Thermoforming Report

Look Back & Plan Forward

What Happened … and Where Are We Going?

It’s that time of year: Christmas music. Light displays on houses. Holiday parties. Travel to visit family. Lots of shopping… and eating. It is a wonderful time of year! 

Then there is your business. Work. 

Though a lot of companies have shifted away from the typical calendar year from a reporting and performance standpoint (utilizing a fiscal year that better suits the flow of the business), there are still a lot of things in the mix as we wrap up one year and head into the next. 

How do you do this effectively?!? 

And efficiently?!? 

I am not an expert and as I’ve stated in previous content, there is a TON of information out there on this topic – just visit your local bookstore in the business section!  However, I do want to interject my own flavor and thoughts on the topic given that I am in the process of doing this very same thing for Siena Group. 

Where to Start?

Hopefully, you’ve been tracking the right metrics over the course of the year. Data collection is never easy, and it doesn’t seem to matter what business you are in. Even with a robust MES or database in place, you still need to extract and analyze all that information to use it effectively. 

In fact, an entirely new career – the Data Analyst – was created to be able to collect and analyze all that glorious information in the Information Age.   

Now that you have all the necessary information collected, a full review of the annual targets needs to be done. 

• Be objective and factual. No emotions. Here is where we ended up, here is what we wanted, and here is the variance – good, bad, or otherwise. 
• Now sort them. Are there new metrics in play this year that are providing a key benchmark for the coming year? Where are the big misses? What about the big wins? 

The objective is to highlight those metrics with the biggest variances. With all of the information in place and sorted, it is time to reflect on the why. 

Why?

This is the point where you are using the information to determine how to adjust in the coming year. 

• Were there external impacts that affected our ability to deliver our results (does anyone remember Covid?!?)? 

• Were the problems strictly internal? Equipment failures, poor planning – or just the opposite with some excellent equipment results due to a few key Kaizens that over-delivered? 

• What about people impacts? Did you bring on someone that was outstanding and made much bigger and faster impacts on the equipment or top-line sales or implement a new system? Or, did you carry someone on the margins that hasn’t been delivering yet you haven’t pulled the trigger and made a move?   

Again, this part of the process should be as focused on facts as possible. 

Everything is up for interpretation. We all bring our own paradigms into the mix. But, be discerning. Listen to your team. Ask the hard questions. As leaders, that is what we are tasked to do to ensure the business is growing in the right way. 

What’s Next?

With the whys in place, there needs to be an assessment of the market. This is where you get out your crystal ball [or this one?  Or this one?]! There are so many variables – world economy, impacts from the war in Ukraine, lingering pandemic impacts, inflation, and on, and on, and on! 

Yet, in spite of all the unknowns, a plan must be created that is both realistic and challenging.   

One thing I learned a long time ago in my Kimberly-Clark Corporation days was the difference between an achievable objective and a stretch objective. Without getting too far in the weeds, setting stretch objectives tended to deliver better results than the incremental, “achievable” objectives. You may not get to that tough stretch goal, but setting these lofty goals enabled you to deliver above and beyond what you would have with just the incremental ones.   

With a new set of challenging and stretch objectives, make sure to review them with your team and/or mentors. Failure to follow this essential step only shortchanges what could be achieved. 

Doing things in a vacuum without someone else asking critical questions can lead to overly aggressive and unachievable targets or ones that don’t go far enough. Two minds are better than one – so use them! 

The Final Takeaway

As business leaders, team leaders, and individual contributors, we all must do our part to deliver results for the organization. Using our collective skills and experience, we work towards those stretch objectives, keeping them in front of us to constantly remind us of what we are working to achieve together.   

But we are more than just work, right? 

We are people with hopes and dreams and plans for our future. This time of year tends to bring all of that to light, reflecting on what was, what is, and what is yet to come. 

As I think this through, it is hard not to think about how blessed I am in my own ways. On a personal level, I have close friends that are grieving due to the recent devastating loss of a grandchild. That kind of anguish is so hard to endure! Yet, it brings us closer, urging us to lean on each other in these hard gut-wrenching times. It also brings into perspective how truly amazing it is to have what we have –the friends and family that surround us.   

So, as you wrap up this year, be sure to take the time to look back at the highs, the lows, and the in-betweens of 2022, and plan forward for 2023 to review, assess, and prepare your organization in your role for success. And, make sure to pause and enjoy those family and friends too! 

From everyone here at Siena Group and from our family to yours, we wish you all a very happy and joyful Christmas!  🎄