I began my working life before computers became part of the everyday workplace. We had paper. We had mimeograph machines and teletypes. We had calculators and thirteen-column pads. The work got done, but much of it was done manually. Then…
Before you improve a process, automate it, or invest in it, there’s a more fundamental question worth asking first.
Years ago, while I was working with a management consulting company, our team was engaged by a large corporation to help improve its supply chain operations. I served as the project lead. The company had multiple divisions, and we began…
One of the first things you learn in consulting is that the problem you’re asked to solve isn’t necessarily the problem that needs to be solved. A client may say, “We need more people.” Or, “We need a new system.”…