Operational excellence is achieved when every member of an organization can see the flow of value to the customer and fix that flow before it breaks down. But as a manager of people, you know that this isn’t an easy goal to achieve — especially if your team members are now working from home instead of working together in one building. As Chris explains in a story about his experience mountain climbing and running up against a 9-foot tall stretch of wall, “We make a great plan — and then we run into that blank wall. The COVID pandemic is an example of that wall.”In this podcast, Chris and Corey have a conversation with Valerie Schlitt, founder and CEO of VSA, about what to do with the problems this wall has created for her team members and those of her clients. Valerie holds a Wharton MBA and has 19 years of experience directing a great team of her own who use their skills to help VSA’s customers develop their businesses. “Collaborating with people is one of the biggest sources of ways to solve problems,” Valerie explains. But with the work-from-home movement, how can you maintain that same group problem-solving?In talking with Valerie, Chris and Corey ask for her expertise and share their own experiences in managing these challenges: How do you motivate your team to rally around a radical decision? How do you get everyone on your team to recognize the value of the expertise andtalent of the other team members? How do you help your team members see where they themselves are deficient and thenlearn to bolster that with other people’s talents? How do you encourage everyone on your team to respect other team members whenpeople are so different? How does self-importance get in the way of operational excellence?As usual, Chris and Corey create an atmosphere of camaraderie with their podcast guests. You’ll enjoy the flow of conversation and the information these three experts share.About Our GuestValerie Schlitt is the founder, owner, and CEO of VSA, a B2B call center that helps clientsgenerate leads and produce new business. Valerie also heads up the Philadelphia chapter of AA-ISP.