Thought Leadership

Maintenance technician inspecting industrial equipment on the plant floor, a common path to the maintenance manager role

Maintenance, Thought Leadership

October 29, 2026

Maintenance Manager Promotions: 3 Ways to Avoid a Costly Trap

The path to leadership in the maintenance world often seems straightforward: the best troubleshooter, the fastest repair expert, or the person with the most "tribal knowledge" about the equipment is usually who is promoted...

Maintenance crew in hard hats at an industrial plant, reflecting a culture of discipline in daily operations

Maintenance, Thought Leadership

October 21, 2026

What Jim Collins’ Good to Great Can Teach Us About Building a Culture of Discipline

In our last post, we explored Jack Welch’s core idea: clarity of strategy and purpose is the starting point for operational excellence. But clarity alone doesn’t change how work gets done. Many organizations know...

New equipment increases manufacturing capacity but not capability

Production Efficiency, Thought Leadership

October 21, 2026

Capacity Isn’t Capability: Why New Equipment Won’t Fix an Execution Problem

One of the most expensive mistakes in manufacturing is buying more production capacity to fix a problem that capacity didn't cause. I've watched organizations spend millions trying to solve problems that weren't caused by...

Maintenance, Management Systems, Thought Leadership

October 20, 2026

5 Powerful Steps to Transform Maintenance Management Using Atomic Habits

Imagine a bustling manufacturing plant. The hum of machinery is constant in the backdrop of the daily grind as the organization maintains a relentless focus on production. "Keep the lines running, no matter what,"...

Maintenance technicians working on equipment together, applying the CLEAR framework on the plant floor

Maintenance, Management Systems, Production Efficiency, Thought Leadership

October 20, 2026

How the CLEAR Framework Drives Results

In many manufacturing operations, the gap between strategy and execution isn’t due to a lack of effort. It's usually due to a lack of shared language and expectations. That’s why we developed our own...

Maintenance and operations teams working together on the plant floor

Maintenance, Production Efficiency, Thought Leadership

October 20, 2026

4 Lessons From Jack Welch’s “Winning” for Maintenance and Operations

Anyone who has spent time in an industrial setting knows the tension between maintenance and operations. Production is measured on output, while Maintenance is measured on equipment health. These priorities often collide, and the...

Unplanned downtime on a manufacturing plant floor

Maintenance, Production Efficiency, Thought Leadership

June 1, 2026

Why This $1.4 Trillion Maintenance Problem Keeps Getting Worse (And Why Your Plant Is Probably No Exception)

We need to have an honest conversation about our industry. Unplanned downtime cost the world's largest manufacturers $864 billion in 2021. By 2024 that number had climbed to $1.4 trillion—a 62% increase in just...

Thought Leadership

January 27, 2026

Continuous Improvement Is Not a Project—It’s a Culture.

When I first walked into the mill, the noise was not the only thing that stood out. It was the pace. Supervisors bounced from problem to problem, operators were doing their best but were...

General, Maintenance, Management Systems, Thought Leadership

October 1, 2025

6 Proven Maintenance Strategies: Shifting from Firefighting to Foresight

Reactive maintenance isn't just inconvenient-it's a massive drain on profitability. For manufacturing leaders, operational excellence demands more. It requires more leadership, more accountability, and a fundamental shift from firefighting to having foresight - not...

Forest Products, Production Efficiency, Thought Leadership

July 29, 2024

Reflections from 37+ years of Resource Procurement and Management

I have always loved sport analogies to drive alignment around business strategies. In my 37 years in this amazing industry, I’ve seen that the use of a relevant sports analogy can be critical to...