Tag Archive for: Automation

What’s in Your Future?

Today, we hear a lot about the advent of automation in our business operations, especially with the introduction of Artificial Intelligence and other new technology. I find it interesting that Warren Bennis, professor of business at U.S.C., offered the following thought back in the early 1980’s:

“The factory of the future will have only two employees, a man and a dog. The man will be there to feed the dog. The dog will be there to keep the man from touching the equipment.”

This sounds like a fully automated system. Are we approaching this point with the introduction of more and more automation & technological advances? Quite possibly.

My first Client to automate a major task was through using a robotic machine to push up feed throughout the day. I believe at the time it cost about $40,000. However, it replaced one full-time employee, paying for itself in less than one year. More significantly, it enabled them to complete a task that was not being completed consistently. As a result, the Client’s milk production per cow has climbed by ten pounds per cow per day, offering an even bigger payback.

Comparing the Labor costs on dairies with robotic milkers vs. conventional milking setups is eye-opening. Our experience is that it is 1/3 of the cost of the conventional setup. Additionally, there is little cost for the robot’s time, there is no overtime pay and they don’t require Worker’s Comp or Benefits coverage. I estimate that the payback on these units is easily within 5-6 years, to say nothing of the improved production, herd health and other benefits.

The point is this. Automation is becoming more and more available. Fortunately, it is surfacing where I hear the most common complaints from Clients – in the challenges of Labor.

My advice? Take positive action today and check out the payback on these automation options. Warren Bennis alluded to their benefits 40 years ago, and now we are there.

Are you prepared for this challenge? Do you have a plan for overcoming its obstacles?

I’d love to visit with you more about my work with other Clients on these areas and how you, too, can achieve an improved outcome. Please let me know if you would like some assistance at john@success-strategies.com.

Let’s take your business to the Next Level!

If I Ran the Circus, Guess What?

I thought it might be appropriate to offer the following summary of how I would make everything work if, as Dr. Seuss stated, “I Ran the Circus!”

Regardless of your industry, I’d pull for the following outcomes:

  1. Our profit margins would always be huge. In fact, in light of our current “fairness doctrine,” where “everyone gets a trophy,” I’d make sure that every business in our country was profitable.
  2. We’d have no labor challenges because all of our employees would be highly motivated, simply happy to have a job, and anxious to get to work each day.
  3. We’d have no operational challenges, because we would have already anticipated all of the potential hurdles we could face as a business, and, Voila, there would already be items in place to protect all operations from such calamities.

Am I being somewhat sarcastic? Yes, of course, but let’s take this a step further and start thinking about it further, since I have no control over the occurrence of these challenges.

First, let’s look at these challenges directly. What is the largest challenge you face in your business currently? Are there potential solutions to this? What needs to occur to make progress on this problem? Who can assist you in overcoming this challenge? Trust me when I say that if you can answer these questions directly, you’ll be 75% of the way toward your solution.

How about an example? If labor turnover is your biggest issue, can you start a program of training employees for better outcomes? How about a low cost “development program” that helps you to have some new workers available, as needed, perhaps through your local Junior College? Are there other ideas for winning this challenge?

I remember a discussion with a bank manager once where he exclaimed that, “John, we just cannot afford to train our employees on their job activities. There is nothing worse than training people and then having them go over to the competition.” After thinking about for it for a moment, I suggested that there was one thing worse, and that was not training them & then having them stay…

If labor cost is your biggest challenge, what about looking at potential automation? In 22 years of consulting, I cannot think of one single case where any Client automated a process and then later was disappointed to the point of taking it out. On the contrary, it led them to think about and discover even more ways that they could automate tasks. Indeed, they never looked back. They just pushed forward & made additional improvements!

As I suggested in my last blog, using the combined thinking of Joseph Schumpeter (Creative Destruction) and Dan Heath (Upstream), my question for you is this:

“What innovations do you have available to you right now to boost the productivity of your business?”

If you spend some time on this, I guarantee that you will continue to expand your future opportunities and profitability results!

I’d like to invite you to join me for our upcoming Next Level Thinking™ workshops later this year, within which, I’ll continue to focus on the benefits of this type of proactive thinking. We’ll be doing portions of this process through Zoom Group Sessions, with monthly follow-up calls on an individual basis.

Let’s take your business to the Next Level!