Vector Consulting Group | Counterpoint Podcast | breakthrough solutions for complex and chronic business problems

Episode 47 • 22 Feb 2023

Understanding the Importance of Deep Causal Thinking in Management

In the second episode of this season, Satyashri Mohanty, dubbed "The Coach" at Vector Consulting Group, will be explaining one of the facets of Vector's Thinking Processes - Deep Causal Thinking.

Episode 46 • 28 Dec 2022

How to ensure a successful product launch?

In this episode of the Counterpoint Podcast, we will examine the mystery behind new product failures, identify the core conflict underlying them and discuss steps to enable the success of every new product or service you launch.

Episode 45 • 10 Aug 2022

Not so Agile: Part II - How to transform the software development process

In this latest episode of podcast on ‘Not so agile’, Anantha Keerthi describes the new ‘Rapid Feature Flow Model’ innovated by Vector and how by adopting this ‘flow principles’ companies can increase productivity and reduce rework.

Episode 44 • 15 Jun 2022

Meeting Fatigue: How can we make meetings add more value?

Many managers talk about endless meetings in their organizations. In fact, a lot of team members also feel their bosses do not give them time because they're always busy in meetings. In this episode we will learn how do we get out of this dilemma of doing meetings or not doing meetings?

Episode 43 • 12 May 2022

All improvement projects may not add value

In this episode, Kiran Kothekar explains why so many improvement initiatives fail and what leaders should do to get quantum improvements to happen in their organizations in the shortest possible time?

Episode 42 • 14 Apr 2022

Not So Agile: Part I - Challenges in Software Development

In this podcast we visit the challenges posed by Waterfall and Agile (scrum), the most popular methodologies for software development. It’s called Agile. While the methodology was targeted towards achieving quick turnaround times, it is not so agile today. Why So? What are the reasons behind it?

Episode 41 • 06 Apr 2022

Conversations with Business Leaders: Antony Cherukara, CEO, VST Tillers Tractors Limited

Agri-equipment manufacturing companies tend to have a major challenge in managing operations since demand is significantly dependent on seasons, level of rainfall, festivals, etc. In this episode, we discuss the problems faced in agri-equipment businesses that make this environment very challenging and how these issues can be solved.

Episode 40 • 16 Mar 2022

Pharma Operations

In this episode of the Counterpoint Podcast, we bring into focus the challenges that the pandemic has caused on the already disrupted supply chains of pharma companies in India and across the world.

Episode 39 • 02 Mar 2022

Mystery Analysis Part II

In the last episode on Mystery Analysis, we set the groundwork for why and how to do an analysis that would help us reveal the causality behind our post-implementation results. This episode goes into details of these methods and subsequent steps to be followed.

Episode 38 • 16 Feb 2022

Mystery Analysis

How to decipher new knowledge using rigor of scientific thinking when solutions in organizations don’t deliver as per expectation. In the last episode of the Thinking Process series, we had promised to discuss about 'Mystery Analysis'.

Episode 37 • 02 Feb 2022

Irrelevance of seasons in the fashion industry

The fashion industry is known for its seasonality, for the seasons bring with it the need for change in the entire range of clothing. In this episode, we discuss the reasons behind why seasonality is such a huge concern and how we can break free from this constraint and make the seasons irrelevant.

Episode 36 • 27 Jan 2022

Why individual targets do not drive accountability

Targets don’t work! The most popular method by which organizations try to achieve desired behaviours is by setting individual targets and by using a system of rewards and punishments to reinforce them.

Episode 35 • 19 Jan 2022

End-to-end pull distribution: From pilot phase to scale up

How to implement pull distribution strategy from pilot phase to scale up phase

Episode 34 • 12 Jan 2022

Is direct distribution of the full market possible?

Direct retail coverage of the whole country or numeric distribution is viable. Find out why?

Episode 33 • 05 Jan 2022

Conversations with Business Leaders: Saket Agrawal, Managing Director, MSP Steel and Power Ltd.

Commodities like steel are a challenge to differentiate based on product features. Find out how Saket Agrawal, Managing Director, MSP Steel and Power Ltd. transformed its strategy and operations to create a clear distinctive edge in the steel industry.

Episode 32 • 28 Dec 2021

New product development in auto sector : Challenges & Solutions

Enormous workload, high uncertainty and heavy dependence on external suppliers all have together made the task of new product development in the auto segment very challenging and stressful.

Episode 31 • 22 Dec 2021

End-to-End pull distribution: Managing the challenges of transformation

While agile or rapid reaction end to end supply chains is the need of the hour, the implementation of these concepts is not easy. Let us understand the difficulties and challenges of creating such agile supply or distribution chains

Episode 30 • 15 Dec 2021

Conversations with Business Leaders: Siddharth Bansal, Executive Director, Skipper Limited

Building loyalty in a competitive market is extremely difficult, and even more so when it comes to a commodity business.

Episode 29 • 08 Dec 2021

Go-to market strategy for year-on-year sales growth

The "pull" distribution solution allows companies to enjoy phenomenal growth in secondary sales. However, this system very often hits an obstacle in implementation

Episode 28 • 01 Dec 2021

Retail environments – Solving the last mile obstacles for go-to- market strategy

The pull-based replenishment flow system often hits a new saturation point every time, which calls for a shift in the approach to unlock the next growth area.

Episode 27 • 24 Nov 2021

New product development: A new and evolved approach to managing NPD projects

Ensuring fast NPD or New Product Development is one of the most important activities for any organization to sustain and grow.

Episode 26 • 17 Nov 2021

Conversations with Business Leaders: R V Gumaste, Managing Director, Kirloskar Ferrous Industries Limited

An iron foundries company’s senior management discusses on what challenges they faced in implementing and sustaining the innovative pull-based flow processes in manufacturing and new product development

Episode 25 • 10 Nov 2021

Auto industry OEM spare parts – Solving the conflict between rapid service and inventory costs

Countering the OEMs conflict with a sustainable solution that enables higher availability and spare parts sales at much lower inventory as compared to the conventional way of managing spare parts

Episode 24 • 03 Nov 2021

Managing job shops - Sustainable solutions to resolve core conflicts

Managing job shops can be very difficult and complex. There are many challenges that the job shops across face in order to make sure they deliver the required material to the customers in time every time

Episode 23 • 27 Oct 2021

Managing job shops – Why is it so difficult?

Job shops are one of the most complex manufacturing environments to manage. Time to understand the core problem

Episode 22 • 20 Oct 2021

Auto industry OEM spare part operations : Key causes for challenges

Managing spare parts is the most challenging areas of operations in the auto industry. It is the Achilles heel for most companies

Financial Decision Making

Episode 21 • 13 Oct 2021

Conversations with Business Leaders: Sharan Bansal, Director, Skipper Limited

Manufacturing industries are marred by many common problems which obstruct flow of inventory, poor on time delivery performance and unhappy customers.

Episode 20 • 06 Oct 2021

Throughput accounting – Taking decisions using financial metrics

One of the major reasons of failed organizations is bad financial decision making. The episode talks about the need to consider uncertainty of demand and impact on constraint to get the holistic financial impact on organization

Episode 19 • 29 Sep 2021

Leadership skills – Are leaders born or made?

Is leadership an art or a science?' is a perineal debate. In this episode, we discuss and analyze why leadership is a science and not an art and also go further to describe the three important tactics to be effective as a leader.

Financial Decision Making

Episode 18 • 22 Sep 2021

Non-linear causality – Discussion on vicious, virtuous and balancing loops

Can Theory of Constraints address non-linear causality? Let understand how to demystify linear and non-linear causality

Episode 17 • 15 Sep 2021

Financial decision making – mistakes and fallacies

Why financial know-how and know-why is critical for every manager and what happens when wrong decisions are taken

Episode 16 • 08 Sep 2021

What is a constraint? The Theory of Constraints Definition

What really is a ‘constraint’ as referred to in Theory of Constraints? The dictionary defines a constraint as a limitation, a restriction, or an obstacle

Episode 15 • 25 Aug 2021

Conversations with Business Leaders: Anil Mathur, COO, Godrej Interio

A consumer goods company discusses the perpetual conflict that B2B sales teams face and how they solved the problem

Episode 14 • 18 Aug 2021

TOC Thinking Process: A tool for thinking clearly (Part 5)

Chronic problems stay unresolved due to inherent conflicts in resolving them. Conflicts manifests as design contradictions or in interpersonal issues. Is there an approach to resolve these conflicts and contradictions?

Episode 13 • 11 Aug 2021

Multi-tasking – A myth?

Multitasking is considered an important skill to achieve more in less time. But is it really the most effective way to get more output?

Episode 12 • 04 Aug 2021

Supplier bullwhip effect – Why it happens and the way out?

Supplier Bullwhip is basically an ill effect of a supply chain practice of OEMs who use a combination of monthly forecasting and daily expediting to manage their assembly lines. understand how The Bull Whip generates from OEMs and how it impacts the suppliers

Episode 11 • 28 Jul 2021

TOC Thinking Process – How to build logical reasoning without any additional investment (Part 4)

TOC thinking process makes an extremely helpful tool for anyone, especially managers and leaders

Episode 10 • 21 Jul 2021

Discover hidden capacities in your Plant

Many plants are often marred by poor efficiencies, late deliveries, and a perpetual fire-fighting mode. This episode gives us an understanding of the problems, the core reasons for these problems and solutions which can dramatically improve any manufacturing plant's performance within a very short period of time

Episode 9 • 14 Jul 2021

TOC Thinking Process: Going beyond Data In Decision Making (Part 3)

Find out how to overcome bias in decision making by using the right thought-ware. Bad decisions can have long standing consequences. This episode explains how to use deductive reasoning to avoid common traps in analysing problems and making decisions

Episode 8 • 07 Jul 2021

JIT: Just In Time - Still Relevant OR A Solution of the Past?

Just in Time is a methodology first developed and implemented in the 70's at Toyota manufacturing plant. This episode will explore the shortcomings with JIT and if this methodology still holds relevance in the current conditions or do we need to evolve and move to a better and sustainable solution

Episode 7 • 30 Jun 2021

TOC Thinking Processes & Root Cause Analysis : Going Beyond 5 "Why"s! (Part 2)

Theory of Constraints thinking takes a very different and much deeper approach to reach the core issue involved. This episode will help us understand why a mindset of 'synthesis' is imperative to find the core conflict of a system and to design breakthrough solutions

Episode 6 • 23 Jun 2021

TOC Thinking Processes: A toolkit for thinking clearly (Part 1)

Theory of Constraints is a body of knowledge often defined as a powerful yet simple management philosophy that suggests that output of a system is always limited by the constraint of the system. This episode will help us to understand how we can think clearly and develop breakthrough solutions

Episode 5 • 16 Jun 2021

Managing Supply Chains: A simple yet powerful solution

In the last episode we did a breakdown of typical supply chain problems and how they are all linked to the practice of manufacturing as per forecasts. In this episode we propose a solution by going back to the basics of inventory management

Episode 4 • 09 Jun 2021

Managing supply chain

In this episode, we take a deep dive precisely into the root cause of this perplexing issue - why do supply chains often fail, despite the numerous people and the cutting edge technologies it has at its disposal?

Episode 3 • 02 Jun 2021

Influencer Loyalty Programs

In the last episode we discussed how to win long-term loyalty of retailers. However, in many product categories there can be other influencers for a purchase- it could be architects/ carpenters for furniture, masons/engineers for construction products, mechanics for automobiles and so on

Episode 2 • 25 May 2021

Re-inventing Retailer Loyalty Programs

Most companies try hard to win retailer loyalty through various temporary offers and schemes. However, these standard, time bound, volume-slab wise, schemes do not promote any real loyalty. This episode will help us find how firms can truly bond with retailers without any of these issues!