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Many organizations track their key performance indicators (KPIs) using a balanced scorecard approach. The collected feedback gives high-level leaders a way of monitoring the total health of an organization on a regular basis.

Operational excellence (OpEx) can be a mystery for some people. While OpEx doesn’t have a precise definition that is fully transferable from one organization to another, certain approaches for OpEx implementation are defined. The degree to which operational excellence is achieved varies and is not an exact comparison from one team to another, but it can be measured against various auditing checklists.

Developing a culture of continuous improvement (CI) is one way that top-performing companies differentiate from their peers by enabling them to grow revenues and drive cost out of their business long after others have plateaued. However, creating sustainable continuous improvement is a significant challenge for organizations of all sizes irrespective of where they stand in their CI journey.

It’s best to establish a long-term strategy and stick with it rather than make frequent changes. After all, a strategy change can require additional resources and create confusion for both customers and employees. However, sometimes organizational strategy must change as a result of outside factors. Think of buggy whips after the invention of the car and photographic film after the invention of the digital camera.

I cringe to write bad advice in case someone misreads the headline and follows these suggestions. Oh well, here are Operational Excellence (OpEx) methods and actions people might suggest you follow, but you shouldn’t… Just don’t do it.

“Don’t worry about strategy. Just get started doing something.”

This has a couple kernels of substance; you do want to get engagement quickly and you can get started before every “t” is crossed and every “i” is dotted. However, the essence of the advice is contrary to operational excellence basics. Continuous improvement (CI) efforts must be aligned with strategy and must focus on delivering value. Have the strategy in mind rather than initiating teams willy-nilly just for the sake of saying you’re doing continuous improvement.

Operational excellence (OpEx) isn’t just a “nice to have,” it’s a core part of how modern organizations remain competitive and cost-effective. At its core, OpEx is the execution of your business strategy with greater consistency and efficiency than the competition. The role of the OpEx team is to facilitate the implementation of the behaviors and work process required to achieve what the business requires to be successful.

No matter where you are in your operational excellence (OpEx) process, it’s worth going back to basics and looking for further opportunities to drive toward perfection. In fact, because the very essence of operational excellence is continuous improvement (CI), you should expect to be constantly learning and continuously growing in your role as an OpEx manager.

If you’re not familiar with continuous improvement (CI), it may sound like a soft goal — something nice to do, but not very clearly defined. Actually, CI is a very real and effective methodology for driving major long-term and sustainable improvements. Teams can initiate and achieve success in this area by abiding by the following specific principles of continuous improvement:

Do you know the story of the three blind men and an elephant? One man touches the trunk and imagines a snake. Another touches a leg and perceives it as the trunk of a tree. The third touches the ear and thinks it is a large fan. At first, each man distrusts the others because they assume they must be liars, but when they put their thoughts together, they begin to picture the elephant as it actually appears.

A critical component of operational excellence (OpEx) is gathering employee feedback. This feedback provides unique perspectives and insight into your organization that you can’t find elsewhere. It may include positive, negative, or neutral comments. Regardless of its leanings, use the information to make your organization better and more efficient.

As you begin a path to operational excellence, you’ll likely see the expression DMAIC. That’s simply an acronym that means:

Hoshin Kanri is a collaborative approach to driving toward long-term strategic goals in concert with completing the day-to-day work of the organization and achieving tactical objectives. "Catchball" describes the back-and-forth, up-and-down processes for sharing information, getting feedback, and building consensus that are used on an ongoing basis.