Doug February – General Manager at Nampak, presented “Operational Excellence … Good to Great” at our recent ODI conference held on the 29th August 2019 at Emperors Palace in Johannesburg.
Doug energised the room from the time he started speaking about Operations Excellence! He said he realised how complex his task was, as he knows that most of the delegates are already mature in their Operational Excellence Journey. Everyone knows about 5S, problem-solving, focused improvements, and so on.
After much soul searching, he said he decided that he would like everyone to be true to themselves, and understand why they are here today, and why they believe operational excellence is important.
He asked what everyone’s single and greatest challenge is in South Africa today?
- Of course, that we need clients or customers, as we don’t have a business without them. He asked anybody who is able to run a business without clients to please tell him how?!
- So, to be a Supplier of Choice is critical, although it does not mean that you are the cheapest. In order to do so, a business must:
- Deliver distinctively superior quality and service.
- Grow leaders in innovation.
- Offer value.
- Be responsible and ethical.
Doug told a story of himself buying a cup of coffee that was more expensive than the competitor’s, and the queue was longer – but he was still willing to pay, and wait for this cup of coffee, because he believed it was a better cup of coffee.
Doug highlighted the importance of thinking globally, even if acting locally. He addressed the importance of behaviours, attitudes and beliefs in our journey to become great.
In his presentation, he shared several inspirational slides indicating Good to Great.
He ended off by saying that although Operational Excellence is a team sport, it requires LEADERSHIP to drive it. Doug left the audience feeling energised and ready to examine their own business again.
To read more about the speaker presentations at our recent ODI conference where we celebrated 30 years of Operational Excellence, click on the following links:
- Len Hansen – Consultant at Astral Operations, presented: “My Journey with Organisational Development International (ODI) since 1991.”
- Esbe du Toit: Organisational Improvement Manager at Wispeco Aluminium, presented: “Celebrating Innovation … A snapshot of our journey towards world-class.”
- Theo van Strijp: Managing Director at GFC, presented: “Grain Field Chickens: Road to Excellence Award.”
- Forona Stephens: Human Resources Business Partner at GWK and her topic of discussion was: “Think Big, Start Small, Unlock Excellence.”
- Wouter Olivier Managing Director of Sondor Performance Foams, presented: “People are the Foundation to Building a Culture of Continuous Improvement.”
- Moemedi Merafhe: Strategy & Business Improvement Manager, Debswana Diamond Company and he spoke about : “MBA Lean Implementation Journey”
- Nikki Moodley: Operations Improvement Executive, Astral Foods and her topic of discussion was “20 Keys… The Astral Way.”
Author: Huibie Jones: MD at ODI