Originally Posted by
Diamondback
If somebody keels over and I get named the next Colt CEO, my first moves:
1. Get the hell out of Damnyankeestan. Offer relocation assistance for employees.
2. No more union shop--instead make shares a part of the compensation package so every employee is a part owner, and run things more like Toyota/Nissan/etc's auto plants in the South where everybody has a voice.
3. Reduce outsourcing to only those things it makes sense to outsource. Things like inviting John Thomas's Retro Arms Works to spearhead the "Retro AR" line, finding someone similar to do the Retro 1911's.
4. Streamline the catalog--focus each line on a handful of core models to be offered every year, and have another handful of slots for things to be rotated in and out of production every year. (Using 1911s for example, the "core line" would be one each Blued and Stainless in Government, Commander and Officers sizes, the Combat Commander and a "basic-bitch milspec" Government. WWI Repro, WWII Repro, nickeled .38 Super would be among the "rotators.")
5. Engage with the customer base at NRAAM, SHOT, etc for Market Research. Focus the "rotating production slots" on most demanded models, with the understanding that after one year in production every rotator model will be taking at least a year off.
6. Now that the AR is "open source," work with SAAMI, other manufacturers and the suppliers to establish a "TDP Compliance" working group governing industry standards to help weed out the Fly By Night shitbirds--loudly add "Meets or Exceeds TDP Standards" on participants' certified models, and run an ad campaign stressing "if it's not good enough for us to put in our servicemembers' rifles, it's not good enough for us to put in YOURS." Same with the 1911.
After that, adjust and fine tune as needed.
I'm pretty much in agreement with everything you wrote. Very good ideas.
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"The beauty of the second amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it." –Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers
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