Every growing company has to get three things moving together: the work, the structure, and the people. When they fall out of sync, growth stalls. I diagnose which lever is holding you back, then do the work with you until the change holds. Here's what that looks like.
THE WORK
How the business actually runs and delivers
When a company scales, the operation is usually the first thing to strain. Value leaks, quality slips, and the parts stop keeping pace with each other. The work lever is about rebuilding how the operation runs so it can carry the growth.
I led the transformation of a 300-person manufacturing site that had just been acquired. It made one product, ran inefficiently, and had about two years to prove it could survive. The mandate was to scale to multiple products and double output, in a highly regulated environment where change is hard and jobs were on the line.
I led the transformation across manufacturing, engineering, and quality, building the operating system and performance management from the ground up and driving the change on the floor, not from a slide deck. The site turned profitable and became the foundation for a growing manufacturing operation.
“Erica led a site-wide transformation after our acquisition, across Manufacturing, Engineering, and Quality. We reduced process deviations by 40% and increased productivity by 70%, and created enough capacity to turn profitable. Her approach covered the technical Lean work, from Value Stream Mapping to Standardized Work, and the human side: coaching and developing individuals, myself included.”
THE STRUCTURE
How decisions get made and who owns what
Growth exposes weak structure fast. Decisions take too long, no one is sure who owns what, and leaders drown in complexity. The structure lever is about building the clarity, rhythm, and decision-readiness a company needs to keep moving.
A CEO came to me facing a high-stakes board meeting at the end of a hard financial year. He had to present a complex, multi-day picture, financial performance, covenant compliance, safety, sales, customer retention, product development, labor, and efficiency, and make it land as a clear, honest, forward-looking story.
I applied a Lean management approach to segment the material into coherent sections along a clear story arc, turning an overwhelming mass of detail into a board-ready narrative with a clear line of logic. I brought order to a complex, stressful situation so he could walk in prepared and in command.
“Erica applied a Lean management approach to help me build a board deck covering financial performance, covenant compliance, safety, sales, product development, labor, and efficiency, and structure it along a clear story arc. She brought order to a complex, stressful situation. From our first call she understood my needs and was on my team.”
THE PEOPLE
How your team thinks, behaves, and executes
You can fix the system and the structure, but if the people aren't aligned and capable, the change won't hold. The people lever is about getting the right people aligned, developed, and owning the work, so growth sticks. And unlike most people work, I measure it.
On one engagement, a group that had to align across boundaries to move a complex initiative forward was stuck: low trust, no shared definition of success, and no clear path. I worked with them to build alignment, trust, and a shared plan, and we measured the shift before and after.
The result wasn't just a better feeling in the room. It was measurable movement on the things that let a group execute together: alignment on direction, the trust to design new ways of working, and clear measures of success.
I've done the same inside major operational transformations, developing the people who have to carry the change. In their own words, one year into a site-wide transformation:
“The transition blew me away. I was amazed by the speed and quality with which we did it.’
”Groups and departments worked together as teams. They put their issues aside for the success of the greater team.”
I can take on so much more and still function effectively. We’ve accomplished more than I thought was possible.””