LEADERSHIP: STAND TALL AS THE BEST MANUFACTURER

Published: 2007-01-18   please add a comment below

My father had an engineering business - making furnaces and other products.  And, I worked summers in factories, while studying engineering.  So, I love that hot, noisy world of clanging metal as it's formed and worked with presses and punches.

Even then, people talked about the decline of manufacturing.  And, still do.  But, we still need bricks and bikes, pots and pans, cars and baby carriages.  Yes, more are now made elsewhere - but equally, things are produced here, which weren't then.

A friend of mine manufactures high quality chocolate.  Another, digital kiosks (to help customers find their way around shopping centres).  Another, fashion wear.

But one thing is certain.  Manufacturers face tough (often global) competition: across multiple dimensions of quality, cost, delivery and so on.  And, internally, each has to manage costs and productivity.  And, control their supply chain to avoid stock-outs and stoppages; and, avoid tying up capital in excess raw materials, work in progress or finished product.  And, there's all those machines to be kept busy as many hours a day as possible.  It's not a game for the faint-hearted.

So, if you don't want to go broke, leadership is probably more critical in manufacturing than in most businesses.  Understanding your market and the drivers of competitive advantage.  Defining strategy and goals.  Choosing the right business model.  Attending to customers.  And, employing and developing staff.

But, how do you do all of this – and bring it together in one place?

Here's how!

Dr. Timothy Pascoe AM
PhD (Cambridge), MBA (Harvard), BE & BEc (Adelaide)
Creator, V|E|C|T|O|R Leadership^®