1. Operating Principles of Preston Hubble
My purpose is to make a significant,measurabledifferencein the lives of people by contributingto the success of
our jointbusiness ventureand in the personal lives of those I touch. Here aremy Operating Principles, key
indicators to which I pay strictattention to achieve this purpose:
Safety, Occupational Health, Environmental Stewardship (EHS)
The hallmark of a well-operated business is thatthe people who do the work of the organization go home at the
end of their workday perhaps tired, but whole. As the EHS Manager of a major hazardous chemical site, I have
spearheaded several programs to engage people in improvingtheir personal and team safety performance. I have
involved myself actively in Occupational Health decisionsthatimpactthe longer-term health of employees. And I
have supported significantefforts to ensure that the products sold and the processes used to produce the
products are environmentally sound. Payingproper attention to these aspects of business isgood business for the
company and for its employees.
People
Duringmy work as a Unit Manager and in other leadership roles, I haveenjoyed tremendous success with people
in the manufacturingplantenvironments in which I have worked. I have several stories which describehow I have
worked with people, some more challenging,and with people who try hard but struggle to excel and with hard
people who can do the work but lack the proper motivation. I am energized by opportunities to mentor less
experienced managers,technologists and plantoperators and to learn from those who want to teach. I feel a
positivechallengeto bringout the best people have to offer by usingmeans from coachingto the company’s
correctiveaction process. Above all,I treat people ethically and with respect and set expectations that they do so
with me and others.
Quality
Havingbeen a Quality Manager in a manufacturingbusiness which was,then, firstputting into placeISO 9001, I
am quite comfortable and effective operatingin a process-driven world. Havingalso labored in Sales and
Technical Service, I have felt the stingof a customer’s displeasure,inconvenienceand unnecessary costwhen my
firmlet them down. There is a happy medium where our products and services can satisfy even the most
demanding customer while we still makea profit. In the end, the quality process approach transforms a struggling
business into a reliableprovider which customers will counton and which, ultimately,makes employees more
secure. I know how to make that happen in the real world of business.
Productivity
When people look casually atthe manufacturingplant,they see equipment, materials,and people generating a
product. My trainingand experience as CapitaI and Procurement Manager taught me to see piles of money all
alongthe way – in capital investment,in inventories,in energy, in salaries and benefits,and in waste. What I have
done, and can do again,is educateour people about what they arereally doing- spendingresources in order to
produce something of greater valuethat someone wants to buy. As a Plant Manager, I see my main task as
informing,motivating, measuring,and makingadjustments so that the production process hums along, producing
that valuableproductat higher quality,higher efficiencies and lower cost than our competitors.
Cost Control
Although I placethis category lastamongmy OperatingPrinciples,itis obviously notthe leastimportant. Money
matters, the costs have to be rightand spend must be controlled. As a plantmanager, I believe that cost fallsinto
linewhen the firstfour Principles aresatisfied. But costhas its own special nicheas thefinal arbiter of success.
My background in Lean, Six Sigma and Simplification Methods provide tools to monitor and deal with cost and
spend as possibleearly-warningindicatorsof issues. No one in business who wishes to remain in business can
ignore the reason they are in business in thefirstplace– to make profits for the stakeholders,to secure the
business againstfutureupheaval and to measure, at the end of the day, to know whether the overall purposehas
been successfully met.