Ben Markens

New PPC President Ben Markens brings 30 years of expertise to the association.

Last issue, I started a series of articles designed to address your emails asking me what I feel are the most important steps in creating a good business plan. In the first article, I addressed the first two steps: 1) Developing your next ACT (Achievable Concrete Target) and 2) Choosing your...more >>

I've been getting emails asking me what I feel are the most important steps to creating a good business plan are. So for then next few issues I'll try to answer that question with a step-by-step list of actions.

I am often asked who should be on the planning team, and the answer is - it depends.

Asurefire way to make progress meeting your organization's goals is to identify and close gaps. This month, I'll show you a fairly simple way to identify and prioritize gaps.

Sometimes it's the simple things that make the most impact. I meet many executives who never have regular staff meetings with their team. Now, I hate meetings as much as the next guy. But not everything can be done ad hoc. And properly run staff meetings are critical to the long-term success of a...more >>

When we do business planning, we usually identify the need for initiatives. Initiatives are gap closure projects.

Dr. Steven Covey says, Start with the end in mind. Start with what you're trying to accomplish."

I believe that the term balanced scorecard is misnamed. It implies that the measures and dashboard are the most important when, in the judgment of the Balanced Scorecard Institute and myself, they are an outcome of a process.

The estimator takes the first step on the tightrope that ultimately determines your company's success. Certainly there is no more important document in a converting plant than a consistent and fair cost estimate.