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Our new OpEx Spotlight series highlights members of our OpEx community and allows them to share their experiences and perspectives with continuous improvement, organizational change, operational excellence, supply chain, operations, and any niche they feel passionate about.  We're excited to introduce Giovanni Bernardo, Head of US Continuous Improvement at Agrana Fruit, as the first in our spotlight series.

One thing is certain in 2020: uncertainty. With the global pandemic in full effect, thousands have been furloughed or laid off while many companies enact hiring freezes. Yet, other companies are still hiring – and some, like COE’s newest member company Singleton Construction, have found a way to take advantage of the pandemic to bring in top-notch talent.

As you prepare your organization’s at least partial return to the office, I urge you to take the time to reflect on what you’ve learned about the work. Treat the four months since the Covid-19 pandemic sent millions of workers in various occupations to shelter and work at home as an experiment. The slice of the workforce that was able to move their work to home—estimated to be somewhat more than a third of all workers—includes the group known as knowledge workers.

As we reflect on the COVID-19 pandemic, we start to wonder how certain countries and regions are able to manage the pandemic better than others. By better, I mean fewer cases and containing the spread within their countries for a sustained period. Through science, we now know that effective containment of COVID-19 relies on preventive measures of wearing facemasks, washing hands, adherence to strict social distancing, monitoring daily health and avoiding public gathering to contain the spread.

To an extent, an organization’s long-term success depends on its ability to shift its focus quickly when conditions change suddenly. Covid-19 provides a vivid example where virtually all organizations in every industry had to discover how to survive amid a new reality: retail stores shuttered, office work redistributed to millions of “home offices,” travel curtailed almost completely, etc. Health care provides the most dramatic example of the need for such a pivot. (Later in this essay, I ret

In the research we have done into enterprise resilience, we conceptualize it as a balancing act between the vulnerabilities your organization faces (i.e. the risks inherent in your operations) and the capabilities you build to mitigate the impact of these risks.  The idea is that you want to build a portfolio of capabilities best suited to your pattern of vulnerabilities.

We are excited and proud to announce that COE Academic Director, Peter Ward, has been inducted as a life member to the Shingo Academy, an honor bestowed upon individuals with distinguished careers in organizational excellence. The honor was to be presented in a live ceremony during Shingo Academy’s March conference, which has been postponed due to COVID-19. Instead, Peter will be honored with a live presentation of the award at their next in person conference.

The COVID-19 crisis has undoubtedly shifted our lives in a myriad of ways, including how we work. While more than twenty percent are out of work due to COVID-related layoffs, the global pandemic has forced the eighty percent still working to either perform their responsibilities remotely or to work in a facility while trying to maintain social distance (along with additional new best practices like increased sanitation or shift staggering). Regardless of where we are doing our work, one thing is certain: we have all had to adapt.

*The opinions and thoughts expressed in this article are my own and not necessarily those of my employers or any other individuals.