Focus: Business strategy and flow efficiency
People often ask me what a Director of Operational Excellence really does. And I get it, the title sounds broad. Maybe even vague. But the answer is actually very specific, and surprisingly practical. So I decided to sit down with someone who’s doing the job, day in, day out, and ask them directly. What follows is our conversation. We got into what the job covers, how it ties into business strategy, and what really makes a difference when you’re the one responsible for flow, clarity, and execution.
Let’s get to it.
What’s the first thing you say when someone asks what your role actually covers?
I usually say that Operational Excellence means creating flow. That means delivering value to the customer with the shortest overall time, lowest total cost, and highest possible quality. If you’re not improving all three, together, you’re just shifting problems. My day-to-day? I set department priorities. I partner with leadership on long-term planning. I track the master program schedule. I contribute to the annual report. I help hire and onboard talent. I run quality and compliance programs. I usually cover contracts and budgets. I lead improvement projects. I simplify communication. I support people’s growth. And I coach a lot, especially when someone’s stuck trying to align strategy and execution.
So it’s not just process, it’s structure and people too?
Absolutely. You can’t fix processes in isolation. Departments don’t exist in a vacuum. You need to understand the entire value stream. And that means knowing the people in the system, not just their roles on a chart. I go out there. I visit departments. I talk to team leads. I ask them, “What would help you trust the system more?” That feedback, that trust, is the only thing that makes operational changes stick.
When you say “value stream,” what are you mapping exactly?
The flow unit. That’s the one thing moving through your organization that creates value. In construction, it could be a prefabricated module. In a hospital, it’s a patient. In manufacturing, it’s the product. Everything revolves around how that flow unit moves, from first request to final delivery. We track every step in that flow, then look for what adds value, what doesn’t, and what might not be necessary at all.
And how does that tie into business strategy?
Strategy defines the direction, how we win, what markets we serve, how fast we need to go, and what margins we want. My job is to translate that into how we operate. If the strategy says “reduce time-to-market by 20%,” then I go into the system and ask: where are we losing time? Where are we batching? Where’s the delay? It’s very concrete. Flow and business strategy are tightly linked. If you’re not aligning operations with strategy, you’re managing symptoms.
A lot of people in this role struggle with being seen as too tactical, or too far from the product. How do you balance that?
You don’t need to know every technical detail, but you do need to understand your product and how it delivers value to the customer. Don’t fake it. Just ask. What does the customer expect? What outcome matters to them? Once you understand that, you can trace backwards and see what supports that value, and what doesn’t. That’s where most improvement efforts fall apart. They optimize locally without thinking about what actually delivers the customer outcome.
Any learning resources you recommend?
Yes, start with This is Lean by Niklas Modig. It explains flow efficiency in a way that makes sense across industries. His company, Hubs, also runs training programs I recommend. On the business side, I lean heavily on:
- Jim Collins (Good to Great) for long-term company thinking
- Gino Wickman (Traction) for execution systems
- Patrick Lencioni (The Advantage) for team clarity
- Dan Sullivan (Who Not How) for talent development
You have to know how businesses run, not just how processes work.
How do you structure improvement work? Where do you start?
First, map the flow unit. Don’t skip that. Then identify value-adding steps, non-value-adding but necessary steps, and plain waste. Look for three things: overburden, unevenness, and non-value. That could be a system, a meeting, a report, anything that slows flow without helping the customer. We always ask: does this step help us move faster, cheaper, or better? If it’s not doing at least one, it probably doesn’t belong.
What about coaching leaders? That seems like a big part of your role too.
It is. I work closely with leadership teams. First step: build the team. Second: create clarity. Third: communicate that clarity. Fourth: reinforce it through people systems. I help them define a clear 90-day thematic goal, something that aligns with the long-term business strategy, but is concrete and actionable. Then I break it down: What are the 3‑5 outcomes that will get us there? Who owns each? And what actions are we taking weekly?
How do you track if it’s working?
We keep visual boards. We run weekly stand-ups. We talk about outcomes, not just tasks. I don’t want to hear that someone had five meetings, I want to know what moved. I also coach the leaders on how to lead without micromanaging. That takes time, but once they get it, the whole team moves better.
Let’s talk about communication. What’s your take?
Simplify it. Streamline it. Most companies drown in updates that don’t mean anything. I focus on connecting people directly. If two teams are stuck, I don’t want a new Slack channel, I want them to talk. Direct contact. Short loops. Less interpretation. That’s how you maintain speed.
Any final thoughts for someone stepping into the role for the first time?
Yes. Understand this job isn’t about fixing broken parts, it’s about improving the whole. Your job is to see the system, hold the strategy, and help the people move toward it together. Learn your flow unit. Know your product. Stay close to the customer. Map your resources. And make sure every link in the chain supports value delivery.
If even one link breaks, the customer feels it.
