According to Peter Drucker, “Only three things happen naturally in organizations: friction, confusion, and underperformance. Everything else requires leadership.” Leaders in printing, mailing and fulfillment have a worthy goal of striving for operational excellence. In the last few years, the mix of applications and volume of print work has changed dramatically at many in-plants. Managers are focused on strategies to improve their operations, increase efficiency, and enhance value to their organizations.

Fall is when many organizations finalize strategic plans and budgets for the coming year. What new ideas will you bring to your team and your organization? In Part Two of Leaders Driving Operational Excellence I will describe an approach to embrace three of the ten guiding principles of the Shingo Model from the Shingo Institute. The model focuses on the behavior of individuals and how to inspire teams which drives improved operational results.

As leaders, we focus on strategies to improve our leadership approach and increase value to our organizations. Striving for operational excellence is a worthy goal. As management guru Peter Drucker said, “only three things happen naturally in organizations: friction, confusion, and underperformance. Everything else requires leadership.”