Intelligent Manufacturing € April € 1995 € Vol. 1 € No. 4

Foundation for Profits:
Leadership

By Paul Peyton

"Hey Jim! Hey!"

Jim's friend, Frank, was excited to fever pitch. "Let's go over to the Crow's Nest Bar. There's a guy over there that has everybody excited. He's going to dig up a buried treasure tomorrow and everybody that goes with him gets a share. Come on!"

"No," said Jim. "I think that Chris and I will go look for it on our own."

"Chris?" questioned Frank. "Chris has no leadership. No charisma. You won't find Chris stirring up a crowd of followers. Let's follow the guy in the bar. He knows how to get people going."

"No," Jim insisted. "I think I'll go with Chris." "Why?" Frank pleaded. "This guy is a man of action. Chris just prowls through books and papers. Why go with Chris?"

"Because Chris has the map..."


Plan for Success
The cornerstone of manufacturing is the plan. The map that charts a route to predictable victories. People do not follow people - not for long, anyway. People follow winning plans.

Think about it from your own perspective. Which would you trust with all of your assets: the person with a winning style, or the person with a winning plan? Which do you believe to be the most reliable over the span of many projects and many years: the person or the plan?

American manufacturing has enjoyed two generations of prosperity. During that happy time, almost any plan would work. In fact, for many manufacturers, no plan at all has worked quite well. We fell in love with the romance and the random action of style. We rejected the mundane discipline of planning.

Our American distaste for planning is leading us on a self-destructive path. We are building entire business systems around the concepts of quick action, quick response and flexibility. If you are considering moving your business into the quick response mode, remember this concept: Response is followership; planning is leadership. Management by response transfers the leadership of your business to your customers. Management by plan keeps your leadership in-house.

Remember another concept: Unplanned action is chaos. Chaos is costly. Efficient, effective management is management according to a plan.

The plan should be well thought out, simply stated and well communicated. People will buy in to such a plan. They will not only follow, they will enthusiastically participate. The holder of the plan is the leader.


Times Are Changing
The rules are not changing. But the time is at hand when American manufacturing will be required to adhere to the rules. In a highly competitive world marketplace, we will have to control costs and produce quality in order to prosper. By the year 2000, those who control costs will dominate. Planning is cost control.

Our love of action and disavowal of planning has given rise to a misunderstanding of leadership. We envision a leader as the "man of action." The "person of planning" is looked upon as an unproductive administrator. Our international competitors have opposite values. They place a very high priority on a credible plan. The person who creates credible plans is highly esteemed. For them, the planner is the leader.

We have not yet learned... but we will. We will learn that charismatic, quick-response "leadership" cannot control costs nor create true quality. We will learn that a carefully designed plan, executed with discipline, is the key to manufacturing success.

Those of you reading this are the potential future leaders of manufacturing. The key to fulfilling that leadership potential is to learn how to plan and execute. You can develop your planning/execution ability in your current position by practicing. Following is a guide to credible planning:

• State the Objective: The objective may be a drawing of a department layout, a reduction in warranty claims, introduction of a new product, or a master production schedule. Objectives must be clear and concise. A date must be set for the completion of each objective (and the date must be realistically achievable).
• Measure Progress: You will develop easy-to-recognize "sub-objectives" that are milestones in the progress toward the conclusion of the overall plan. A date must be set for each milestone in order to gauge progress.
• Assign Responsibility: Each element of the plan should always have a person who is responsible for completion.
• Plan Contingencies: Any element of the plan that is uncertain should be double-covered or triple-covered. Call it a backup plan. Contingency planning is what lets your team players know that you have planned for success.
• Communicate: The plan and the schedule should be written down and distributed to all the people who are involved or affected. Your verbal communication should be enthusiastic and confident. Enthusiasm and confidence exude naturally when you are talking about a plan that you know will work.

A credible, viable plan will always attract people. All you have to do once you have a good plan is to help people achieve their elements of the plan. Everyone loves to be a part of a success, a player on a winning team. When you have a team acting to carry out your plan, you are called a leader. By the year 2000, American manufacturing will be seeking out leaders who can design winning plans.

Paul Peyton is president of DynaTech Industries (Colville, Wash.), a manufacturer of pellet stoves. He can be reached at (509) 732-4066.