- James W. Myers
- Contributing Associate Professor
- jimyers@wvi.com
James W. Myers
Message
The challenge for organizations is not the lack of resources; to the contrary, it is the on-going and unseen waste of available resources over a protracted period of time that leaves the organization's resources depleted. To overcome this challenge and get to the point of being the capable, flexible and continually evolving enterprise that best serves customers and markets requires the explicit recognition and leveraging of core competencies towards clearly defined goals – the alignment of strategy and tactics, means and ends.
Truths
“The Four Realities:
Things that are, and seem to be
Things that are, and seem not to be,
Things that are not, and seem to be,
Things that are not, and seem not to be."
" The virtuous strive to know the truth about these realities.”
-Epictetus, writing in Discourses, about 100 AD
“Our knowledge can only be finite, while our ignorance must necessarily be infinite.”
-Karl Popper
“While it is difficult to change a company that is struggling, it is next to impossible to change a company that is showing all the outward signs of success. Without the spur of a crisis or a period of great stress, most organizations - like most people - are incapable of changing the habits and attitudes of a lifetime.”
- John F. McDonnell, McDonnell- Douglas Corporation
“A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.”
- George S. Patton, United States Army
"Sustained success is largely a matter of focusing regularly on the right things and making a lot of uncelebrated little improvements every day."
- Theodore Levitt, Harvard Business School
Education
- M.M., Willamette University - Operations Focus
- B.S., Western Oregon University - Economics
Biography
Jim Myers currently serves as contributing associate professor, bringing with him two decades of operations leadership experience focusing on customer service, product delivery, project management and process improvement.
His background includes leadership roles in maintenance, materials, and manufacturing management, lean implementation, systems development and enterprise resource planning in capital equipment and aerospace/defense sectors. Recently he has applied his skills towards product development, quality systems and supply chain management in the context of new venture creation.
His professional interests revolve around organizational understanding, alignment and improvement from Strategic, Operational and Tactical perspectives. As an advocate of Operational Art, Strategy Alignment and Continuous Improvement, he brings order from chaos and success from crisis regardless of the obstacles. He is also the founder of Praxis Analytics Incorporated, a business consultancy focusing on enterprise optimization and process improvement.
Jim is a former Marine and an unrepentant student of economics, history and human progress. In his spare time, enjoys spending time with his family, reading, discussing ideas, camping, collecting practical artifacts from the past and perhaps most of all - working on things – like home additions, tree houses, old trucks, and new business processes.
Areas of Instruction
Operations and Information Management, Project Management, Strategy Alignment
Professional Training
Recent Advanced Technical and Improvement Methodology Training and Seminars:Six Sigma Green Belt Training, November 2007
Accelerated Improvement Workshop (AIW) Leader Class Boeing, Lean Office, May 2007
Good System, Good Thinking, April 2007
ITAR and Empowered Official Seminar, February 2007
Competitive Advantage through Operations, November 2006
Benchmarking Seminar, SISU Consulting Group, June 2006
Lean Leader Certificate Training, March 2005
Lean Introduction and Advanced Workshops NWHPEC, June/July 2004
Selected Publications
“Ethical Reasoning, Epistemology, and Administrative Inquiry,” (with Fred Thompson), Research in Public Policy Analysis and Management; Volume 14, 2006.