Chicago, Il (PRWEB) July 18, 2013 -- How does a former special education teacher end up as one of the top business consultants in the country – and part of the team that worked with legendary CEO Jack Welch on processes to bring simplicity to GE and other organizations?
Seeing the impact poorly managed schools had on the lives of students inspired Ron Ashkenas, to become an expert in organizational behavior. He earned a PhD in the subject and has spent the last 30 years assisting business in streamlining their structures and improving results. But the Schaffer Consulting partner says that part of consulting is educating managers, which makes him a natural fit as a storyteller at UnleashWD.
Prior to speaking with UnleashWD founder Dirk Beveridge, Ashkenas did not have much experience with distributors. When Ashkenas examined the challenges in the wholesale distribution industry, he saw the opportunity to “lift and shift” solutions from his career outside of distribution.
“Lift and shift” is the UnleashWD concept of taking the best ideas from other industries and integrating them into distribution businesses. Beveridge founded UnleashWD in 2012 to break up the monotony of the typical distribution conference that featured only industry insiders. By bringing in storytellers from outside the industry, Beveridge hopes to inspire fresh, innovative ideas.
“There are hundreds if not thousands of small distributors that may need to change how they are doing business,” Ashkenas says. “I became an UnleashWD storyteller not because it was a nice thing to do, but because it was important for the wholesale distribution industry.”
At UnleashWD 2012 Ashkenas spoke about the necessity of simplicity in small businesses. One mistake that smaller companies often make is the failure to use a standard process when completing a transaction. For example, small variations in how bills are produced may hold up an invoice or impact collections.
“Another aspect of simplicity is that small companies cannot be all things to all people,” Ashkenas says. “When you are small and medium sized you have to focus. You can’t afford to sell too many products, and you cannot customize everything for every customer. “
On the other hand, Ashkenas also suggests that one of the advantages of being small and medium sized is the ability to operate with speed – to make adjustments and pivot quickly.
To develop the ability to move fast, Ashkenas recommends that businesses rapidly experiment with new products and services. The rapid experimentation will provide businesses with the knowledge of what works and what does not. Ashkenas has applied this model of rapid experimentation to complex problems in his consulting practice and through the non-profit Rapid Results Institute that his firm supports. He is especially proud, for example, of contributing to a rapid experimentation project that sharply reduced HIV infection rates in Eastern Africa.
While rapid experimentation gets results, it also takes will and courage. But according to Ashkenas, UnleashWD attendees are on the right path.
“There are no passive attendees at UnleashWD,” he says. “They would not have come to UnleashWD unless they were looking to do things differently. This is an industry that is under the gun, and it is likely to undergo major, major change.”
Ashkenas taught distributors about the importance of simplicity at the last UnleashWD, and the attendees taught Ashkenas about the scope of distribution in the United States and Canada.
At UnleashWD 2013, Ashkenas will discuss creating value through rapid experimentation. All organizations need to encourage internal, organic growth. But rather than encouraging experimentation, many companies create processes and incentives that hinder entrepreneurial ideas before they have time to develop.
Thought leaders such as Ashkenas have already changed the way major companies do business. Now they will change distribution at the UnleashWD innovation summit.
Founded in 2012, UnleashWD is the first and only conference dedicated to bringing innovation to wholesale distribution and manufacturing. The summit gathers only once a year, but do not wait to start innovating. Visit UnleashWD.com for updates on future webinars, eBooks and other valuable information on how to innovate.
About the UnleashWD founder:
Dirk Beveridge is an expert in how wholesale distributors and manufacturers increase market share through examining and improving their relationships with customers.
For the last 25 years Beveridge has worked with more than 3,000 firms as a leadership consultant, trainer and speaker. His clients include: Time Warner, IBM, Andersen Windows, Graybar and Berlin Packaging.
He is available for press interviews, corporate speaking or consulting. To contact Beveridge, call 847-381-7797 or email info(at)unleashwd(dot)com.
Christopher Troksa, 4th Generation Systems, http://unleashwd.com, 847-381-7797, [email protected]
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