Planning
Planning for a quiet quarter
A slow quarter is the best time to fix how the work gets done. Here is how to use it.
When the backlog is full, nobody has time to change how the work gets done. A quiet quarter is the rare chance to do it.
Pick one thing
Choose the one routine that causes the most trouble when you are busy. For most businesses it is planning, the handoff from sales to delivery, or month-end.
Fix it while it is calm
Run the new routine for the whole quarter, while the stakes are low. By the time the busy season comes back, it will be a habit.
Tom Brannigan
Partner, operations
Tom ran factories for twenty years before co-founding Lodestar. He leads our manufacturing work and most of our operations reviews.
