted me as their leader.

In the professional environment, to gain the trust of our co-workers we must demonstrate our character. Our character will shine through in many ways, including but not limited to, how we speak to others, how we talk about people who are not in our presence, and how well we perform our jobs day in and day out. The way we conduct ourselves builds trust. The same is true for our business partners.

Trust has many facets, and one of my favorite books is, “The Speed of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything,” by Steven M.R. Covey. A great quote from this book is, “Trust is equal parts character and competence… You can look at any leadership failure, and it’s always a failure of one or the other.” More from Covey later.

In the supply chain world, I see a very strong connection between operational success and the level of trust in the vendors. In other words, if a vendor is trustworthy and reliable, product can be made on time and in full. When this happens, the business will make progress. Without trust, it’s a very tough road.

Consider this example of what happens when trust doesn’t exist between the company and its vendors: A manufacturing company makes a variety of Widgets containing anywhere from 10 to 15 parts in each widget. There is at least one vendor for each part, depending on the volume of parts needed for production. Since the assembly process is continuous from beginning to end for each variety of widget, all parts must be available at the beginning of the assembly process. If even one part is not available, the finished product cannot be assembled.

Most producers carry low inventories of raw materials, and deliveries of new raw materials are usually ‘just in time’. More than likely, if the vendor does not deliver the supply of parts on time, production will not occur. The repercussions of this scenario are always negative and costly… downtime, unplanned schedule changes, inventory imbalance, over-time, etc.

In my experience the best way to approach this situation is to find a reliable vendor with the technical resources to meet the demand, and an ‘organizational character’ you can trust. Perhaps this sounds a little far-fetched but things go well when both organizations truly embrace how they mutually benefit each other.

“Good teams are committed to the team mission and to each other personally. Good leaders inspire and build this commitment and trust.” Lee Ellis (Leading With Honor: Leadership Lessons from the Hanoi Hilton)

From my perspective there are ways to assess whether a new vendor will be trustworthy. Steven M.R. Covey, identifies four basic components of the trustworthy relationship: Integrity and Intent (Character) along with Capability and Results (Competency). Covey describes the process for building trust, and if the producer can answer yes to all of these questions, then the relationship will move forward quickly and efficiently. When evaluating your current vendors or considering a partnership with a new vendor, ask yourself the following questions proposed by Covey (paraphrased):

Does the vendor have Integrity? –Does the vendor do what they say they will do? Do they act with humility or do they ‘brag’ about their accomplishments? Do they show the courage necessary to do what needs to be done?

What is the vendor’s Intent? – Do they want to make one big sale, or do they want a long-term relationship? What is their agenda? Are they interested in what will make your company and your products better?

Does the vendor have the necessary Capabilities? – Do they have the talents, skills, and knowledge you will need to move forward? Does the vendor have the resources, intellectual capacity and capabilities needed to make a difference for your business?

Will the vendor get Results? – Do they consistently deliver the expected results? Will they continue to deliver in the future? Does the vendor take responsibility for their results or do they find reasons/excuses for their failures?

I have been in situations where a good vendor will answer all of the questions without hesitation and have data to back up their claims. I’ve also been involved with vendors who over-stated their capabilities… which is failure of both character and competency.

There is no simple way to get through the process of evaluating vendors. However, if time allows, the best way is to meet face-to-face with the technical representatives to ask the difficult questions and get a true understanding of their capabilities. When both parties can look each other in the eye, there is going to be a much stronger connection and subsequently, a higher level of trust.

When it comes down to it, we are all in business to be successful… you can measure success any way you like. Vendors are your partners or ‘team members’ in the enterprise and when they are successful, your business has a much better chance of being successful. If you can build a trusting relationship with ALL of your vendors you will be amazed at how much time you can then dedicate moving your business forward. Trusting those ‘characters’ will make all of the difference.

Picture credit:

Problem-Solving in the “Short Attention Span Theater”

September 4, 2014September 4, 2014 mcalisterts 0 Comment Expert Advice, Management Skills, Uncategorized Attention Span, Experience, Expert Advice, Good Listener, Listening

In my 33 years of corporate experience I’ve learned that above all else, being a good listener is the true secret to success. I’ve always followed the adage that since we have two ears and one mouth, we should listen twice as much (at least) as we talk. Listening to understand is critical to finding solutions.

Time is money, and though eliminating the problem quickly and effectively is always good for business, it may not always seem feasible or efficient to take the time and make the space to listen.

What gets in our way? Information is coming from multiple media sources and there are always additional mitigating circumstances, e.g., e-mail, texts, and phone calls, contributing to the inability to listen and focus. In other words, there is a lot of noise. This constant barrage of ‘noise’ divides our attention, therefore, I refer to the current workplace as the ‘short attention span theater’.

A casualty of this situation is the ability to listen for understanding and I fear it is becoming a lost art. Being a good listener is a matter of common sense. But as a good friend of mine likes to say: “Common sense ain’t so common.”

The manufacturing environment can be visually and audibly distracting and this can interfere with problem solving. If a Supervisor is trying to ask their Manager for help in improving the efficiency of the widget machine, it’s imperative the Manager hears and understands exactly what the Supervisor is saying. Otherwise, the Manager may address the wrong issue and inadvertently waste valuable time and resources while not correcting the problem.

Here are three key factors to keep in mind when listening to understand:

Be Present. A lot of non-verbal communication takes place during a discussion and one of the biggest ‘turn-offs’ is when the story-teller feels like they don’t have the complete attention of their audience. Good listeners show they are 100% engaged in the discussion. In the example above, the Manager could move to a quieter, distraction-free area for the discussion. They could also turn off walkie-talkies and not use their cell phones to ensure there are no interruptions. Focus is key.
Be Empathetic. It’s important to show that you ‘can feel their pain’ when being told about an uncomfortable or difficult situation. Being sincerely empathetic shows that you truly understand what they are going through and how it is affecting them. In our example, the Manager could relate to their experience with the widget machine and the Supervisor, to let them know they have faced similar issues and had the same frustrations. Making a connection improves communication.
Have an open mind. Good listeners show their audience that they are not making any judgments or jumping to conclusions in the middle of the discussion. The story-teller will not be inclined to disclose all of the details if they feel they are going to be cut off before they finish telling their side of the story. Using the example, the Manager could refrain from blurting out how to fix the problem at the beginning of the discussion. The Manager could listen to everything the Supervisor had to say and then together they come to agreement on the best course of action. An open mind creates an open dialogue.

The words of Dale Carnegie can be very helpful when starting a discussion, “And so I had him thinking of me as a good conversationalist when, in reality, I had been merely a good listener and had encouraged him to talk.” From the book, ‘How to Make Friends and Influence People’.

For more pointers on how to be a good listener, check out ‘9 Things Good Listeners Do Differently’ by Lindsay Holmes (posted on Huffingtonpost.com 8/14/2014).

Problem-solvers in the organization will be much more effective if they have good listening skills. Being able to evaluate a situation accurately is a skillset needed by everyone in the business world.

I’ve had the honor of seeing many changes in how things work (or don’t work) over the years and I don’t see the world getting any less complicated in the near future. Technology will increase the flow of information (creating more noise) and this will contribute to shortened attention spans. Knowing how to listen will become an increasingly valuable skill in the short attention span theater.