What is a Smart SME?
January 18, 2022
Two things are going to dominate my conversation during 2022. For me they come hand in hand.
The first and main theme is Smart SMEs (small & medium businesses). Personally I don’t like the term 'enterprises' but hey the acronym sticks!!
In New...
Strategy and Tactics
November 23, 2021
Strategy and tactics - two critical elements of executing your plan and being a successful business. The great news is that one feeds into the other, they do and should relate to each other.
The strategy is your true north - the vision you, your leadership team and possibly ...
How Does Lean Improve Productivity?
September 16, 2021
Improving the Productivity in Small and Medium Businesses (SME’s) is what gets me out of bed every day. In New Zealand, SMEs have some of the world's worst productivity statistics in the OECD. There are many factors that impact productivity, therefore there is no sil...
Can Lean work for single (small) business owners?
July 30, 2021
I get asked all the time if Lean is just for manufacturing or can it be applied to any type of business. Of course the answer is yes! Less often a question arises - Lean might be all very well for a decent size business, but what about the solopreneur? Or even the Mum ...
The four challenges you need to take business improvement seriously!
February 1, 2021
There are many aspects to managing or owning a business. Finance, people, supply chain, sales, marketing, training, quality management - the list goes on. Over the years I have heard many leaders describing their situation as unique or complex. Well today I...
Leading for change is hard
November 20, 2020
Why do many small and medium businesses (SMEs) fail when they try and change something or begin something new? Where do they go wrong when they want to bring something such as Lean Thinking into the business?
In my space as a consultant I see and hear these stories all...
The $170,000 Opportunity
November 4, 2020
According to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and employment there are 499,944 small businesses in New Zealand who employ 0-19 employees. This makes up a significant part of the economy in this country, employing over 1 million people. That is over a quarter of wor...
Primary Drivers of Productivity
October 5, 2020
So what's important for frontline staff when SME's are focused on improving their productivity? Well a bunch of researchers in the UK asked this very question and the results, well to me they weren't that surprising.
Operational process change - 80% very important...
Brick by Brick - Episode Three
July 16, 2020
Damian May from 2E Electrical
Today's episode is another great conversation, this time focusing on the real challenges of a small & medium business in NZ.
Damian brings to the table some of the challenges he has running an electrician business based in Hamilton, NZ. During the conversation we explore how...
Productivity for the People
April 20, 2020
Making Productivity real for the Small Business Owner
Making productivity real for real people - this is my big hobby horse for 2020 and probably for a few more years after that! Following the impact of COVID-19 it has become more critical for the survival of small, medium businesses (SMEs).
Before I start into my rant about th...
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