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REALISE YOUR VISION OF BETTER OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE

Leverage our proven methodologies to take operational excellence in your organisation to the next level.

What’s Your Aspiration - Stay in the Game or Win the Game?

Operational Excellence - driven by continuous improvement - is not just the key to remaining competitive – but as Amazon and Toyota have consistently demonstrated, it can also be a source of distinct, and valuable, competitive advantage.

Whilst undoubtedly there is a small handful of iconic companies like Amazon, Toyota, Starbucks and Southwest Airlines for whom pursuit of operational excellence has enabled industry dominance, the reality on the ground for the vast majority of other organisations has been less inspiring. That despite many of those companies spending roughly equivalent time and money training employees and hiring Operational Excellence specialists.

❝If a company isn't continuously improving,
then it's slowly dying.❞ — Dave Waters

► What the Best Do Differently – They First Create “Pull” for Improvement

When you look deeper, as we have done with hundreds of organisations, it becomes clear that the organisations that see superior results are the ones where the leaders are obsessed about customers, and as a result, value and relentlessly encourage, continuous improvement. In these organisations Operational Excellence is a force multiplier, not just a “technical staff function” attached to manufacturing.

Our “Ah Ha” is that most Lean implementations fail – or, at least, never realise anything like their full potential – not because of lack of good tools or training, but because leadership, at all levels, do not see driving continuous improvement as a part their day job. Our conclusion is simple - before you can succeed with Operational Excellence, you must first succeed in getting leaders to wake up every day believing that working “on” the business is as much part of their job as working “in” the business.

► Sequence of Operational Excellence Deployment Really Matters

As well as the critical importance of first creating the conditions under which leaders are motivated to drive improvement, our study of the best performing companies (backed up by our own experience) has also taught us that, in terms of Operational Excellence, what really matter is getting the sequence of deployment right.

By this, we mean that there is a logical path to deploying operational excellence that significantly raises the chance of success and is more likely to generate better and more sustainable results.

In a nutshell, there are three stages to deploying operational excellence – building ownership, building stability and ultimately creating flow. It you want to understand more deeply why this sequence matters – read our executive briefing “How to Raise the Probability You’ll Succeed With Operational Excellence”.

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❝We’ve had many consultants come and go over the years. Some “trained” us in Lean tools. Some set-up line-side boards. Some even focused on fancy kanban systems. Each time we got excited, but honestly, six months after they were gone, there was little to no trace that they were ever here.❞

— Prefer to Remain Anonymous, Production Manager | Global Food and Beverage Manufacturer

► Proven Methodologies Designed to Raise the Probability of Success

Mirroring the ideal sequence of deployment, our implementation approach splits Operational Excellence deployment into three distinct and robust methodologies.

The first – Value Stream Improvement – builds foundational belief in the power of lean and problem-solving “muscle” in your leaders. The second – “Daily Management” expands problem solving to “front-line” employees and is designed to bring stability and predictability to the organisation and the third – “Value Stream Management” is about implementing cross-value stream improvements that create and optimise the flow of value to the customer.

Which Methodology is Right for Me?

Think of our methodologies as a three-stage roadmap for lean success. The one that’s right for you depends on where you are today.

► Value Driven Improvement

It you are starting from a relatively low level of “lean” maturity – if, for example, just consistently getting products out of the door on time takes a degree of heroics from your management to achieve, then our recommendation is you start by first creating the foundation for success through Value Driven Improvement.

This methodology is designed to clarify accountability for operational outcomes and to link improvement to those outcomes is such a way that managers naturally, and progressively, take increasing ownership for identifying and driving improvements.

► Daily Management

If, however, there is already a strong foundation of leadership belief and capability and you are already successfully driving a level of expert led improvement projects, but you want to broaden, deepen and multiply the level of improvement activity, then our Daily Management methodology is the next step for you.

This methodology provides a proven path to standardise and stabilise day-to-day operations whilst simultaneously engaging “front-line” employees in daily improvement and problem solving.

► Value Stream Management

If you’ve reached a level of stability and predictability in your daily operations and your Daily Management System is driving high levels of front-line engagement in problem solving, then its time to take it to the next level with our Value Stream Management methodology.

This methodology focuses on achieving step changes in operational and financial performance by redesigning value streams to optimise the flow of value.

Our ❝Best Path to Value❞ workshop...
.​...can help you clarify your starting point and decide which best practices and implementation methodologies are right for your organisation. Our workshop process has been carefully designed to help you first articulate your vision and then systematically assess which of the resources available within the Breakthrough Business System could help reach that vision, faster, for less. Schedule a Path to Value Workshop

How Can We Help You Take Operational Excellence to the Next Level?

We strive to ensure our clients get the exactly support they need (and only the support they need). If you don’t see what you are looking for in the options below, request a call-back and one of our execution experts will be in touch to understand your needs.

We Can Advise
Not sure what lean deployment approach is right for your organisation? Want to understand the typical lean deployment failure modes and how best to avoid them? Want specific advice on how to use and integrate specific best practices within your organisation?
 Book a Deep-dive
We Can Diagnose
Want to understand how your current approach to driving operational excellence stacks-up against best in class? Want to understand what you can do to increase the certainty you’ll see significant year on year productivity improvements you need to stay competitive and profitable?
 Book an Exploratory Call
We Can Train
Want to rapidly understand how the best execute implement operational excellence? Want to understand how you can replicate their success? Want to build the skills you need to guide leadership teams through the implementation of lean based production system?
 Explore Training Options
We Can Guide
Want help to build a lighthouse example in one of your operations of lean excellence? Want to observe in practice exactly how our three lean deployment methodologies work? Want to build internal capability on a “see one”, “do one”, “teach one” basis?
 Book an Exploratory Call
We Can Coach
Confident that your internal team can take the lead but want to ensure they have access to on-going advice and guidance from a seasoned expert on a 1:1 basis? Want to offer leaders a resource that can be an effective sparring partner and provide the honest feedback needed to sharpen their execution skills?
 Book an Exploratory Call
We Can Augment
Need to urgently see a step change in the organisation’s ability to drive continuous improvement but don’t have the internal resources you need to make it happen? Is lack of internal expertise slowing down the deployment of lean across your organisation?
 Book an Exploratory Call
We Can Help You Navigate the Change
Want to ensure your management and experts are ready for and open to the change? Want to pinpoint where you need greater adaptability and what barriers you will have to overcome to see success? Want to ensure you build the “change muscle” where you need it to overcome those barriers?
 Explore Our Services
We Can Help You Lock-in the Gains
Want to understand which parts of your organisation are really raising the bar on their operational excellence capability? Want to pinpoint exactly where you should invest you time and coaching effort to ensure success? Want to ensure you don’t slip backwards in terms of improvement discipline?
 Explore Your Options
We Can Help You Digitise Your System
Looking to digitise your performance and daily management processes? Looking for a solution to track and manage continuous improvement? Want to “road test” an industry leading continuous improvement platform for free? Want a proven solution that you know aligns with Breakthrough Partners’ Lean Deployment Methodologies?
 Learn More

Hear from our customers...

  • "Breakthrough Partners' Breakthrough System training provided us with a clear and systematic methodology for the implementation of a strategy deployment process based on the Hoshin Kanri methodology. The trainers also brought many useful insights from their experience into the practical challenges of implementing Hoshin Kanri in larger organisations with multiple Operating Companies."
    Rich Cary
    Director of Dover OpeX Learning & Development | Dover Corporation
  • "Breakthrough Partners have helped us improve of our strategy deployment process over a number of years, enabling us to reach a greater level of clarity and focus in terms of the selection and implementation of strategic improvement priorities. I would have no hesitation in recommending their support to any organisation looking to improve their strategy deployment process."
    Patrick Conneran
    Senior Manager Business Performance | AMGEN
  • "What I love about Breakthrough Partners, is that they truly get that success with Hoshin is less about mastering the mechanics of the process (although they can definitely help you with this) and more about building the 'execution culture' that underpins and sustains the process. If you want to succeed with Hoshin there is no better choice."
    Stefan Oßwald
    Vice President Business Excellence | Flex
  • “It’s easy to confuse mastering Hoshin with knowing how to fill in an X-matrix. In practice mastering Hoshin requires a deep understanding of the psychology of teamwork and how to sequence the steps through the process so that every contributor feels like their voice is heard and so that the resulting plan is robust, clearly thought through and completely owned by the people who need to execute it. This course provides facilitators with not only a detailed roadmap to follow, but the tools and skills you need to successfully guide a team through every stage of that journey”.
    Marcello Carmignani
    Director of Lean | Western UnionFlow Agency
  • "A truly insightful course, which brought to life how to practically apply Strategy Deployment tools and techniques – delivered in an engaging and thought provoking way. In particular, the way in which it structured the method for effectively applying Hoshin through a series of workshops has given me a clear roadmap for how to successfully apply this powerful methodology. I would whole heartedly recommend this course to all who are interested in learning how to translate the theory of Hoshin to develop and execute their organisations Strategy.”
    John Parsonage
    UK & Ireland - Country Focused Improvement Specialist | Nestle
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Whether You Want to Improve Your Game or Change the Game Breakthrough Partners Can Help​

Realise Your Vision of Better Strategy Execution

Explore how you can leverage our proven methodologies to take Strategy Execution in your organisation to the next level.

Navigate the Change

Understand how Breakthrough Partners can help you and your organisation become more adaptable in a world that's changing  faster than humans can process

Sustain Your Success

Explore how Breakthrough Partners can help you lock-in and sustain the disciplines that ultimately drive the results.