Direct North

I founded Direct North Consulting to share the knowledge I’ve earned through my experiences managing and improving businesses with Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement.

It was not that long ago that I was working 80-hour weeks, sometimes surging to over 100 hours. I was a partner and operations manager in my own manufacturing firm and I felt that long hours were the only way to stay on track. The company was struggling on numerous fronts and it always seemed like I just needed to put in a little more time to get over the next hill and catch up. I even went back to work the morning after our third child was born. (My wife still hasn’t let me live that one down.) That was the point where I realized something had to change. At the same time, it was becoming clear that I would either be moving to the role of company president or selling my shares. Regardless of the outcome, I would not be staying in my role and I needed to make sure my team would be able to succeed without me.

So, I set out to change the way my team worked and the way I worked. Over the next year I put in place a system to align my team’s efforts with our company strategy, and empowered them to execute on their ideas. In less than a year I was working 10 hours a week on operational issues (the fires) with 30 hours a week available to coach my team and focus on longer-range strategy. At the end of it I sat back and kicked myself wondering why it had taken me seven years to get to that point.

That brings me back to Direct North. I want to help you and your management team make that same leap with your business now, so you don’t have to wait as long as I did.