To build any team, members need to know and understand the capabilities of each member. Anyone who has been on a team, whether a sport, business organization, or even a volunteer group, understands that everyone has different strengths and skills to bring to the effort.
The Lawton Standard Co. recognized that to join four distinctly different foundry organizations, the strengths, and skills of the managers need to be understood by the leadership team. This led The Lawton Standard Co. family of companies to their first Leadership Summit. This two-day event was designed as an open forum to share status and plans for all levels of the organization. In addition to top-level managers and facility general managers, the support areas represented included HR, IT, Sales, Service, Marketing, Engineering, Maintenance, Finance, and EHS.
The summit opened with a review of the first 18 months of the organization led by CEO Alex Lawton. This review highlighted the events that brought us together and provided a face-to-face introduction as some involved had not yet met. The next step was to discuss the future of the organization. This portion, entitled Stakes and Pillars, was let by CTO Blake Albritton.
Next, financial status discussions were led by CFO Tim Flannery. Finally, personality assessments were introduced as a working tool by COO Barry Adamski. The goal of this format was to prepare all in attendance for the real work to begin.
To understand the relative contribution of each facility, a detailed presentation was made by each of the four GMs. Financial and operating plans were shared. Discussions on the current state and a future state were interlaced, with difficulties and hurdles being workshopped. Finally, careful notations were made of issues that would be addressed.
Major impact areas presented their status and plan to move the organization forward. These areas included maintenance, recruiting, onboarding, and training.
Day two began early for the GMs. They gathered before the main meeting to formulate their list of needs from each of the support areas. Before these requests were made, the entire group reviewed the previous day and clarified several issues. As with any meeting, participants ensured they really heard what was said.
Each GM went around the table to each support area and openly voiced what they felt was needed to accomplish the plans. Each question was clarified to be sure everyone was working toward the same goals.
Besides the organizational benefits of this summit, a large but difficult to quantify benefit was reached. Lawton Standard family members gained familiarity with people they need to rely on to complete tasks. In addition, as each team member learned the strengths of the others, new ways of reaching goals were identified. All were grateful for the privilege of meeting face-to-face.
We’re proud of The Lawton Standard Co.’s progress in moving from a handful of independent foundries to a fully integrated supplier that keeps learning from each other. Thank you for taking the time to hear what we’re up to. If you have any questions about how our foundry family can serve you, don’t hesitate to contact us today.
