I can’t tell you how often I hear a CEO say some variation in the following; “We can’t proceed with this initiative because Joe, my head of sales, won’t go for it.” It is often the case that we as leaders live inside the box because we allow those that we have delegated to, to create inertia against change. And before you dismiss the thought that I am talking to you, I probably am. I’m not in favor of dictatorial leadership, but there are issues in EVERY company that should not be negotiable or “up for discussion.” That is why one of the two non-delegable responsibilities the CEO has is to determine the pace or momentum of the organization. Here are some examples of mistakes from industries that we routinely work in:

Distribution – allow too much autonomy and style in determining the product set. There are products out there that eat up your earnings. Be scientific about what to carry and don’t let emotion creep into this.

Manufacturing – avoid the challenge of pacing production (fast or slow) to demand (we call this synchronous flow) and allowing the team to decide what the pace should be. Pace production to demand to avoid overstocking and overtime.

Collections – fail to allow the queues and inventory management to dictate pacing. Be scientific and fact based on queue management for production optimization.

Construction – allow the team to work with time-honored tactics instead of a scientific methodology that controls time, labor and materials in pace with customer needs and deadlines.

The theme here is that science and the facts should be in the driver’s seat. Not emotional attachments to people or practices. The funny thing is that, as you’re reading this, you’re probably thinking; “That approach is too harsh for our culture.” The TRUTH is that this approach makes people comfortable because they know where the boundaries are. What makes people nervous/uncertain is when they can’t tell what’s allowed, what’s appropriate or what will drive results. Your management system and your personal style should put all of that aside and drive on what we know will drive earnings – which in EVERY business is a matter of fact, not opinion.

Run the Science

If you don’t have your thumb on the scientific principles that drive earnings in your business try some of the following to get there:

Force that issue that you KNOW in your heart is causing reduced earnings and simply make it so. If you break something, circle back and fix it. I’ll bet things will improve.
Run some A/B tests with scientific samples to determine which products, processes, teams, systems or customers perform the best. Then lean into the winners and away from the others.
Begin experimenting with big data and some tools and let the science and statistics tell you which products, processes, teams, systems or customers perform the best.
Track the performance of products, processes, teams, systems or customers, to identify which perform the best.
Kill a bad product, process, etc. and see what impact it has. Assuming you correctly identified the bad product, etc. things will immediately improve 99% of the time. You will be less distracted by the bad, and the good will produce more earnings to use in discovering more good.