There are questions we are asking ourselves as a company: Why? How? What? and while the order in which we ask them may change, it is about converting our ideas into solutions to gain a competitive edge. Let’s look at what ‘Simon says’: Start with why…

Why?

Our why, our raison d’etre, is “to advance humanity“. Answering the why leads to alignment. Alignment brings us together as a team – a group of people with a common purpose. People tend to align themselves with why, not with what or how. Both the Ozgene team as well as our clients are looking to advance humanity. It is a goal that many of us can identify with.

How?

How do we attempt to achieve our why as well as our business goals? At Ozgene, this is done first and foremost by “inspiring curiosity” in people. This ties in with our vision and our ‘True North’ goals, which are to 1) develop people, 2) minimise lead time, 3) pursue zero defect and 4) minimise cost.

Developing people is the key, as you may have seen in my past blogs (Growing company by growing people, to advance humanity – inspire curiosity, Jishu-what?, Curiosity, Balancing curiosity). Developing people allows us to leverage and grow the knowledge in our company. The second goal to minimise lead time facilitates time-based competition, using delivery timelines as a competitive advantage. Our third goal is to pursue zero defect, getting the work done right the first time. Zero defect, or the pursuit of it, brings about the fourth goal to minimise cost, aiming to eliminate mistakes and rework.

So how do we actually do this? We separate processes and people, stabilise production over time, harmonise our processes, and thereby visualise deviation and defects. I know this endeavour will never be complete. The more I learn, the more I realise how little I know. There is more frustration on one hand, more opportunity to improve on the other. Always striving for a culture of unattainable organisational excellence.

What?

The what is defined by our clients. It is a privilege to provide products and services that our clients feel add value to them. It does of course mean utilising and improving our current services and products. And yes, it does also include us exploring new ideas and letting our clients decide whether or not they add value. Some of these ideas I will be discussing with some of you on my January-February trip to the US, Israel and Europe.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2017.

– Frank, CEO –