Columns
Below are links to Kirchner's Never Finished Management Columns as published in Products Finishing magazine.
2019
- May – Is it Okay to Dislike a Customer?
- April – The Expense of Frugality
- March – We Need to Start Trusting Our People
- February – Questions That Will Change Your Finishing Business and Life
- January – It’s Time to Learn How to Win Again
2018
- December – Industry 4.0 Elicits Careers of the Future
- November – The Reluctant Award Winner
- October – The Faster You Go, the More Balance You Get
- September – Rip Van Meeting
- August – Welcome to Your 1st Day in Finishing
- July – Parts Unknown
- June – May the Fourth Be With You
- May – How Do You Run a Contract Finishing Business? Ask Your Dry Cleaner
- April – Revenge is Best Served Not at All
- March – Shoeless Joe, Iowa Cornfields and Surface Finishing Hyper-Growth
- February – Turning Business Travel into an Adventure
- January – How Not To Quit Your Job
2017
- December – The 55 Most Important Words in Sales
- November – Few Things More Precious Than Time
- October – When Will It Ever Be Good Enough?
- September – After Two Minutes . . . Just Shut Up!
- August – Top Sales Trait Might Not Be What You Think
- July – The Robots Are Coming – Will Your Job Be Next?
- June – Greatness Begins with a V1 Moment
- May – Is Your Team Ready for IIoT?
- April – Who Is Defining Your Shop’s Brand?
- March – Settling for Soft Skills? You’re Part of the Problem
- February – Don’t Tell People How to Do Things
- January – Dear Sales Professional
2016
- December – Stand and Deliver on Valuating Your Services
- November – The Making of a World Class Manufacturer … A Long-Term View
- October – Value Proposition When Asking for a Raise
- September – Cleaning Up Misconceptions in Job Titles
- August – IoT and Industry 4.0 for Finishers. Are You Ready?
- July – Conspiracy Theories and Ascribing Intentions
- June – Excuses from Naysayers
- May – Find Five Ways To Solve Problems
- April – Lay Off the Layoffs
- March – The Intelligence Matrix and People Who Don’t Know Where They Fit
- February – Beware “Hit-Rate Guy”
- January – Are You Leaving Money on the Table?
2015
- December – The “Skills Gap” is Your Fault!
- November – Does Money Trump Freedom? A Philosophy of Business and Life
- October – That Which Can Go Wrong, Will Go Wrong
- September – Three Keys to a Winning Culture
- August – The 13 Unlucky Signs Your Customer is Looking Elsewhere
- July – There are No Such Thing as Weaknesses, Only Weak Leaders
- June – Wrestling With Double Standards
- May – Creative Recruiting
- April – Fortunately, Unfortunately
- March – The Folly of the Working Supervisor
- February – Another Month, Another “Important, Not Urgent” Issue
- January – Of Jazz Musicians, Energy Bars, Welders and Employee Empowerment
2014
- November – ‘Acceleration!’
- October – A Psychoanalytical Tour of Finishing Industry Personalities
- September – Direct Margin Is Where It’s At
- August – A Procurement Fable
- July – The Marketing Process
- June – Advice from the Grave
- May – Want to Communicate More? Communicate Less
- April – Muda, Mura, Poka-Yoke and Other Four-Letter Words?
- March – Ten Ways to Kill a Sales Call
- February – Qualifive!
- January – What’s Trending in Manufacturing?
2013
- November – Lean on the Coater
- September – Two Hours a Day in the “Gemba”
- August – Business Pet Peeves
- July – Is Yours a Blame Game Culture?
- June – ‘They Never Call Me Back.’ No Kidding.
- May – Must-See TV: “Finishing: Impossible”
- April – Like the Farmer, God Created the Finisher, Too
- March – Ensuring Your Next Kaizen Event is a Colossal Failure
- February – Bridging the Millennial Divide
- January – Make it a Happy New Year
2012
- November – Quarterbacks, Power Forwards, Olympians & Benchmarking
- October – A Coatings Rework Nightmare
- August – Time to Add Capacity?
- July – A Fight for the Future
- June – Keys to World Class Finishing
- May – Redneck Jokes & Finishing
- March – Predictive Analytics
- February – Apple Coatings?
- January – #1 Problem Facing Finishers
2011
- October – We’re Here for You
- September – “You’re Fired”
- August – The Wasted Day
- June – In Defense of Private Equity
- May – In a Sales Slump?
- April – Commission Plan Do’s & Don’ts
- February – How to Fail at a Trade Show
- January – At Cause and Effect
2010
- November – Keepin’ it Kaizen
- October – Just In Case Leadership
- September – A $5 Lean Manufacturing Primer
- August – Lessons of the Great Recession
- July – Wasted Energy Equals Lost Profits
- June – For Father’s Day..A Paint Defect
- May – If Your Customer Was Always Watching
- April – Winning Month by Month
- March – An Awesome Business Speech
- February – Help Wanted
- January – The Moscow Rules
2009
- December – Temporary Solutions
- November – Registering Quality
- October – The FrontLine
- September – New Employee Orientation
- August – Matt’s Trip to the Eye Doctor
- June – Breaking Up is Hard to Do
- May – World-Wide Biggest Loser Sales Person of All Time
- April – Whatever it Takes
- March – What are Your Weaknesses?
- February – “A ‘Five Why’ for Sales? Why Not?”
- January – I’ll Scratch Your Back…
2008
- December – Manna from Heaven
- November – Good Luck, Chuck
- October – Seven Deadly Wastes
- September – One Hour a Day
- August – Who Has the Best Job in the World?
- July – Surface Finishing in the “Exponential Economy”
- June – The Soft Cost of In-house Rework
- May – If Walt Disney Were a Surface Finisher
- April – 50 Ways to Grow Your Coating Operation
- February – Then Came the Plant Tour
2007
- December – Profitability is a Result
- October – Must-read Books for Surface Finishers
- August – A Hunt for the Elusive Surface Finishing Economic Forecast
- June – What’s the Good Word
- April – Confessions of a Core Values Convert
- February – Charlie Sheen, Elephants and Really Big Finishing Deals
2006
- December – Captive Operation or Outsource? That is the Question
- October – Surface Finishing Management Myths
- August – Think You’re in the Finishing Business? Think Again…
- June – Key Characteristics of Successful Managers
- April – It’s Time for a CUSTOMER Scorecard
- February – Manage Five Items and Ensure Success in Surface Finishing
2005
- December – Eight Mistakes That Will Kill Your Metal Finishing Business
- October – Dealing with Tough Customers
- August – Career Advancement
- June – Do You Consider Your Metal Finishing Operation to be “World Class?”
- February – A Recipe for Sales Growth