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Published May 2, 2023

George Stalk Jr.: Competing Against Time | E165

George Stalk Jr. delves into the transformative power of time-based competition, revealing how leveraging time can significantly enhance business productivity, profitability, and resilience. He contrasts the strategic approaches of private vs public companies and provides actionable insights into overcoming business challenges and maximizing competitive advantage.
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  • Core Principle

    emphasizes the core principle of time-based competition: delivering what customers want faster than competitors. He explains that managing time as a variable alongside cost can reveal hidden efficiencies and advantages. For instance, faster factories often have higher productivity and lower costs.

    If one's looking at an organization through the lens of time, one will see where the quality problems are. Because anytime one has a quality problem, whether it's manufacturing or in an information business, it means rework. And anytime you have rework, it means lost time.

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    Stalk's insights highlight how speed can lead to better quality and lower capital requirements 1 2.

       

    Supply Chain

    Time-based strategies significantly impact supply chain efficiencies. describes how reducing time in the supply chain can minimize stockouts and overstocks, leading to higher profitability. He shares examples of companies paying premiums for faster shipping to maintain inventory levels.

    If I can become more time-based in my supply chain, I basically insulate myself relative to my competitors. I still have problems. They're not as bad as my competitors have problems.

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    By focusing on time, businesses can turn supply chain challenges into competitive advantages 3 4.

       

    Cost-Time

    Exploring the relationship between cost and time, illustrates how faster processes can lead to significant cost savings. He notes that reducing time often eliminates overhead costs and increases productivity. For example, Japanese factories outperformed American ones by managing time more effectively.

    Most organizations, if we look at the time required to produce an output, either an insurance policy or a manufactured product, if they're not looking at time as a management variable, value is only being added between a half a percent and 5% of the time. 95% of the time when more is wasted.

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    Stalk argues that time management is a powerful lens for identifying and eliminating inefficiencies 5 6.

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