Ryan

Ryan had been making things since he was an apprentice. the factory floor was where he was most comfortable. it was also where he still spent most of his time, fourteen years after starting the business. production scheduling, quality sign-off, and key account management all ran through Ryan. the floor manager had been in the role for four years and was respected by the team. Ryan had never formally given him the authority to make production decisions independently. they had just always talked about it first. Ryan had turned down two contracts in the same quarter. not because of production capacity, but because he was the capacity constraint.

both contracts that had been declined were taken on within three months. revenue grew from $7.4m to $11.1m in sixteen months. the floor manager made a quality decision in month four that affected a $180,000 order. it was the right call. Ryan found out three days later. Ryan took two weeks off in month eight. the factory ran. not one call.

Ryan thought proximity to the product was how you maintained quality. he was maintaining quality. he was also maintaining a ceiling. the floor manager had been capable of running production independently for at least two years. he just hadn't been given the structure to prove it.