Operational excellence seems straightforward, yet so few businesses achieve it.

Here are some key systems that finally unlock efficiency.

Those that implement what I'll share stand to gain:
🔥 Higher productivity
⚡️ Faster cycle times
💰 Lower costs
🧘 Less firefighting Whether you're just starting to document processes or well into your operational excellence journey, this will give you a systems mindset for the next level.

Ready for a behind-the-scenes infrastructure separating the operationally excellent from the hot mess?

Hiring is broken in small business

When hiring for skills, you end up with below-average performers holding your company back

Here is what we do instead 👇 We ditch questions that test your skills,
or classic interview scenarios that offer little to no real-world practicality.

You know... the classic "Tell me about a time when..."

We'd rather leave the rehearsed talk for someone else.

We recently rebuilt our internal bookkeeping & accounting system to close out in 2-3 days

This is for a $30mm company with 10 entities, 5 locations, and 3 company types

Ill share a post on exactly how, with examples, in the future...

but I'll share the principles now 👇

https://twitter.com/RegZeller/status/1664636974844592129

1. Believe it can be done

This was the one of the biggest hurdles

When we looked at the tasks, there was little waiting or decision needed, they were just tasks... so we knew by restructuring the timing and method, it should be possible from a mathematical point

Driving cross country from South Carolina - and the coolest stop so far has been this Route 66 car museum I happened upon when getting gas.

- 50’s style diner still in operation
- classic cars
- memorabilia from Route 66 hay-day My favorite was the old cash registers

For students of business history, you’ll know this was a great company that spawned some of our modern day sales techniques

Undesirable truth:

Billionaires and incredibly wealthy individuals funded much of the man made world you enjoy. The ability to spend large amounts of money without needing it to pay off has created
the man made wonders of the world,
the most prestigious institutions,
the most people architecture, and some of
the scientific breakthroughs that we all enjoy today.

The key to making everything in a new acquisition work?

Trust.

So many dive straight for synergies, upgrades, and efficiencies.

None of this matters if you don't build trust. 👇 All of the ideas you have for a small business hinge on Trust.

If customers don't trust you, they will leave.

If employees don't trust you, your plans will be undermined.

If the seller doesn't trust you, there will be landmine's everywhere - with no guide to help

What is the maximum growth rate for your company?

This is an interesting thought experiment and brings into light some crucial considerations you must have in building your business. 1. How much cash is depleted as you grow at different rates?

This is something you can calculate and know.

- what is current cash reserve
- subtract what is needed for NWC
- calc cash cycle
- calc cash arrival rate

calculate the most you can grow before running out of cash

Enough beating around the bush on the Vision vs Integrator roles.

Here is the cold, hard truth on why many of you don't understand these perspectives, and won't get the partner or setup you want.

👇 1. First off, I hate the labels.

Operators should think strategically
Visionaries should build the business

A label lets you opt out of what needs to be done.

A label lets you pick and choose what you'll do, and write the rest off to someone else.

When it comes to setting up systems...

The magic occurs in CONNECTED procedures,
not just a list of procedures.

Want eliminate 80% of the time you get pulled into a system?

(The magic step 4 👇 ) 1. Process

Structure the process like a bullet list

1. enter order
2. print order
3. put on the planning board
4. molder pulls order
5. when completed, molder puts order on shakeout basket
6. ....

People are the most powerful engine a company has to grow

So how do you activate them, help them, develop them?

Here is where we are starting this year 👇

https://twitter.com/joshuamschultz/status/1610292527214501888?s=20&t=TVBVz1DSeXIcfhVqTtr4bA

First, growth starts at the top.

Me.

If I don't grow and expand my capacity to lead, then everything I try to lead, will fail and get cut short.

So first?

Grow my capacity

A simple method for prioritizing orders in manufacturing, packaging, assembly, or any other task.

I am going to show you an extremely simple way to prioritize work which minimizes
- time spent
- cost incurred
- customer frustration We are looking at minimizing time because it is a single objective that meets a number of goals a business owner has:

- lower lead time
- increased customer satisfaction
- lower cost (which in manufacturing is labor time)

The concept specifically is "Weighted Time"

At one point I managed 1000's of SKUs
With up to 26 suppliers per part
For 150 of the largest manufacturers in the US

Demand Planning, Forecasting, Inventory Management and a touch of machine learning were essential making it all work.

https://twitter.com/andrewglynch/status/1600790647543562240?s=20&t=ygijdjYwpTxTr-KrG65EjQ

During 2020 we had 0 part outages and were able to maintain full deliverability of parts to our North American partners

We did this with mininal impact to margins.

How?

We used machine learning and stress tests to create a dynamic part plan for every single part.

Just found out a small college in my hometown is shutting down.

While I am pained for the staff/faculty being out of job... the reality is the massive overhead of universities is not only unneeded but counter-productive!

There are better, faster, cheaper ways to learn now, ex: There are books that teach much more applicable material, in a deeper way, with more tactical and strategic understanding than any of my college courses

Over the last year I had to figure out how to 10x my output while taking control of my health and prioritizing sleep again.

I needed to learn to focus again

https://twitter.com/joshuamschultz/status/1588180376903569408?s=20&t=jyMBrJDwLYmt_scEQEoqdg

Here are a few things I found to help, and my current routine 👇 I still have a lot to grow in this area, but I have found a routine I like that has helped me be able to go into hyperdrive once or twice a day.

When looking at what tools & tech to use in your business, you shouldnt be focusing on

“the best tool”
or
“what others are using”

The focus must be not on digitizing or automating… but instead on lowering the friction of various key processes and activities within the business If you are starting with the tool, your approach is broken.

Start with the process, the friction, the issue.

Work backwards from there.

Here are 25+ Incredibly powerful frameworks I Iearned from years in finance managing a few hundred million dollars.

I have consistently applied these to operating small businesses, finance, and life in general. 1. Return on Investment

Every resource you have, has the potential to be "invested" to become more of that resource.

If you spend time/$ - you no longer have it
If you invest time/$ - you end up with more time/$

Controversial Take:

I am happy inflation is here.

Now is the time to fix our manufacturing problem at home! There is a lot at stake.

Here is what I mean... We have underinvested in manufacturing at home for decades.

Total GDP is at/near 11% while services and software has skyrocketed.

As @parkerconrad mentioned recently... many of the narrow software verticals have been picked over.

https://twitter.com/joshuamschultz/status/1549484230651965440?s=20&t=1cM49_ArHVxt49ZgIPpwWg

Levels of Building Systems... 1. Build it so I don't get dragged into the day-to-day

This is about building consistent ways of doing tasks, and handling business.

Its about structure and training

1 year ago I joined up with @RegZeller to help build Canekast, bringing it from single plant to manufacturing platform

Keep reading for
- 29 projects we implemented
- 8 stats showing our insane progress
- 7 reminders and lessons along the way In total I spent

- 25% of my year away from home, on-site in hotels
- 20% of my year flying somewhere in the US
- Just over 4300 hours working on building this machine

while
- speaking at 5 conferences and 3 companies
- teaching finance at SU
- running 2 operations cohorts

Building operations in 3 incredibly hard steps

1. Build your output machine
2. Build your efficiency machine
3. Build your people so they can repeat Figure out your key inputs to revenue

I'm talking the few lever pulls for your Rev numbers that matter

Build systems around
- increasing output,
- increasing quality
- fixing bottlenecks

Is homeschooling the answer to helping the next generation solve today's problems?

- Why we chose to do it
- our "Homeschool Stack"
- Some of the unintended consequences

... and "what about the kid's socializing!?" First off, homeschooling was not our first choice.

We loved the idea, but the execution is a whole other matter.

It takes a lot of time and attention to do right.
Its pretty expensive.

It means you have to make sacrifices... a lot.