MAY 2019 TMI CONFERENCE
LEADING FROM THE FRONT
This year’s Framework for Excellence Conference, hosted by The Manufacturing
Institute, saw delegates learn how to improve their efficiency and their leadership
Any conference with senior managers
from Dyson, adidas and UK Sport
on the bill is worth paying attention
to – and when that conference also
teaches you how to squeeze every last
drop of efficiency out of your factory,
and become a better leader in the process, then it
suddenly becomes impossible to miss.
That was certainly the case with The
Manufacturing Institute (TMI) Framework for
Excellence Conference, held at Worsley Park
Hotel in Manchester on 19-21 March. Three days
of keynote sessions, workshop seminars and
deep-dive factory visits saw delegates fill entire
notepads with ideas to take back to their sites.
Kicking off the keynotes was Martin McCourt,
former CEO of Dyson. He told the assembled
delegates about how the company’s rapid rise
came about through a focus on innovation and
disrupting the market.
McCourt explained how adversity is a crucial
part of Dyson’s success, with rival companies
across the world doing their best to stop the
firm from introducing its products to overseas
markets. In the end, this became the backbone of
Dyson’s growth.
Following McCourt was John Steele, former
CEO of UK Sport and the brains behind the
drastic change in fortunes of Team GB at the
Olympic Games. From the nadir of Atlanta 1996,
where Great Britain won just one gold medal, and
15 overall, to the unprecedented success of Rio
2016, with 27 golds, 67 overall and second place in
the medal table, Steele explained how developing
a mindset of being a single team has made all the
difference. He also explored the idea of marginal
gains, and how these can translate into a business
environment.
Day two began with a bombastic presentation
by Terry Scuoler, chairman of The Institute of
Export & International Trade. In spite of Brexit
uncertainty, he said, UK manufacturing is on a
strong footing and is heading into a bright future.
“There’s a whole world outside of Europe,” he
said. “We have to start looking further afield.”
Up next, Tony Cooke, VP of human resources
at adidas, explained the importance of reinforcing
a culture of performance at an organisation.
“If you can embed a culture of excellence, you
will see a doubling of net profit, 18% increased
productivity and 40% lower turnover,” he said.
“Key to achieving this mindset is to remember that
BY CHRIS BECK
Former UK Sport CEO, John Steele, explained
Team GB’s meteoric rise at recent Olympics
your teams don’t want to be
managed, they want to be led.
Lead by example and reinforce
the behaviours you want to see.
Good leadership leads to good
culture, which in turn leads to
good behaviours and a good
company strategy.”
adidas has developed what
it calls the Interdependency
Culture Model, whereby all
parts of the company’s culture
– comprising of leadership,
opportunity, appreciation,
wellbeing, success and purpose
– are interlinked. “This ensures
we are all pushing in the same
direction, working towards a
common goal,” explained Cooke.
Following this, delegates
broke into sessions hosted by
some of TMI’s industry clients,
including Devro, Optos and
Volvo. All speakers shared their
tips for achieving operational
excellence. “It’s vital that you
improve your systems before
you look at your people,” said
George Donaldson, enterprise
excellence manager at Devro.
“Change won’t happen without
good leadership – and getting it
embedded takes time.”
Also in agreement was Sarah
Jardine, operations director
at Optos. “Success takes time
and commitment,” she warned.
“As a leader, if your team sees
you giving up on something, it
demonstrates to them that it
wasn’t important. Lead from the
front – make it easy for people
to do the things you want them
to by doing them yourself.”
Manufacturing Management is pleased to announce that it has
signed a strategic partnership with The Manufacturing Institute
for 2019/20. This will see the two parties share their combined
industry expertise over a series of events and thought-leader
editorials, providing insight and advice for manufacturers looking
to boost productivity and profit on their site.
Delegates from
the UK and
overseas were
in attendance
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