Take your time
Facts and figures did not play a large role
in Miller’s decision to move from batch
manufacturing to a modular system.
“That probably would have made a lot of
sense, but I made it by the seat of my
pants,” Miller says. “I said to myself, ‘At the
end of the day, it’s just physically exhausting. There’s got to be a better way to do
this. You’re just beating your head against
the wall trying to get orders out. The world
is just passing you by.’”
Miller spent time on the floor and saw the
exhaustion of his employees. He knew
what he wanted to do. As the leader of your
business, sometimes you just have to make
the initial call yourself.
“It’s really fashionable to say, ‘Let’s sit
down and get a consensus and see what
people have to say,’” Miller says. “And if
you do that too much, there are too many
gatekeepers and too many people that are
going to keep you down. They’re afraid of
change.”
Of course, you can’t simply climb your
ivory tower and issue a proclamation to
your employees if you expect your company to adapt to your idea. So Miller began at
the top.
“I met with supervisors to get on board
and say, ‘Look, this is what we’re going to
do, and this is how it’s going to benefit
you,’” Miller says. “You’re going to have
more time at home and less overtime. Your
life is going to be better. We’re going to be
more organized. We can’t keep doing it the
way we’ve been doing it. It’s abusive.”
Confidence is key. But you still have to
accept the fact that you may not have thought of everything. Find the person in
your company who you know will give you
a straight answer and not just tell you what
you want to hear.
“Be careful who you rely on for information,” Miller says. “Maybe there is a new
solution and that’s what you go to discuss.
Talk about it on a daily basis.”
As Miller began talking about his idea
with his leadership team, he looked at
research opportunities out in the field
where he could see the systems in action
that he would be looking at to bring to his
company.
“Explain, ‘I’m going to go visit this facility,’” Miller says. “‘I may want somebody to
come.’”
Find consultants who have worked with
other companies on making similar
changes and engage them in the discussion.
“We went out and interviewed consultants,” Miller says. “There were only two
really available that did modular manufacturing. They were both experienced, but
one of them had done textile factories.
They really understood.”
As often as possible, try to meet at sites
that will allow you a firsthand look at their
operations.
“You’re going to grow, and you’re going to
learn a lot,” Miller says.
Miller found what he was looking for
with the second firm he met with, a company that specializes in consulting in the
manufacturing industry.
“They were doing a job in Cleveland, and
we connected,” Miller says. “They knew
the right words. They understood all the
different operations. I said, ‘Wow, this is a
fit.’ They were telling me stuff that I didn’t
even know about. They had been inside.
They can show you a new way or tell you
things that you haven’t even thought of.”
When it comes to making the ultimate
decision, money must be a consideration.
“Sit down with your accountant and
crunch those numbers,” Miller says. “If
the system costs more money than it’s
every going to produce, that’s sure failure.”
