Flextronics: Keeping IT Running On ‘Just Enough’, by Peter High in CIO Insight

Peter High

2-14-2011

Excerpt from the Article:

In his role as SVP/CIO at Flextronics, David Smoley has had to work within the constraints of a business that is a leader in the application of Lean manufacturing techniques.  Rather than view that as a problem for IT, however, Smoley has embraced Lean practices in his own department. Flextronics is a provider of vertically integrated advanced design and electronics manufacturing services (EMS) to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). When Smoley took over his current post in 2006, the company, and the economy, were doing well. Rather than use this as justification to invest in a wide array of new technologies — as many IT executives do in good times — he instilled a disciplined team culture around the theme “just enough.” There are several areas that Smoley recommends his fellow IT leaders focus on in preparation for the next inevitable economic downturn:

• First, make people your priority. Smoley’s emphasis on providing frequent, specific and meaningful performance evaluations has enabled his organization to identify its best people, and determine which skills are going to be rising in importance. By focusing on getting the right people in the right jobs and the right locations during strong economic times, Smoley was able to avoid significant staff cuts during the downturn. He has driven an extensive focus on retaining the best people and, now that more job opportunities are available, Smoley hopes to reap the rewards of having planned ahead of time to give his best people reason to stay at Flextronics

To read the full article, please visit CIO Insight