The pace of today’s business requires agility and the ability to change. But beware, “change” can be difficult on you, your staff, and your company. Sometimes change is accomplished with small steps, other times you might have to destruct the very structures that have taken...

Growing a smaller company’s sales to that of a mid-size company has many challenges. The additional staffing and departmental growth can face unexpected roadblocks. Two key fundamental areas present themselves in unexpected ways. Communication – Communication is the act of...

A funny thing happened after Toll Brothers erected this “Board Foot Display” in their wall panel plant. Toll workers didn’t complain. In fact, they actually asked for digital readouts at their individual work stations. Hats off to Keith Fell, Toll’s Director of...

For many companies, properly staffing and retaining employees to meet their needs is a never-ending struggle. Let’s summarize what human resources gurus require years of training to understand and disseminate it to the masses for better results. Let us start by understanding some basic...

Part 6 in our TIMWOODS series Clearly, there are many different ways that people waste time, money, and resources, but throughout our series my objective is providing new ways for you to think about the opportunities in your operation. In previous articles, we’ve talked about the wastes...

To most of us, the term “turn signal” means the directional indicator you use when changing lanes in traffic or turning. Beyond it being courteous and prudent, using them is the law. Ignore the need to use your turn signals at your own peril—you may get blind sided. Like...

Preparing to write this month’s column, I’d been thinking about several topics, and eventually decided that the theme would be the Fourth of July. But then…(bang, clatter)…I was ready to start writing…(bang, clatter)…and all I could think was—when...

My wife reached out to me recently, frustrated with a new furniture company. She was attempting to purchase several items for the house and found a few she thought were perfect. After thirty minutes of attempting to checkout with the sales associate, it was determined that she could not purchase...

There is nothing like the scheduling of orders to bring out the worst in people. Timely delivery of orders naturally creates a division between salespeople on one side of the issue and production on the other. Management normally plays the role of referee, with a tendency to favor the...

How can we measure and improve employee productivity? It’s a common question now, one that I am often asked within the Component and LBM industry, but that wasn’t always the case. We’ve come a long way and learned a lot! Back in 1911, mechanical engineer Frederick W. Taylor,...