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Leadership Section

Killing Complexity for a Lean and Agile Organization

Agility is an outgrowth of simplicity. And simplicity comes from a laser focus on the customer

The parameters of competition in business are changing — big does not necessarily beat small. It’s now about the fast beating the slow. Product and service life cycles are collapsing and what organizations do today will be made obsolete far earlier than anticipated. Disrupters are arriving from out of the blue: Tesla invading automotive, Uber redefining the taxi industry, Netflix undermining conventional television programming.

 
Now and in the years to come, agility, speed, and flexibility are the key elements of a successful strategy and execution in the corporate world as well as in government agencies, health care, and education.
 
In this webinar, Smith School of Business expert Barry Cross discusses how to achieve simplicity by clearly focusing on the customer. 
 
Participants will learn about: 
  • Recognizing your true customers and understanding their needs and wants
  • Eliminating the products, services, processes, and “work” that get in the way of delivering value to those customers
  • Overcoming the barriers to agility
  • Focusing people and processes toward value creation, even in what are perceived as non-customer-centric operations
  • Avoiding brand confusion and the “all things to all people” mentality 

Session Leader

Barry Cross

Assistant Dean (Professional Graduate Programs), Adjunct Assistant Professor & Distinguished Faculty Fellow of Operations Strategy

Barry Cross is an expert and thought leader in innovation, execution and operations strategy. He joined Smith School of Business after nearly 20 years in the automotive and manufacturing sectors with Magna, Autosystems and DuPont, where he led many key strategic initiatives, including nearly 30 program launches in North America, Asia, Latin America and Europe. Barry speaks and consults widely in the areas of productivity, innovation, strategy, projects and execution, enabling organizations to create sustainable value for their customers. He is the bestselling author of three books, including Simple: Killing Complexity for a Lean and Agile Organization.