Everyday Business Problems

the Crysler Club
  • 4.9 (15)
  • ENTREPRENEURSHIP
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

When it comes to your business, you know everything – except what you don't. Hosted by David Crysler, each episode we dive into finding and solving everyday business problems. Learn from business leaders and subject matter experts about the challenges they've overcome, and the challenges they still face. Join us for fresh insights, real talk, and inspiration to grow your business!

  1. 4D AGO

    Two Customers, Same Bolt: How a Misconfigured ERP Trapped a Spare Parts Division

    Two customers ordered the same bolt. The ERP treated both as custom-engineered transactions, kicking off two full procurement loops that never needed to happen. The team built spreadsheets to compensate. Leadership wanted a new system. In this solo episode, Dave Crysler walks through a real mid-market manufacturing case study where the ERP was doing exactly what it was configured to do, and the configuration was wrong for the business model the division was actually running. He breaks down the audit conversation, the reconfiguration that fixed it without replacing the system, and the structural pattern that makes this misconfiguration so common after acquisitions and growth. What You'll Discover: • Why the impulse to replace your ERP is almost always the wrong first move, even when the frustration is real • The financial incentive behind the "you need a new ERP" conversation that vendors and consultants don't always disclose • The reframe of what an ERP fundamentally is, and why no software is "smart" on its own • The two-customers-one-bolt case study and what it reveals about configuration mismatch • How a custom-manufacturing ERP configuration crippled a spare parts and service division • The audit conversation that surfaces the structural mismatch in the first couple of hours • The reconfiguration work that fixed the system without replacing it • Three versions of the configuration-vs-business-model mismatch every mid-market manufacturer should know • When replacement actually is the right call, and the markers that signal it • Why this pattern repeats so often in mid-market manufacturing after acquisitions and growth Most mid-market manufacturers don't need a new ERP. They need to go back to the configuration with fresh eyes and ask whether the system is set up for the business they are actually running today. If you're seeing the workaround layer build up around your existing system, this is the conversation to have before you start shopping for a replacement.

    25 min

  2. MAY 5

    Most Change Rollouts Start at the Wrong End

    Dave Crysler unpacks why most change initiatives die on the shop floor and the sequence that makes them actually stick. Most rollouts answer one of three questions, sometimes two. Almost never all three, in the right order. Why, What, and How aren't just questions to cover in a kickoff deck. They're a non-negotiable sequence, and most leaders run them backwards. In this solo episode, Dave breaks down the failure mode he sees every week: a trained team that reverts in six weeks, a leader who assumes resistance, and a rollout that started with How and never circled back to Why. He walks through what each layer of the sequence actually requires on the floor, and what to do Monday morning if you've already rolled something out that didn't stick. What You'll Discover: • Why leaders consistently default to How and skip the first two questions, and the leadership-perspective trap underneath that pattern • What the Why actually sounds like when it's done well, including a real example from a $100M services business facing an AI-driven survival window • Why the What isn't the description of the new process, it's the answer to "what about me" from the operator's perspective • How to build the How with the people who have to live in it, instead of handing it down, anchored in a recent LinkedIn post that nailed the move • Why skipping Why turns the What into a mandate, and skipping What turns the How into a punishment • The exact admission script to use when you need to re-anchor a rollout that's already off the rails • Where this sequence fits with Clarity, Consistency, Accountability, and why CCA is the universal diagnostic but Why/What/How is the change-specific instrument If you've ever watched a well-trained team revert to the old way six weeks after launch, this is the episode. The fix isn't more training. It's running the rollout in the right order.

    25 min

  3. APR 28

    Why Owner Dependency Is a Today Problem, Not an Exit Problem

    Most of the conversation around owner dependency in manufacturing happens through the lens of an exit. Buyers discount your business, your valuation suffers, your retirement plans take a hit. In this solo episode, Dave Crysler reframes the conversation. For founder-led manufacturers, owner dependency is a today problem first, an exit problem second. He breaks down what it actually looks like up close, why documenting your processes won't fix it, and the practical move you can run on yourself this week, without hiring anyone. What You'll Discover: • Why most of the advice on owner dependency is missing the point, and what changes when you frame it as a today problem instead of an exit problem • The diagnostic patterns that show up before a meeting even happens, including "today it's blue, tomorrow it's green" and the favoritism trap • Why documenting your SOPs won't fix owner dependency, and the keystone problem nobody talks about • How Clarity, Consistency, and Accountability work in sequence, and why most owners try to skip straight to the third one • The "hold up a mirror" conversation and what it actually looks like when an owner faces what their day-to-day behavior is doing to the business • A practical exercise any founder can run this week with a sheet of paper and tally marks • What changes when an owner actually does this work, including the strange feeling of calm that catches most of them off guard • Why bringing people up doesn't remove your stress, it shifts it • The reason information is not the bottleneck and readiness is, and why the people who need this work the most are the least likely to hire someone to help The work of fixing owner dependency goes deeper than documenting your processes. It's about Clarity, Consistency, Accountability, and the leadership development underneath all three. If you're tired of being the bottleneck in your own business, the right time to start is this week, while you're still in the building. Start with paper and tally marks. Track your time. Track your decisions. The size of the dependency you're sitting on will reveal itself.

    33 min

  4. APR 21

    Transforming the Healthcare Supply Chain: Building the Bridge to What's Next (Part 3 of 3)

    Dave Crysler wraps the three-part series with Cody Fisher, President of Concordance Innovations, on transforming the healthcare supply chain. This episode zooms out to the bridge between today's operations and what's next, the leadership mindset required to stay nimble in a landscape changing by the hour, and why the real constraint on innovation isn't capability anymore. It's prioritization. What You'll Discover: • Why "can we" is no longer the hard question, and how "should we" and "how do we" are replacing it • The shift from great employees who do it all themselves to great employees who build virtual teams around them • Why three-year plans are getting completed in 60 days, and what that means for how leaders should plan • How the journey itself uncovers bigger problems than the ones you set out to solve • Why not innovating isn't standing still, it's falling behind, and how to reframe the conversation with your team • A tactical reframe for the vendor conversation: tell them the problem and what you can spend, not what you want them to build • Why the leaders winning right now are defining outcomes, not destinations, and staying flexible on the route Whether you lead supply chain operations in healthcare or any industry navigating this level of change, this conversation gives you a practical framework for moving forward when the ground keeps shifting under you.

    52 min

  5. APR 14

    Transforming the Healthcare Supply Chain: The Reality of the Day-to-Day Operations (Part 2 of 3)

    Dave Crysler welcomes Cody Fisher back for part two of their three-part series on transforming the healthcare supply chain. This episode gets tactical, digging into why supply chain teams stay stuck in firefighting mode, how leaders can build a culture of innovation without mandating it from a distance, and what it actually looks like to adopt AI and automation when your data is far from perfect. What You'll Discover: • Why most firefighting isn't caused by too many problems, but by no way to prioritize them • How Cody built a personal "shadow team" of AI agents to scale his own productivity • Why the gap between organizations embracing innovation and those resisting it widens by the hour, not by the quarter • The leadership principle that nobody is above the need to be more productive, and why it starts at the top • Why expecting AI tools to be 100% perfect is the fastest way to never use them, and how a 90/10 mindset changes everything • How to use automation to clean your data and leverage it simultaneously instead of waiting for perfect • Why the organizations thinking five steps ahead are stacking blocks in a different order than everyone else Whether you lead supply chain operations or any team stuck in reactive mode, this conversation offers a practical roadmap for moving from firefighting to forward progress.

    50 min

  6. APR 7

    Transforming the Healthcare Supply Chain: The Real Challenges We're Facing (Part 1 of 3)

    Dave Crysler kicks off a three-part series with Cody Fisher, President of Concordance Innovations, to unpack the real challenges facing the healthcare supply chain. In this first episode, they dig into why the industry struggles with data trust, how organizations get trapped in analysis paralysis, and what it actually takes to drive change in one of the most complex supply chains in the world. What You'll Discover: • Why healthcare supply chains can't benchmark themselves against retail or automotive, and what makes the stakes fundamentally different • How data distrust cascades through every decision, from ordering to inventory to forecasting • Why waiting to "clean your data first" is a trap that keeps organizations stuck for years • The real fear behind AI and automation adoption: are we just speeding up bad processes? • Why optimizing for cost and maintaining resiliency aren't tradeoffs in healthcare, they're both non-negotiable • How flipping the question from "why should we change?" to "what happens if we don't?" creates breakthrough moments • The shift from squeezing contracts and price to creating value through operational change • What leadership characteristics actually drive innovation, and why the best leaders are great storytellers Whether you lead supply chain operations in healthcare or any industry wrestling with complexity, data challenges, and the pressure to modernize, this conversation will ground you in the realities that matter before the solutions make sense.

    46 min

  7. MAR 31

    The System Nobody Picked Is Running Your Business

    Dave Crysler breaks down one of the most expensive, invisible problems in manufacturing operations: competing sources of truth. Using a real example from a print manufacturer running three parallel systems, Dave walks through what happens when leadership never declares which system is the master, and why the resulting chaos costs six figures before anyone even notices. What You'll Discover: • Why "which number do we use" is probably the most expensive question in your organization • How a print manufacturer's MIS, accounting tool, and paper job tickets created a no-win invoicing nightmare • The two types of people who suffer most when sources of truth compete, and why both cost you on different timelines • Why this is a leadership decision, not a technology problem, and the critical difference between having one system and having one master • How people gravitate toward whichever system gives them the convenient answer in the moment • Why companies that grow through acquisition face a multiplied version of this same problem • The crawl step most leaders skip: why you audit before you decide, not the other way around • How to designate a master source of truth and enforce it through Clarity, Consistency, and Accountability If your team spends more time questioning where a number came from than acting on what it means, this episode will change how you think about the systems running your business. The tools are rarely the problem. The absence of a decision is.

    24 min

  8. MAR 24

    Your Inventory Count Is 100%. Your Floor Tells a Different Story.

    Dave Crysler sits down with Sharon Custer, founder of Inventory Optimization Pro, to unpack why so many manufacturers trust their system numbers while their warehouse tells a completely different story. Sharon spent years in inventory strategy inside a Fortune 100 manufacturer before launching her own practice, and she brings real examples of how misaligned data, inconsistent naming, and siloed thinking quietly erode cash flow and operational performance. What You'll Discover: • Why a 100% inventory count can still leave you with stock-outs and overstock at the same time • How SKU naming inconsistencies create ghost inventory that ties up cash and tanks your reporting • The real cost of "deferred explanations," inventory adjustments that never get to root cause • Why your demand forecast is probably built on false data, and how stock-outs and promotions distort the numbers • How to gold-tag a single order and track its full journey to expose hidden margin leaks • Why treating inventory like cash, and cycle counting like bank reconciliation, is the foundation for accuracy • Where AI actually helps with inventory operations, and why clean data has to come first • How siloed thinking between finance, operations, and purchasing means everyone is looking at the same system but drawing different conclusions If you are running inventory-based operations and wondering why the numbers never quite add up, this conversation will help you see where the real problems are hiding, and what to do about them starting this week.

    44 min
See All (186)

4.9
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

When it comes to your business, you know everything – except what you don't. Hosted by David Crysler, each episode we dive into finding and solving everyday business problems. Learn from business leaders and subject matter experts about the challenges they've overcome, and the challenges they still face. Join us for fresh insights, real talk, and inspiration to grow your business!

Information

  • Creator
    the Crysler Club
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    186
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © the Crysler Club
  • Show Website
    Everyday Business Problems