Optimizing Operations & Processes with Derrick Mains

How can we get frontline employees more involved? How can we challenge the conventional wisdom of hustle and grind, instead empowering our employees to do great things?

In this episode, Bill and his guest, Derrick Mains, discuss ways to systematize businesses to facilitate innovation and growth.

Derrick Mains is a rockstar in optimization and process engineering. With 20+ years of experience transforming 150+ companies, he's a master at turning chaos into efficiency and value. Mains and his team at The Process Fixer jazz up the workplace by automating the boring stuff.

Key topics that Bill and Derrick explore in this episode:

- Derrick’s journey from being a process geek to hosting a podcast about process improvement, “The Process Fixer.”

- Why process mapping should be done by frontline employees as they’re the ones creating value in the organization. Executives often miss the mark in process improvement due to lack of empathy for frontline employees.

- Derrick criticizes hustle culture, arguing it leads to burnout and inefficiency. Instead, he advocates for smarter work practices, not just harder work, to achieve success.

- Visual representation in problem-solving and innovation.

- The benefits of hiring people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

- Derrick laments the lack of new ideas in society, citing the recent US presidential debate as an example.

- Four key factors for resolving problems in an organization: analysis, design, training, and enforcement.

- Bill regrets that American businesses have forgotten the lessons of Deming and other Japanese companies, leading to a focus on bureaucracy and middle management.

- Why CEOs should change their incentive structure to focus on customer success, rather than contract value.

Thanks to Derrick Mains for being on the show!

Connect with Derrick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derrickmains/

Learn more about Derrick via The Process Fixer website: http://TheProcessFixer.com

Listen to the Process Fixer podcast: https://pod.co/theconvergencepodcast

Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the Scaling Up Business podcast, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth.

Join Bill in the Growth Navigator Coaching Program: https://ScalingCoach.com/workshop

Bill on LinkedIn: https://www.LinkedIn.com/in/BillGall

Bill on YouTube: https://www.YouTube.com/@BillGallagherScalingCoach

Visit https://ScalingUp.com to learn more about Verne Harnish, our team of Scaling Up Coaches, and the Scaling Up Performance Platform, which includes coaching, learning, software, and summit. We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around people, strategy, execution, and cash so that they can scale up successfully and beat the odds of business growth.

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Chapters in this episode:

0:06 Process improvement in business.

5:45 Frontline employees and process improvement.

11:50 Hustle culture and its negative impact on employee well-being.

17:31 Visual aids.

21:59 Design thinking and leadership.

27:15 Incentives for business success.

32:37 Improving organizational communication.