I hope everyone had a lovely St Patrick’s Day last weekend. It is always fun to celebrate, connect with friends and enjoy a little fun-hearted spirit. Connection is essential in our business lives and our personal lives. Connections allow us to foster constructive collaboration, innovation and growth. AME provides opportunities to connect in many ways. We have an AME Emerging Leaders group and a world-class AME Champions Club. This week, I want to share the significance and value of another way to connect: the AME Consortia.
AME Consortia brings together diverse expertise, local resources, and fresh perspectives, creating opportunities for transformative initiatives and impactful endeavors. A consortium is a group of local companies collaborating for broad, deep, accelerated lean-CI learning. These dynamic practitioner-to-practitioner networks are designed to accelerate the organizational journey toward excellence through:
- Plant tours rotating through member companies
- Round-table discussions on a host company’s hot issue
- Special interest groups on a common hot issue (e.g., 5S, VSM, pull, SCM, etc.)
- Consortium strategic plan for support of companies’ lean-CI priorities
- Cost-shared learning events
- Special discounts on AME workshops and events
- Leveraging the AME Lean Sensei for practical and deeper assessment opportunities
AME Consortia membership includes AME corporate membership, which provides access to all AME member benefits, including discounts on conferences and regional events, publications, and free webinars. In addition, AME Consortia members can attend the AME International Conference as a large group. Large group registration includes the lowest price AME offers for the conference, facilitation services and a daily debrief session in a dedicated meeting room.
AME director of Consortia, Dale Gehring (left), shares, "Today, there are any number of podcasts, books, and 'experts' with advice on how to become Lean. At the core of Toyota's philosophy is 'Go See.' AME Consortia are a way to not only 'Go See' in person but to develop a local and national network of practitioners. It opens doors to personal relationships with people willing to share both their successes and failures. Connecting your organization to outside peers at all levels, from the shop floor to the C suite with others in your local area, is a powerful resource. It helps navigate the process of continuous improvement and meet the challenges in a rapidly changing business environment."
We have consortia throughout the country, and they are rapidly expanding. AME Consortia facilitators drive the success of their consortia and function as independent contractors with AME's support. We are expanding to Chicago, Atlanta (home of this year's AME Atlanta 2024 International Conference), Houston and Phoenix. Please reach out to me personally if you are interested in being a facilitator in one of these cities or your own city.
Through consortia, companies can position themselves for long-term success in today's competitive business landscape by fostering collaboration, facilitating knowledge exchange, and promoting industry-wide advancement.
As always, please stay safe and keep looking out for one another.
