Some years ago I had the privilege of attending an industry event that included CFOs from top-shelf advertising agencies. At the time, I had been in my current role for a short time. I was eagerly seeking nuggets of wisdom that I could apply to the day-to-day operation of the in-house agency for which I worked.

I received some good advice but thinking back, I don't recall most of it. Truth be told, I was excited about the project efficiency measures I was planning and was looking for validation that my idea was brilliant. There was one bit of advice I do recall receiving, although it burst my bubble. “Don't hardwire anything. What you use to measure what you think matters today, most likely won't matter tomorrow. If you are doing your job, the talent will have what they need to do their best work and that work will work.”

In February at IHAF, we’re talking about Operational Excellence. When thinking about how to kick-off the theme, I wondered what operational excellence means to in-house teams. What does it look-like, feel-like?

Experience tells me that at its best, operational excellence is something like the timeless tagline: “At BASF, we don't make a lot of the products you buy. We make a lot of the products you buy better.” It’s not what we do, it's how we do it. It’s process that’s effortless. Organizational design that makes sense. Resource management that’s resourceful. Technology that enables.

Your staff, clients and management team should feel the positive effects of operational excellence. My question is: How has operational excellence made a lot of the work you do better? Tell us what’s worked by joining in our conversation below.