Running out of time

I had a dear friend, Dr. Dick Bowers who played and coached basketball for the University of Tennessee Volunteers. He ultimately became athletic director at the University of South Florida and personally led the charge to bring the first football program to the school which in a meteoric fashion became members of the Big East and even jumped briefly to the #2 football team in the country—all within the first ten years of the program’s inception.

 “We advance our customers goals in a fraction of the time compared to attempting to navigate China on their own.”

When Dick passed away, dignitaries, business leaders, even the Mayor of Tampa were present at his service. He was the kind of man you loved and looked up to and made everyone feel important. Of all his sports accomplishments Dick used to say that he was most proud of the fact that while he was with the Tennessee basketball program they never lost a game. “We may have run out of time,” he would chuckle… and would continue, “but we never lost a game.”

Like so many things in life, our business success is measured within the framework of time broken down in eras, years, quarters, months, weeks and days and often tight one-hour deadlines. We look at financial results and measure our success by what we accomplish within the context of time. We can grow, stagnate or lose ground to the proverbial hourglass.  For nearly a decade as we have continued to refine our message, the notion of what we best do has become clear. We don’t sell anything. We save our clients valuable time.

Your company is no different than a basketball team. You recruit and assemble the best players you can find, constantly plan and strategize and you play the game. Your financial results tell the story of whether you’ve won or lost and are determined by whether you’ve scored more points (profits) than what it costs to run your operation within a fiscal year.

In the new, flat global landscape low-cost manufacturing hubs are found where labor is abundant in supply. China has continued to be forefront as a factory to the world for products that require a high degree of labor. Productivity gains, improved quality processes, advances in distribution and know-how have kept China at the forefront of all low-cost manufacturing countries. But with hundreds of thousands of factories, selecting the right manufacturer and executing on plans can be daunting if not problematic and time-consuming ordeal.

We have invested significantly in building a competent team of strategic thinkers, capable managers and dedicated partners who serve our clients in the areas of factory identification, manufacturing expertise and project management. We advance our customers’ goals in a fraction of the time compared to attempting to navigate China on their own. We do this all while meeting cost targets, providing on-time, accurate deliveries of products made to specification, of the correct materials, and of superior quality. Contract manufacturing is complex and challenging even when hiring third-party factories in the U.S. let alone China. Without a prepared team that is coached and experienced, the game of doing business in China can be perilous.

We all have the same 24 hours a day to succeed. How we best allocate and use that time is our choice. Even if you play a little basketball yourself, would you be able to compete with a well-coached NCAA team?