7.0. EDSR 04-12-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

TechTrends e-Newsletter I March 2004 Page 2 of 6 Sam Gould. But manufacturers are being challenged to create a "learning culture" 1 I le across an entire company, not just in the lab or on the drawing board. "Innovation, • intelligence, agility" is the new mantra, claims Gould. "The concepts of innovation must extend to marketing intelligence—and to the agility required for operational excellence." In other words, Minnesota enterprises need to create an effective continuous learning environment in which all three elements of the mantra hold equal weight in tech, marketing, and operations. • CEO support groups. Leaders at small companies tend to draw on their strong entrepreneurial spirit to fill several roles at once. By nature, they're less reliant on outside assistance, says Vicki Prock, MTI's director of Grants and Contracts, Operations and Research. She helps bring together company leaders who want the support of a trusted peer group that can share their experiences—and reap competitive benefits. "CEO roundtables have been around since the 1950s," she says, "but despite that longevity, the concept is still a relative secret." More and more small manufacturers are catching on to i their value, however. Rather than learning by trial and error, roundtable y members can glean much from the foresight of their peers on the other end of the learning curve. "Right-sizing"your strategy. In corporate-speak, it's a dreaded euphemism for layoffs. But for small manufacturers in transition, right-sizing involves adopting a formalized, comprehensive strategy for growth. "As companies mature, they have to grow up in their management style," says MTI's Bill Martinson, a strategic management consultant, who adds that a smaller, family-run venture that has struggled to survive may not recognize strategic planning as such. "For them, it isn't a separate process, and that's an advantage, at first." Leaders at smaller companies can become so adept at survival that they don't take the time to assess their competitive game plan, from evaluating the competition to assessing their ability to introduce new products and go after bigger accounts. Any small company that hopes to build revenue will eventually have to sit down with a strategic tannin team to draw upa mapfor growth, advises Martinson. planning 1 OTech Notes r. Technology business news from around Minnesota. On Monday, April 5 , Minneapolis will host the Manufacturing Tomorrow: A Call to Action summit. The event will be hosted by the National Association of Manufacturers , the Minnesota Precision Manufacturing Association , and the Precision Metal Forming Association . The summit will convene national and local manufacturers to examine the U.S. manufacturing supply chain and its role in the national economy. Industry leaders will discuss means of steering state and federal policies to support future growth among large and small suppliers. For more information on the summit itinerary and registration, see this month's Tech Trends Calendar of Events. Duluth-based Northstar Aerospace 's Director of Operations Richard Lien has been elected president of Arrowhead Manufacturers and Fabricators http://www.minnesotatechnology.org/publications/techtrends/2004/March/printVersion.asp 3/17/2004