Tags: Strategy

In a March 2025 COE webinar, Jason and Michelle Risser explored effective hoshin planning. Using real-world examples from Michelle’s business, the duo demonstrated the value of hoshin and offered strategies for asking the right questions, defining true north, and maintaining accountability. In this blog, Jason continues the conversation with a deep dive into an unanswered question from the audience Q&A: “How do you use hoshin to drive changes in associate metrics? It seems like what they’re measured on doesn’t align with strategic goals.”

As the days grow longer and the pace of summer offers a chance to recharge, it’s the perfect time to grab a book and invest in your personal and professional development. Searching for your next great read?  The Center for Operational Excellence has turned to our recent speakers, board members, and trusted friends to present this COE Summer Reading List to our community of OpEx practitioners and problem solvers. Thoughtfully curated, this collection spans the critical themes of leadership, strategy, and continuous improvement. 

Our ability to change with intention requires well-informed awareness. This applies to change ranging from personal to organizational to societal. Intentionality requires us to pause, scan and be aware of the ecosystem surrounding us as individuals and collectives. The PESTLE Analysis tool is one of my favorites to leverage for a well-rounded pause and resulting analysis. It helps elevate the daily boots-on-the-ground experience to a more macro-level view of our current and emerging circumstances.

In the post-pandemic workplace, organizations are facing a flurry of changes. As the time available to implement change initiatives shrinks, key success factors for sustainable change are often cut based on the belief that they are an optional luxury or will slow things down. This can result in anxiety, confusion, low morale, and potential turnover of high performing employees.

During her December 2022 presentation, “Achieving Equity through Systemic Change,” Nadine Redd Blackburn, EVP for Culture, Equity & Inclusion - Behavior and Systemic Change at United Minds (part of The Weber Shandwick Collective), revealed why Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) strategies often fail to deliver on their larger promise and shared a framework for embedding equitable practices. Here, Nadine addresses one of the follow-up questions: How to develop justice in the workplace.