Red Flag Mentality - Manufacturing Crisis

"In my experience, the root cause of most turnarounds, no matter the industry, is often found in management. It's not just about having the right people in the leadership roles but how they communicate vision, set priorities, and drive accountability across the organization. When management is disconnected from the operational challenges, lacks a clear strategy, or fails to motivate and align their teams, things start to fall apart. Of course, there are many contributing factors—financial issues, poor processes, or struggling suppliers—but without strong leadership at the helm, it’s hard for any company to turn things around. Addressing the leadership dynamic and realigning it with the company’s goals is the first step toward recovery."

Red Flag: The "People as a Quick Fix" Mentality One of the largest red flags I watch for when diagnosing issues in a turnaround is the instinct to throw more people at the problem. This typically arises when mid-level management is unable to meet the expectations of upper leadership, especially when KPIs start to slide, customer complaints rise, or production issues become unmanageable. In response, the common reaction is to say, "We need more people," and upper management often believes this solution will resolve the problem, even temporarily.

The issue with this mindset is that it doesn't address the real problem—it only puts a Band-Aid on it. Adding more staff without addressing underlying process inefficiencies, leadership gaps, or misaligned priorities only dilutes the focus and doesn't lead to sustainable improvement. In fact, it can often create more chaos by spreading resources too thin and increasing the complexity of managing the operation.

The real solution lies in identifying and fixing the root causes—whether it's miscommunication, poor leadership alignment, inefficient processes, or underperforming systems. When these issues are addressed, the need for more people becomes less critical, and the focus shifts toward optimization, efficiency, and real, lasting improvement.