Strategic Planning & Material Handling
How many ears of corn grow on one giant stalk? Most people (myself included) think the answer is “a lot.” But if you said “one,” that means you’re either from Nebraska or you attended 2009 MHEDA President Duncan Murphy’s workshop at last week’s MHEDA Convention.
I want to revisit Duncan’s presentation before it gets too much further into the past. Not that the information would be any less timely…I just don’t want to forget to mention what I got out of it. I didn’t really have time to give it the attention it deserved at the time.
Duncan gave a presentation titled, “Strategic Planning: A Practical Application to Help Grow Your Business and Your Profits.” It was well-attended by distributors and suppliers alike, and I have no doubt that everyone left with some new information and tips to better run their businesses. As the title suggests, the session was about the importance of developing a strategic plan. I won’t go into the details of the strategic planning model used (it’s the same one MHEDA uses that has been presented at past conferences) but I do want to focus on the point of the corn analogy above.
One stalk only grows one ear of corn, but each ear of corn has 300 kernels, which are the seeds to grow a new stalk of corn. Duncan explained that the strategic planning process at your company can sprout the same way. He explained that a strong team of managers developed the plan (the ear) and then dispersed the message to all the employees (the kernels). Once the employees buy-in to the plan – which is a multi-step process that includes improved communication, measured results, goal setting, reviews and revisions, etc. — then the “kernels” can sprout. The employees will perform better, and they can be the basis for a new, improved company (the stalk).
I thought this was a really interesting concept. I assure you that Duncan explained it much more eloquently than I just did. (Downloads of presentation materials are available on MHEDA’s website.) All you really need to know is that by following the strategic plan he outlined in his presentation, Riekes Equipment Company was able to increase its profit despite a 18% drop in sales and earned 2009 “Top Dealer” awards from both Yale and Combilift. Not a bad year, all things considered. That’s the importance of a strategic plan.
Tags: best practices, convention, lift trucks, material handling
