=====================================
MANUFACTURING BASICS & BEST PRACTICES BULLETIN

Now serving over 11,805 subscribers

Competitive Knowledge for Manufacturing People 

=====================================
June 5, 2006

Hi [[firstname]],

Are you concerned about job related stress? 
Are you troubled by slow growth and earnings?
Are you worried about your company's future? 

To help MBBP subscribers and their companies reach 
their full growth and earning potentials, I have 
produced seven training modules that are priced at 
only $67.00 each. Many modules have over 50 slides 
with commentary and "lessons learned" by yours truly. 
They are delivered same day via Internet download. 

An "ORDER NOW BONUS"... If you order during this 
special MBBP offer, we will include Enrique 
(PapaKaizen) Mora's e-Book, "The Power of Kaizen 
Events." Here's your opportunity to get into the 
mind of one of the country's leading "Kaizen Blitz" 
gurus. 

To review details, click on one or all of the 
Training modules below and take advantage of the
MBBP 30% discount:

LEAN MANUFACTURING:
http://bbasicsllc.com/e-lp-lm-MBBP.htm

VALUE STREAM MAPPING:
http://bbasicsllc.com/e-lp-vsm-MBBP.htm

KAIZEN MANAGEMENT:
http://bbasicsllc.com/e-lp-kci-MBBP.htm

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
http://bbasicsllc.com/e-lp-scm-MBBP.htm

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT:
http://bbasicsllc.com/e-lp-bsc-MBBP.htm

STRATEGIC PLANNING:
http://bbasicsllc.com/e-lp-sp-MBBP.htm

ISO 9000 2000 TOOL KIT
http://bbasicsllc.com/e-lp-iso-MBBP.htm

If your concerned as to where your career and earnings 
are heading, be sure to read this week's bulletin

Bill Gaw
Business Basics, LLC
bg@bbasicsllc.com
760-945-5596

=====================================
MANUFACTURING BASICS & BEST PRACTICES BULLETIN

Now serving over 11,795 subscribers

Competitive Knowledge for Manufacturing People 

===================================== 

A CAREER WAKEUP CALL

In the past, you all knew the formula for career 
stability and success, if you worked smart your career 
would be pretty much guaranteed in your company. The 
rules have changed significantly in business and some 
of you have not adjusted. You are often abandoning your 
jobs at a rate that is alarmingly too high. In an effort 
to justify your lack of career planning, you use excuses 
such as lack of upward mobility or philosophical 
differences with management. What is often happening 
is a self fulfilling prophecy and you are making it too 
easy for your companies not to include you in their 
plans. 

Your careers should be a planned series of focused 
positions to achieve a goal that you control. The 
operative words are planned and control. If you allow 
your career destiny to pass from your hands to your 
companies, you are taking an inordinate amount of 
unnecessary risk. 

You must acknowledge that you are completely on your 
own when it comes to your career plan. I think you know 
by now that most companies can no longer offer you a 
career plan just based on you doing a good job. Most 
companies are not the villains in this career plot. 
It's just the economic uncertainties that cause them 
to focus on their bottom line. Companies tend to view 
you as similar to any asset on their balance sheet. 
If that asset (you) ceases to give them a R.O.I, they 
will dispose of it. 

It's vital that you avoid career paralysis. If you 
occupy one position in your firm for too many years, 
watch out. Your superiors may have raved about you in 
the past, however, that asset is depreciating every 
day, and your career could be in severe jeopardy. Be 
interested and learn about important change initiatives 
so that you can continue to broaden rather than deepen 
your background. When it comes to the issue of who stays 
and who goes, the employees that really power the engine 
(change initiative champions and supporters) will stay. 

If you do follow all the steps for proper career 
management, will it guarantee you stability in one firm? 
Of course not, companies are in a war today. However, at 
least you will be increasing your odds of staying with 
your company and you will be increasing your career net 
worth if you must move to another firm.

How do you really take control of your career? You first 
realize that the paradigm of the past, get a good 
education, work hard, be competent and get along with 
others isn't your ticket to career fulfillment. What's 
left? The issue of career management is something that 
you must do alone. It is crucial that you add to your 
professional expertise. It is up to you and you alone 
for your career's well being.

Your job focus often keeps you isolated from your peers 
and other external sources. As a result of this 
internalizing, you are limiting your chances for career 
growth. One of the most critical elements in career 
growth is the issue of who you know, rather than what 
you know. It is important to build strong interpersonal 
relationships throughout your company. Joining a group 
or clique would be a gamble, especially if certain 
individuals were not seen in a positive light and you 
might become guilty by association. 

It is better to encourage communication on a genuine 
basis with all levels of management. It can be as 
simple as a five minute telephone call where you might 
share some company information or an article that you 
recently read. Or you might have breakfast with someone 
in marketing to discuss a production issue. The key is 
if you build a relationship first, you will have their 
trust and will often be able to work out delicate 
issues with them should the need arise. In addition 
and more important, you will ask for their opinions 
on projects that you are working on and probably 
broaden your knowledge base. 

Am I doing my best to reduce my lead times? How can 
I reduce my shop floor bottlenecks? Is lean 
manufacturing for my company? Who can I talk with who 
has launched a supplier certification program? Every 
day each of you should add to your body of knowledge 
on these and many other manufacturing subjects. You 
must constantly be searching for methods to improve 
your company's performance. But where do you get the 
answers? Most of you try to figure it out yourselves, 
but the winners use their external sources to 
constantly share their ideas with and act as coach and 
mentors for one another. 

To further your professional reputation, you should be 
willing to share your knowledge and ideas with others 
in your field. Whether through speaking or writing you 
will meet with many people quickly and you will continue 
to enhance your career network. The concept is to 
broaden your circle, learn and share new concepts and 
develop a broad support structure. If you\'re a member 
of APICS, you are involved with one of the most 
effective educational organizations in the world. Use 
the power. Join a few more organizations and serve on 
boards and committees-you will add immeasurably to you 
career net worth.

You all have chosen a most noble and demanding career. 
You are the last ones to touch the ball in your firm. 
R&D can take years to develop a product, engineering 
months to bring it to drawings, marketing can ponder 
and do their test studies to determine acceptability. 
Then you finally get the product and what does 
management say? Well, to the purchasing department "get 
those raw materials delivered" in an impossible time 
frame. And the manufacturing and material's departments 
have to deliver it to the customer yesterday. I rest 
my case. 

A career is further defined as a path or course. You 
often don't give your path much thought. You have 
picked a profession that is often described as a state 
of constant volatility and almost impossible to please 
more than a few people at a time. This condition 
underscores the importance of developing strategies to 
take control of your career. If you do, you will win 
your career battle. And finally, post this in your 
computer and look at it every day:

* Take charge of your career
* Life is a series of revisions
* Be positive
* Stay in control

=====================================

Are you concerned about job related stress? 
Are you troubled by slow growth and earnings?
Are you worried about your company's future? 

To help MBBP subscribers and their companies reach 
their full growth and earning potentials, I have 
produced seven training modules that are priced at 
only $67.00 each. Many modules have over 50 slides 
with commentary and "lessons learned" by yours truly. 
They are delivered same day via Internet download. 

An "ORDER NOW BONUS"... If you order during this 
special MBBP offer, we will include Enrique 
(PapaKaizen) Mora's e-Book, "The Power of Kaizen 
Events." Here's your opportunity to get into the 
mind of one of the country's leading "Kaizen Blitz" 
gurus. 

To review details, click on one or all of the 
Training modules below and take advantage of the
MBBP 30% discount:

LEAN MANUFACTURING:
http://bbasicsllc.com/e-lp-lm-MBBP.htm

VALUE STREAM MAPPING:
http://bbasicsllc.com/e-lp-vsm-MBBP.htm

KAIZEN MANAGEMENT:
http://bbasicsllc.com/e-lp-kci-MBBP.htm

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
http://bbasicsllc.com/e-lp-scm-MBBP.htm

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT:
http://bbasicsllc.com/e-lp-bsc-MBBP.htm

STRATEGIC PLANNING:
http://bbasicsllc.com/e-lp-sp-MBBP.htm

ISO 9000 2000 TOOL KIT
http://bbasicsllc.com/e-lp-iso-MBBP.htm

=====================================

You are welcomed to print and share this bulletin with 
your manufacturing teams, peers and upper management... 
better yet, have them signup for their own copy at:

http://bbasicsllc.com 

=====================================

Business Basics, LLC
6003 Dassia Way, Oceanside, CA 92056
West Coast: 760-945-5596

Manufacturing Knowledge you'll not find in the books 
at Amazon.com... neither in the APICS library 
nor in the Harvard Business School Press

Lean Manufacturing - Balanced Scorecard 
ISO 9000:2000 - Strategic Planning - Supply Chain 
Management - MRP Vs Lean Exercises - Kaizen Blitz 
Lean Six Sigma - Value Stream Mapping

All at one Website: http://bbasicsllc.com 

  STAY CONNECTED

To stay current on bullet-proofed manufacturing solutions, subscribe to our free ezine, "The Business Basics and Best Practices Bulletin." Simply fill in the below form and click on the subscribe button. 

We'll also send you our free Special Report, "Five Change Initiatives for Personal and Company Success."

Your personal information will never 
be disclosed to any third party.

 Manufacturing Cost Reduction for Winners

Manufacturing leaders have a responsibility to educate and train their team members. Help for developing a self-directed, World Class Manufacturing training program for your people is just a click away:

http://bbasicsllc.com/training-modules.htm

You are welcomed to print and share this bulletin with your manufacturing teams, peers, suppliers and upper management ... better yet, have them signup for their own copy at:

http://bbasicsllc.com/subscribe.htm

With the escalating spam-wars, it's also a good idea to WHITELIST our bulletin mailing domain via your filtering software or control panel: 

bizbasics@getresponse.com

This will help guarantee that your bulletin is never deleted unexpectedly.

Manufacturing Knowledge you’ll not find at offsite 
seminars nor in the books at Amazon.com

Lean Manufacturing - Balanced Scorecard 
ISO 9000:2000 - Strategic Planning - Supply Chain 
Management - MRP Vs Lean Exercises - Kaizen Blitz 
Lean Six Sigma - Value Stream Mapping

All at one Website: Good Manufacturing Practices

 Manufacturing Cost Reduction for Winners

COMPETITIVE KNOWLEDGE MENU
(Click on any subject below):

Your company can reach its full potential in all aspects of the business. All you need is the right knowledge and training. You will find much of it  it here, at the Business Basics' Website:

Competitive e-Knowledge for anyone ... anywhere ... anytime
Business Basics, LLC
6003 Dassia Way, Oceanside, CA 92056
West Coast: 760-945-5596