Corporate Renewal

This section of the web site is dedicated to the fundamentals of Corporate Renewal.  

        As corporate America evolves, wordsmiths create new labels to describe the process. Downsizing. Re-engineering. Synergy.  Boundrylessness. Empowerment.  Each label describes an idea with the potential to improve organizational productivity. Yet for many, the labels are painful euphemisms for costly and destructive events, leaving loyalties and a sense of community shattered.

        While it is fashionable to hang new terms on corporate evolution, the wax and wane of companies has existed since the beginning of commerce.  The differences in the success of one company compared to another in the same industry and environment is remarkable.  Large or small, companies are not immune to the problems that prompt the creation of labels.  

Corporate Functions

        In all companies, the work customers value provides the income for all other corporate functions.  The work that customer’s value requires certain elements.  Imbalances in those elements impairs the productivity of both the worker and the organization.   Imbalances occur naturally during the evolution of a product.    Maintaining balance requires making changes in both the value-added work and supporting elements.  Identifying an imbalance quickly minimizes the adjustments and maximizes the use of company resources.  

         Any company can be diagramed by connecting its value-added work with  an input/output channel extended to its suppliers and customers.  The rest of the company exists to provide information and instructions for the value added work and create this input/output channel.  The Input/Output Channel, sometimes called the supply chain, is like a garden hose.  Restrictions in any area will constrict the performance of the rest of the company.   Excess capacity in any area is wasteful.   The key to Corporate Health is balancing the elements of productivity for the value added work.   For further information regarding the elements to balance, see The Four Laws of Productivity under the section on Books and Articles.  

            You may click on any of the functions in the diagram below or buttons on the left for additional discussion about the individual areas of corporate function as well as a list of completed  projects by Richard Johnson or an affiliated professional who specializes in that area of corporate renewal.

Contact Us

Renewal guidance can identify problems and suggest ways to evolve before more radical and painful changes are required.  You may contact us by using the Feedback button on the top of this page to request a no obligation review of your situation.