By Ben Hershey, 4Ward Consulting Group, LLC “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty six times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” Michael Jordan While

By Ben Hershey, CEO, 4Ward Consulting Group, LLC  When I’m asked why I chose a set of puzzle pieces for the 4Ward Consulting team logo, I’m glad to explain that fitting the pieces together has always been a part of my approach to business, my own and those I have assisted.  We have teams, divisions,

By Ben Hershey, CEO, 4Ward Consulting Group, LLC As we start the New Year, a focus of many operations will be setting goals to remain competitive. Today’s companies in the LBM/Component/Modular market are looking for ways to drive efficiencies throughout their manufacturing processes. Extending Lean Manufacturing principles and practices while establishing a platform for continuous

By Ben Hershey, CEO, 4Ward Consulting Group, LLC I am often asked by lumber dealers, component manufacturers, and others for that “one thing” that will improve results, drive cultural change, hardwire behavior, or create lasting quality. I’ve come to realize there is no magic bullet to becoming a high reliability organization; it is a long-term

By Ben Hershey, President & Coach, 4Ward Consulting Group, LLC As discussed in “Part 1: Beginning a Journey of 7 Steps,” we all aspire to have a state of operational excellence in our organizations, which  is easier said than done.  Operational excellence is about more than simply adjusting the current way of doing things, although

By Ben Hershey, President & Coach, 4Ward Consulting Group, LLC We all aspire to have a state of operational excellence in our organizations, but it is often much easier said than done.  Although it’s often conceptualized as merely tweaking the current way of doing things,  operational excellence is about much more than that.  For component