About James Dorn

James is President of Dorn Group. Read more about us.

5 Tips to Get the Most Value From Your Annual Strategic Planning Process

Your manufacturing company’s leadership team is invested in getting the most value out of your annual strategic planning process. After all, it’s your most focused opportunity to take stock of your company’s current performance, introduce new ideas, set goals and formalize your direction for the coming year and beyond. The thing is, every company approaches strategic planning differently, with varying degrees of formality and consistency from year to year. Some organizations approach strategic planning without enough structure in place to guide the process toward truly strategic outcomes. Others are so bogged [...]

5 Tips to Get the Most Value From Your Annual Strategic Planning Process2021-11-17T09:03:03-06:00

What to Do When You’re Missing Your Number

The quarter is ending and you’re not hitting your number … We’ve all been there. Some periods you’re the hero crushing growth targets. Other times you’re the one person in the room who is off-plan, jeopardizing the whole leadership team’s annual performance incentive. Missing your number can bring a lot of different stressors, but if you find yourself in a trailing position, your first thoughts should go towards understanding why the business is falling short of plan. In these times, it’s important to remember to remain calm, be in control, stay [...]

What to Do When You’re Missing Your Number2022-03-08T14:48:00-06:00

Accelerating Your Manufacturing Company’s Corporate Growth Strategy Starts With a Growth Committee

If you’ve been in manufacturing for any length of time, you already know that it’s no longer enough to maintain the status quo if you want to grow your business — or even just defend your existing market share. You want your manufacturing company to stay ahead of the curve. To do that, your corporate growth strategy will need to be aggressive and seek to outperform market conditions as well as your equally hungry competition. Successfully achieving that sort of growth isn’t a one-person sport. It’s an orchestrated effort that will [...]

Accelerating Your Manufacturing Company’s Corporate Growth Strategy Starts With a Growth Committee2021-11-17T09:29:11-06:00

4 Ways Manufacturers Can Meet the Rising Expectations of Private Equity

Given the continued rapid growth pattern of the private equity market (recently reaching a 3-year sum of $608B in capital), it has become even more imperative for manufacturers owned by PE firms to deliver increased value. With this steady stream of capital keeping buyout multiples high, knowing how to generate growth—and the best ways to align your organization’s growth strategies—is critical. But to create real, sustainable growth, it’s important to first understand where the potential for growth comes from. At Dorn, we try to simplify and streamline the path to growth [...]

4 Ways Manufacturers Can Meet the Rising Expectations of Private Equity2021-11-17T11:02:50-06:00