Top 5 Ways OpEx Enhances Collaboration

The good news is we live in a world of unprecedented opportunity. If we can’t do it ourselves, we can collaborate with someone who can. The bad news is though anything seems possible, everything is not. If we want to be good at something, we need to focus. Regardless of “what” you choose to collaborate on, operational excellence has some ideas about “how” you do it.  Let’s focus on that by taking a quick look at 5 reasons why operational excellence is so important in a collaborative world…

1. Value is the gold standard.

Creating value is a win-win game. From the outside looking in, sustainable firms live up to customer needs and expectations. From the inside looking out, intrinsic value is enabled by operational excellence, making you a more attractive collaborative partner.

2. Excellence is getting better on purpose.

In response to market conditions including a global pandemic, firms are getting back to basic questions like “why do we exist”? The answer brings focus and attracts talent and partners with a common mission. Operational excellence understands that getting better at the right things adds value, and sustainable collaboration is fueled by a common purpose.

3. Pull not push.

Operational excellence “tunes” production capacity to the cycle time of demand. The rate of change is also market-driven.  And when the change on the outside is greater than the change on the inside, we are in trouble.  Fortunately, the concept of “pull” does not just refer to production levels. The more adaptable we are, the more resilient we are and the better we are able to leverage the capabilities and energy from collaborative partners.

4. Respect for people.

We manage process, but we lead people. Lean cultures understand this and that the “gemba” is the place where people understand what is going on and why it is that way. Collaboration requires trust, and trust starts with respect.

5.  It’s a journey.

For operational excellence practitioners, we are never done. We don’t have to do it, we get to. It’s a calling. It’s the right thing to do. And it’s never wrong to do the right thing. Practicing operational excellence attracts collaborative partners (and customers!).

What do you think?