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As the days grow longer and the pace of summer offers a chance to recharge, it’s the perfect time to grab a book and invest in your personal and professional development. Searching for your next great read?  The Center for Operational Excellence has turned to our recent speakers, board members, and trusted friends to present this COE Summer Reading List to our community of OpEx practitioners and problem solvers. Thoughtfully curated, this collection spans the critical themes of leadership, strategy, and continuous improvement. 

At the Center for Operational Excellence, we're committed to helping your organizations develop the skills to make data-driven decisions, transform products and processes, and maintain a competitive edge. The ability to effectively analyze, interpret, and present data is an indispensable skill for OpEx leaders and process improvement practitioners. 

In today’s dynamic business landscape, success hinges on the ability to move from strategy creation to execution. It’s time to ignite a culture of action and excellence.

The new year is well underway, and the Center for Operational Excellence is looking forward to the connections to be made and the programming to be shared that will help your organizations build resilience and adaptability in 2024. We know that many of our member companies are experiencing organizational change stemming from leadership transitions, emerging technology, economic constraints, and a host of other factors.

As we consider today’s economic landscape, the need for lean leadership has never been more pronounced. In recent conversations with many of our member organizations, we’ve heard time and again of cost-cutting measures, far-reaching impacts of the pandemic, and ongoing hiring and restructuring challenges that have resulted in smaller workforces. Leaders are being challenged to do more with less.

The Center for Operational Excellence Summit 2023 will focus on reimagining the possibilities of operational excellence to change, adapt, and excel during times of disruption and uncertainty. This year’s Summit will feature four keynote presentations you won't want to miss.

Angus Fletcher recently had the opportunity to present on the science of peak operational performance -- and the role that story plays -- at the 2022 COE Summit. In this blog, Dr. Fletcher will address some of the unanswered questions from the session.  I find it hard to capture my own narrative. How can I get better and what people are best positioned to help me?

The pace of change is moving faster than ever, and organizations are becoming defined by their ability to adapt and anticipate disruption. Growing as an innovative, adaptive organization means supporting a culture of continuous learning. Each year, The Ohio State University Center for Operational Excellence offers an opportunity to get your cross-functional teams in front of the latest best practices in leadership and problem-solving at the COE Summit.

What is Lean and why is it important? We sat down with Eric Olsen, Director for Central Coast Lean and Professor of Industrial Technology in the Orfalea College of Business at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, to discuss the benefits of Lean and his upcoming New to Lean workshop. Check it out here: