The Stagnation Assassin Blog
Weapons-Grade Wisdom
Short Slaughters, Permanent Profits
Start Here: My Most-Read Articles
The Stagnation Encyclopedia: Why Is Your Company Dying While You Celebrate Success?
The warning signs most executive teams miss, in one reference.
The Three Essential Leadership Behaviors That Make or Break Organizational Transformation
Three behaviors that quietly sabotage change efforts, and how to master them.
HOT System Transformation vs. Kotter's 8-Step Change Model
A 90-day rapid turnaround approach compared with the classic 8-step model.
The 3-Question Transformation Leader Test
Three questions that show who can actually run a turnaround.
What's the “70% Rule” and Why Does It Work?
Decide before you have every fact, and stop paying for delay.
What's the Difference Between Activity and Productivity?
The audit that turns busyness into measurable impact.
Drowning in Data but
Starving for Strategic Solutions?
What a Slow Decision Actually Costs
The advice is to make the right call. Take the time, gather the information, do not rush a decision you […] Read More
How to Kill a Product the Founder Loves
The standard advice for this situation is to build an airtight business case. Get the numbers right, show the contribution […] Read More
Interim Executive Firms: Three Models, One Word
What does this article cover? What are you actually choosing between? What does it cost? What does eight weeks actually […] Read More
How to Read a Business in 30 Days
It is day nine. You have had the plant tour, the org chart walkthrough, and four one-on-ones in which everyone […] Read More
Where Does Standardization Stop Paying?
1. Which variety do customers actually choose on? 2. Which variety did you inherit rather than choose? 3. What does […] Read More
Best Books for Plant Managers: One Per Problem
What does this article cover? Why is almost nothing written for you? What should you read in the first ninety […] Read More
The One-Page Guide to Operating Scorecards
1. Why Does It Have to Fit on One Page? 2. Start From the Decisions, Not the Data 3. Which […] Read More
What Buying It Instead Actually Costs
Why doesn't the unit cost settle it? What a business I ran bought instead of made What are you actually […] Read More
Free Business Diagnostic Tools That Are Real
What does this article cover? What can you actually get for free? What financial data is free? What operational data […] Read More
When to Use OEE and When Not To
You have an OEE number. It is probably somewhere in the sixties, it is reported weekly, and there is a […] Read More
The Honest Guide to R&D Allocation
It is the annual technology review, and the agenda has eleven projects on it. Each one gets twelve minutes, each […] Read More
Consulting Alternatives: The Real Cost Ladder
What does this article cover? What are you actually choosing between? What do peer groups cost? How fast does each […] Read More