Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1447212
46 SMT007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2022 cipline to say, "I've got 40 hours of work for everyone this week, and I need to take four of those hours and not deliver product so that we can train for work." at's discipline that I don't have all the time, so the nice part about the supply chain piece is you get windows of inefficiency. For example, we had 48 hours of work this week, and due to the supply chain chal- lenge, we've only got 32 hours of work now. Let's take those eight hours and get every- body recertified on Six Sigma, Lean concepts, or whatever it is that we've fallen behind on. en, you take a handful of people and move them up the path with managerial skills and other supervisor training. at's mag- ical because ever y- one tends to notice, whether the y admit it. Across the board, everyone is pushing a little harder; the team comes together when the leadership comes from within. Johnson: Earlier, you said that commercial real estate is skyrocketing. People are look- ing at putting together new facilities or using a facility expansion to pivot into some new chal- lenges. Do you have a handle on why, in gen- eral, commercial real estate has skyrocketed? O'Neil: I was very surprised, because it's not just Silicon Valley, which can be 180 degrees off the rest of the country. I'm hearing it in other areas. It's just the general economy, and the number of startups and expansions. I thought this remote work trend would create a glut of office space, and we would have a ripple effect as people repurposed buildings, but it certainly doesn't seem like that's been how it played out. Matties: It seems everything is in demand. What final thoughts do you want to share? O'Neil: Buckle up. It's probably a good time to figure out how much time your senior man- agement team wants to dedicate to things that are 10 years out. e industry has come a long way with practices that were in place 20 years ago and, if you're in the board business, you've come a long way with practices that were in place 40 years ago. T h e i n d u s t r y i s ripe for disruption. I don't pretend to know what that looks like, but I s ens e it com- ing. ere are oppor- tunities for companies of all sizes to be at the tip of the spear, caus- ing that disruption and being a beneficiary of it. e danger is, in these environments, that you put 100% of your focus on the stuff right in front of you and you might miss the bigger play that's a lit- tle bit further out. It takes liing your head up and looking at the horizon. What's going on in other industries, with your competitors, your supply chain, and your suppliers? ere are a lot of new tools and tricks of the trade out there that can be brought to bear within each of our businesses. A couple of them might get combined into something that changes things dramatically. Matties: at's good advice. In today's market, we don't know what's coming our way next; these are challenging waters we're navigat- ing, that's for sure. ank you for sharing your thoughts, we certainly appreciate your time. O'Neil: Yes, absolutely. ank you. SMT007