Fine-tune the machine
In this scenario, you’re the puzzle master, making sure all of the pieces come together at the right time.
“The challenge is you’ve got all these moving parts,” Faulkner says. “Make sure that all those moving parts are moving individually but also moving collectively. That’s my biggest challenge … we run this place like a finely tuned engine. We can’t have any cylinders not firing because that affects the performance of the whole engine.”
By monitoring progress and holding employees accountable, you can bring all the pieces together.
“As it relates to design on new products, my comment there is that we all own it so we’re accountable as a team,” Faulkner says. “When it comes down to execution of the strategy, that’s where we all own pieces. That’s where, you know, the marketing department has a number of disciplines it has to deliver on within an amount of time and within a budget and within a group of people.”
Faulkner conducts monthly reviews to make sure each department pulls its weight. He measures each department’s performance against timelines, budgets and other resources. While the focus is on current progress, it’s also a time to review the success or failure of certain activities and to check your pace toward future goals.
Keep track of progress consistently so the goal stays in front of you. Give yourself time to adjust your path instead of realizing too late that you missed a target.
“We try to be proactive, not reactive,” Faulkner says. “To the extent a department is failing in its objectives within the timeline, then, frankly, we watch … enough to where we would know that beforehand. We try not to have any retroactive action items; we try to have preventative action items.”
Multiple deadlines — like timelines, budgets and other expectations — keep the pressure on employees to perform. But you counterbalance that with some flexibility when it comes to external obstacles. If you’re willing to work with employees to make adjustments when they hit roadblocks, then they’ll be more willing to bring you problems directly and help you address them up front.
“We obviously would not want to see every project in every department all the time moved and changed and delayed,” Faulkner says. “So I wouldn’t tell you that there’s no pressure on people to deliver; there certainly is. But to the extent that there’s something beyond somebody’s control that is impacting us, then obviously we would be understanding of that and re-plan accordingly.”
For example, safety specifications for lights recently changed. Pelican couldn’t control how long it took the outside agency to inspect and certify its products. So Pelican had to push back the release date.
Then, after an idea turns into a product and launches successfully, the cycle starts over again. While Pelican does pause to celebrate success, it’s much more focused on recognizing what could be done better. Improving existing products is as much a part of innovation as developing new ones.
“It’s all about tuning that engine, and (after) you tune one area, you’ve got to go around and tune the other areas,” Faulkner says. “And then when you finish tuning them, you’re going back to the area that you started on.”
How to reach: Pelican Products Inc., (800) 473-5422 or www.pelican.com
