Springfield, Missouri
I work with privately held manufacturers and industrial companies in Springfield, Southwest Missouri, and across the Midwest. I come in as a fractional COO, VP of Operations, or interim plant leader—especially when an owner is stepping back to grow the business, or a growing company would bloat G&A by filling the seat too soon.
Who this is for
Leadership transitions
You want to spend more time on customers, product, or a possible sale. The company has depended on you as the unofficial chief of operations. I help keep the cadence, settle decision rights, and coach the people already on the team so the transition does not become a stall.
Growth-stage companies
The business has outgrown informal operations, but a full-time COO or VP of Operations would be more seat than the work can fill. I bring GM-level help a few days a week so you get the judgment without the permanent G&A.
Services
I do not sell a canned program. We start with the work, then choose the cadence: a short diagnostic, one to three days a week, or a full-time interim stretch.
A regular cadence in the operating seat: the weekly rhythm, the metric stack, and coaching for the leaders who will still be there when the work steps down.
Coverage when the seat cannot sit empty, with a practical first ninety days and a plan for what should survive the assignment.
A fixed-scope look at how work actually flows, which measures matter, and a ninety-day plan the existing team can run.
All services, including change management and growth-stage build-out
About
I am John Hawkins. I was general manager of a stainless processing-equipment business unit, led multi-site plant operations in the United States, and spent time overseas integrating an acquired manufacturing operation. I am a US Navy nuclear-trained veteran, a Lean practitioner, and I live here in Springfield.
I have grown a business unit, run a multi-site operating budget, and later, as an interim executive, helped a mid-sized manufacturer put operating metrics in the hands of the people closest to the work. I have also started and run businesses of my own, so I understand the pressure an owner feels when the next hire looks expensive.
Insights
A full-time operations hire is often the right decision, and just as often an early one. Here is how I help owners tell the difference.
In many closely held plants, the owner is still the unofficial chief of operations. Here is what to stabilize before that person steps back.
Revenue can be up and the plant can still feel tighter every quarter. These are the patterns I look for when G&A is getting ahead of the work.
An interim plant leader should leave the operation better than they found it, and leave behind a rhythm the team can keep. Here is the sequence I use.
Lean is a way of seeing work, not a vocabulary test. Here is how I use it in smaller plants without the binders and the buzzwords.
A diagnostic should stand on its own, even if it leads to more work together. Here is what I think you should hold in your hand when it is done.