About Kay Sever

"Look for what is missing and you will find your greatest opportunities for improvement."  Kay Sever, 2009. 

Kay is a Management Consultant, Sustainable Improvement Coach/Consultant, Author and Speaker who partners with organizations to identify, value and capture lost opportunity and remove the organizational barriers that prevent sustainable change. Her simplified approach to improvement  gives clients repeatable common-sense processes for increasing productivity, reducing costs, solving problems and changing a culture.  Her first book titled "Building An Opportunity Culture" is available under Products/Books on this website.

  Speaking Truly, Dealing Truly, Living Truly...

Kay graduated from Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management and is Founder and President of OptimiZ Consulting LLC. She has been helping organizations improve operational, financial and organizational performance for the past 35 years; for the past 13 years, she has shown thousands of people how to improve processes with a focus on lost opportunity. She has 28 years of hands-on experience with mobile/fixed plant equipment processes and their associated support functions (maintenance, purchasing, accounting, marketing, etc.) She has worked in 10 states, Canada, Australia and South America.

Kay is certified in quality improvement and is a CMC (Certified Management Consultant). Only 1% of all consultants are awarded this certification, which is earned through client testimonials, ethical practices, and a working knowledge of consulting processes that maximize client value.

She is a member of the Institute of Management Consultants, National Speakers Association, American Society for Quality,Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, and the Arts and Business Council of Greater Phoenix. She is a past member of the Arizona Quality Alliance, Institute of Management Accountants, Industrial Minerals Association of North America (Best Practice Chair), Arizona Mining Association (Public Relations Chair), and the Gilbert AZ Economic Development Council.

Kay has spoken at over 20 conferences and conventions in 6 states over the past 9 years. Her enlightening and motivational keynotes focus on changing perceptions about opportunity and the barriers that get in the way of improvement. She reveals how millions of dollars never appear on the bottom line each year as a result of missed opportunities, relates personal stories about the "people side of improvement", the barriers that keep us from improving, and empowers clients and audiences to step out of their comfort zones and courageously address problems that “eat their lunch” on a daily basis.

YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION:
The Top Ten Reasons to choose me as your consultant and partner in improvement:

1. My work ethic - I give 110% to every client and keep you connected to the process with frequent communications between all parties.
2. I ask for your participation only when your role is important to the success of the project. I will not waste your time.
3. I know where to look and what questions to ask to help you find millions of dollars of hidden value at your operating locations.
4. My strong cross-functional experience is an asset when working with executives, site management teams and operations personnel to solve a variety of problems.
5. When we meet, we can get right to work because I already understand many of the operational and maintenance daily issues you face, as well as getting good support from purchasing, the warehouse, accounting, etc. I also have hands-on experience with the planning/budgeting/capital approval processes and can give you new insights about connecting those processes to the improvement process.
6. You can now choose LIVE internet-based consulting, coaching and training to reduce travel costs and time away for your people.
7. I use a unique approach to valuing lost opportunity that ties dollars to problems and raises awareness about the value of lost because problems occurred.
8. I create a comfort zone for managers and employees to talk honestly about problems to address.
9. Your employees will not feel threatened when I am on-site. I do not invade operations with an army of people that require training before work can begin.
10. I help large and small organizations create and implement very successful programs. Strategy and focus are the keys to success, not the number of bodies on site or the size of the fee.

My History with Mining Goes Way Back...
My grandfather fought in World War I, then operated a steam shovel in the coal fields of Ohio after the war. This is a picture of his Marion Shovel and his commemorative copper medallion.  Maybe my passion for helping mines succeed was passed to me long ago....   

                               

TM
OPPORTUNITY: An odorless invisible element defined as a favorable set of circumstances in business. The only element with an infinite atomic number and weight.