Marcia's Leadership Q and As: Stop Waste to Achieve More!

Q. Planning is underway for this year. How can we accelerate our decision-making and our results?

A. Management often plans what to do. But there are two parts that can be further optimized. One, a significant part of planning that many teams overlook is to determine what not to do. If there’s too much to accomplish, the results are minimal and don’t serve the customers sufficiently. Focusing on achieving a few issues well is more effective than diluting the problem-solving and achieving less. 

    Second, assess what the barriers to success are and remove them. Organizations are full of waste and complexity. When those are identified and reduced, success emerges, and revenues and profits can increase. 

    Focusing on the future accomplishments that matter and are tied to the customers make a difference. The results are not only financial, but also help create a workplace where the work, communication, ideas, and information flows smoothly, and the customers benefit. When customers are happy with the quality of products and services, they become your ambassadors for success.