In this exclusive interview with CanadianSME Small Business Magazine, Gregory Hastings, Founder and Director of RIVR Solutions Ltd., shares his wealth of knowledge on optimizing operations and fostering sustainable growth. With over 30 years of leadership experience, Gregory has become a leader in Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement, helping small and medium-sized businesses streamline their processes and reduce waste. Through RIVR Solutions, he has implemented successful strategies that drive operational efficiency, employee empowerment, and long-term scalability. Gregory’s approach centers around the power of leadership, humility, and a culture of continuous improvement, enabling businesses to achieve operational excellence. In this conversation, he offers valuable insights for SMB owners looking to enhance their leadership skills, build scalable organizations, and overcome challenges in today’s fast-paced business environment.
As a lean practitioner, Greg has held Operations and Quality Assurance positions in the Semiconductor, Factory Automation, Transportation, and most recently Aerospace Industries. With a focus on research and change management through his Masters Degree, Greg has been trained in Lean Manufacturing by the Delphi Institute in Detroit, MI. He has over 175 kaizen events under his belt, ranging from floor layout to tool room cost reduction, to office waste elimination. Greg is a proven leader in Quality assurance implementing and maintaining ISO 9001 and AS 9100 quality systems in six different organizations.
As a leader and participant of a Lean Enterprise Consortium, Greg has been exposed to many different industries; solving problems and reducing waste in those industries. He established visual production planning tools, visual controls, and Kanban systems in order to manage operations on-site on the production floor. As a Project Manager, Greg has managed technical issues, schedules, and customer expectations for projects with companies such as Intel, IBM, KLA-Tencor, Bell Helicopter, SpaceX, and Boeing.
With every system implemented it takes solid leadership to execute. Greg embraces a Culture of Continuous Improvement, and teaches leaders to coach and empower their employees. Greg also teaches metric driven management and has a proven track record of leading change to improve cost, quality, and delivery metrics to best-in-class levels.
RIVR Solutions was founded on the principles of Lean Manufacturing and building strong client relationships. How do you believe these principles have contributed to your success, and what advice would you give to other businesses looking to adopt similar approaches?
Lean Manufacturing is as much about the tools that define process and eliminate waste as it is about the people who lead and interact with these tools. Lean Manufacturing principles is fundamentally a mindset and can be applied to any industry or office environment. Though at times, Lean principles can be counter intuitive, it has been proven over and over again as an effective means of operation with a certain degree of paranoia that there is always room for improvement. That paranoia is baked into our name, Relentless Improvement. Verified Results. RIVR has built strong client relationships through quickly building trust, while having a toolbox of methods to eliminate waste and define processes that can be directly applied to our client’s day to day operations. However, providing process tools can only go so far. We also have to provide tools for people to be dedicated to using the tools and provide leadership within their organizations to sustain practices that may otherwise seem to be counter intuitive. Leadership development and instilling a culture of continuous improvement has become the core of our business because if we don’t tool our clients to sustain Lean principles, then what we have done becomes an interesting exercise that doesn’t work, and thus, not providing lasting results or value for our client.
RIVR Solutions has developed the RIVR Robot Lean Simulation Kit to teach lean manufacturing principles. Can you discuss how this innovation has impacted your clients and how it reflects your commitment to continuous improvement?
This kit was the primary tool for teaching Lean concepts and principles to approximately 30 companies in Central Oregon who were all members of the High Desert Enterprise Consortium in the mid-2000s. Developed and delivered by David Jones of Total Excellence in Manufacturing, this Lean Simulation Kit provided a fun way to shift peoples mindset from a batch process pushed through the factory to a pull system that pulls the right products through the factory based on customer demand. Over that time we introduced Lean concepts to Central Oregon companies and thereafter, David and I became good friends and continued to use this kit throughout my career in operations and quality assurance. Upon David’s retirement, David asked if we would buy the intellectual property for the kit. Because we saw the value it provided to organizations and that it was well tested over 20 years of use, RIVR rebranded the kit as the RIVR Robot Lean Simulation Kit, and now is available to sell to organizations that have their own training programs as well as become a staple in RIVR’s toolbox to teach Lean fundamentals to other consortia and organizations.
Your advisory services include helping organizations acquire strategic resources and financial support. What strategies do you recommend for small businesses seeking to leverage government grants and other financial incentives effectively?
I have to defer to my business partner as he is the expert in obtaining grants and financial incentives, but here are some things you can do.
First, do your research, look for grants for small businesses on the federal, provincial and municipal levels. Subscribe to their newsletters and attend workshops and webinars as they arise.
Second, develop a detailed business plan with clear objectives and financial goals. There more defined the target, the more likely your application will be accepted.
Third, ensure you meet the requirements of the grant, and report on your results. Each grant is given for a particular purpose, the government wants to know their money is going towards its intended purpose.
Fourth, connect with other businesses that have successfully obtained grants and see how they did it. Engage with government officials and program administrators.
Fifth, develop a budget that aligns with grant funding and project needs. Develop a system for managing grant funds and reporting on expenditures.
This is at times a lot of work for a small business to apply and administer, that is why they engage with RIVR so they just have to send us the information, and we make sure the funding is a success.
RIVR Solutions emphasizes leadership development and execution. What key strategies or practices do you recommend for small business owners looking to enhance their leadership skills and drive organizational success?
RIVR works with a lot of small to medium sized businesses that are owner-centric. The success of the business falls squarely on the shoulders of owners who have sacrificed and worked hard to build their business to what it is today. However, as much as they are the reason for the company’s success, they are also the roadblock to further growth. Establishing companies that are scalable are not owner-centric, they are employee empowered. Our first task is to instill a sense of humility among the leadership. Not just the owner, but their lieutenants who have been empowered to be the fire fighters and problem solvers of the organization. They see their value in the organization as being the chief problem solvers. Therefore, when we come in and tell them that their success does not lie in what they do, but what their employees do, it is at times a tough pill to swallow. When we can take the light off the leader, and shine it on the success of the employee; we instill quality at the source, thus minimizing problems and engaging the employee. We help the leader provide clear direction and a set of expectations for each employee, coaching them to solve problems, not solving problems for them. Scalability and growth lies in leadership that approaches each situation with humility and curiosity, drawing the solution from their employees, not being the superhero to save the day.
As a seasoned expert in operations management and lean manufacturing, what final advice or insights would you like to share with small and medium-sized businesses looking to optimize their operations and achieve sustainable growth?
Lean Manufacturing provides organizations with the tools to define and standardize process while minimizing problems and eliminating waste. However, the success of Lean Manufacturing lies in the consistency and conviction of leadership, starting at the top. Lean management lies in what I call the three-legged stool. First, having extensive knowledge of your process and standardizing the process making it visually clear on what needs to be done is the first leg of the stool. Second, having the leadership to be consistent in asking questions instead of telling people what went wrong, always falling back on the knowledge of the process, not in blame, accelerates performance and improvement. Third, ensuring daily performance and consistently addressing issues when they arise, not days or weeks later, promotes immediate results. Knowledge, Leadership and Performance must be at the forefront of every organization’s mind to run an efficient operation. If one of these legs are missing or falls short, the stool is likely to fall.
