How to Make the Most of an OpX Work Product: Spectrum Brands' Story

“We ended up tying in some of our own leadership things at Spectrum Brands,” says Cifax. “We use strength finders for leadership development, and we talked about that along with communication.”

It also meant tying in organizational goals and centering the team’s operations, including a focus on business acumen.

“It’s value engineering, [Andy’s team] is trying to save the company money, and so the business acumen is super important, and I think that was a great door that we opened with the team,” says Cifax.

Covering business acumen included building out a P&L statement specific to Spectrum Brands, but applicable to most business settings. Seys says he sees value in detailing business goals like this, as it’s easy to take for granted that everyone is aware of these principles.

Centering the team’s mission in the discussion resonated. In a post-event survey conducted by Spectrum leadership, a newer team member noted, “I enjoyed learning more about the business acumen side of things, especially since I’m not very familiar with the company from a financial standpoint. Gaining this insight really helps put things into perspective.”

Eliminate preconceptions

Preconceived ideas about a topic have potential to set the discussion on fixed rails. That’s why Spectrum’s leadership chose to remove them entirely.

To encourage fresh perspectives and organic conversation, Seys opted to not disclose the purpose of the meeting ahead of time.

“I didn’t want any biases coming into the room,” says Seys. “I wanted them a little bit off-edge, because investing time in personal development in a working team is very rare in my career. I’m pretty sure none of them expected what we talked about.”

Make it interactive and engaging

OpX work products are dense with valuable information, but that same depth can feel overwhelming if delivered straight from the page.

Seys recognized this while preparing to discuss the work product, and augmented his presentation with a few fun touches, like short videos and even an AI-generated allegory, “to keep the pace and the variety of the workshop going,” he says.

To set the tone for the discussion, Seys asked AI to adapt Abraham Lincoln’s “sharpen the axe” quote, returning a short story: After losing a home to the wind, a carpenter focused on improving their craft, leading to stronger homes that could withstand the next storm.

“In packaging, how many times do things fall over because we’re not fully skilled or aware of certain dynamics. You have to sharpen your mind, your tools. So, I set that context to start,” Seys says.Breaking the work product into smaller parts and adding interactive elements can help to engage team members.rikkyal via Getty Images

Between this story and supplemental videos covering everything from how to leverage being an introvert to Shark Tank negotiation scenes, Seys was able to keep his team engaged throughout the conversation, and even take some pressure off himself as the presenter.

“I wanted to build in three-to-four-minute times where I could think about something else to say, versus having to always be in the moment,” Seys says.

Tackle it in bite-sized chunks

Another side effect of OpX work products being so dense with valuable information is that it’s a lot to cover.

Even in a four-hour focused session on the work product, “it was so expansive; there’s a lot in there, and we rushed the end of it,” Seys says. “The people that are building these work products have multiple years of experience that they’re boiling down. But to take it in and learn it, should be in much smaller chunks.”

Seys says if he were to do this process again, he would prioritize certain parts more and reduce the emphasis on covering the whole piece. He suggests “reading it and most importantly, deciding what you want to get out of it, and then tailoring your implementation.”

Breaking up the source material can help presenters to expand more on pertinent topics, and allow for more group work, as some post-event survey respondents called for.

“I wish we had time for more small group interaction/practice,” one respondent said. Another suggested “roleplaying opportunities to give us more tools and background to help navigate complicated workplace dynamics.”

Make the meeting a starting point, not the finish line

A single meeting can generate valuable ideas and conversation, but it shouldn’t be the end point.

Getting maximum value out of an OpX work product discussion means “it’s probably not a one-time type of event,” Seys advised. “I can do follow-up on this; the work product can live on and it doesn’t need to be a discrete event.

Seys noted that his team didn’t cover negotiation much in the initial meeting, but that presents an opportunity to cover the topic directly in a lunch-and-learn with a colleague in Spectrum’s strategic sourcing team.

Discussions like this can also serve as a launch point to expand awareness about PMMI’s overall offerings, Seys says.

Many people may know about the PACK EXPO trade shows or magazines like Packaging World or ProFood World, “but they may not see the whole family of what PMMI is, OpX work products cover three areas: People (engaging and developing the workforce), Process (driving operational excellence), and Projects (boosting efficiency and reducing costs).PMMI OpX Leadership Networkespecially when they’re young or within just one narrow band of where PMMI is,” he says. “I’d spend time to explain that, how PMMI can help people with additional resources; I would probably add that into the training. This is not the only work product—there’s a whole list of them.”


That goes for leadership considering working with an OpX work product as well. Spectrum’s team found value in the “Voices of Women in Packaging and Processing” work product, but there are 21 more available to support teams in technical, personal, or career growth. Presenting any of them effectively can turn a static document into a launchpad for team development.