Posts by Paul McNamara

Our situation has changed meaning we now have new threats (the virus and getting sick) and new obligations (hygiene and physical distancing) required to help us take care of those threats. At the same time, none of the threats or obligations we had before have been relieved. Our organizations still must move with speed and…

Knowledge is power. If our knowledge is better than our competitors’ knowledge it gives us the power to win. If we work purposely at increasing our knowledge, and we succeed, our accomplishments or results increase as well. Outcomes or results are produced by people and teams who have the knowledge to produce them. Knowledge is…

Culture Can Keep Costs Low… when that culture is effective for dealing with the situations members of the culture confront on a daily basis. If the culture isn’t working costs are high.  When an effective culture is shared it is easier for them to trust each other and, as a result, lowers the cost of…

The Good Intentions Trap is Costly If achieving a big result looks too easy, it probably is and will probably be a costly venture.  It is a trap we are all vulnerable to when we don’t understand all of the underlying mechanics required to produce an outcome in a given set of circumstances. We are…

We are in a new age of competition that the World Economic Forum calls the 4th Industrial Revolution.  New tools and technologies are enabling people to fulfill new and more competitive intentions ramping competitive pressures on everyone to move with speed and efficiency or risk failure.  Incremental changes won’t work.  They simply won’t be enough…

Asset Management Metrics are very important to success.  I won’t say the most important though, because a number without a narrative that gives it meaning, relevance, and value might as well not exist. It won’t produce any change in direction or focus. If you don’t have a purpose, by definition they aren’t complete They are…

Why are There Hidden M&A Synergies in Test Operations? Our customers often make the decision to focus on synergies in organizations heavily invested in test because of the capital intensity — both human and equipment —  in test organizations. The synergies come later than that have to though, as our algorithms could also help M&A…

Why are Maintenance Teams so Important? Because they are responsible for keeping plant and equipment up and running so that orders from customers can be quickly produced, shipped, billed and converted to cash.  Any breakdown in production inevitably leads to shipping delays, dissatisfied customers, slowed payments, reduced profitability, delays to cash and reductions in stock…

I use the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) on purpose.  We all know what it feels like to go into those organizations and attempt to be treated like a customer.  In a recent move, I learned that not all DMVs are so terrible, but none of them are good.  Good people trying hard can make…

In the Beginning Our Enterprise Asset Management software has always been aimed at producing important outcomes for our customers because it was designed by our practitioners who were personally responsible for delivering those outcomes. Everyone in our company was focused on delivering results that far exceeded our costs so that our customers produced a significant…