It was the mid-1970’s and the advent of the computer age. Rebecca A. Morgan had graduated from Wichita State with honors and earned her master’s degree in economics in a mere five years. With an uncanny insight, she knew that computers would change the way the world conducts business. Having moved to Delaware out of college, she knew she had to advance her computer skills to position herself for success. With two job offers she accepted the lesser paying one at Perdue Incorporated (yes, the chicken company) as a programmer and ultimately promoted to accounting systems manager. She intuitively pursued the problem solving freedoms she was promised during this critical training ground for self-development. True to form, she quickly grasped the information used to manage costs and revamped their cost accounting and feed formulation systems.

While Rebecca has always been one step ahead of the future and the competition,
it was a bitter cold day in the 1950’s small town of Wellington, Kansas that put a formulative stamp on her personality and work ethic. As young Rebecca Morgan trudged to school between her big brothers, bucking a snowstorm that nearly whipped her away, she strained into the heaving winds resolutely, using her brothers’ sturdy bodies to brace her. She did then what she does today – find a way to meet the task at hand—no excuses—and succeed at solving the problem.

Born October 8, 1953, Rebecca A. Morgan, President of Fulcrum ConsultingWorks Inc. in Cleveland, learned early how to leverage resources at hand to solve problems, how to pinpoint at a glance hidden but critical complexities, even when buried too deep for average eyes to see. A brother’s sturdy frame, a new mechanical part, a revised process. Same difference in the end. For Rebecca, seeing the problem has always been the first step to solving it.

Keen analytical vision and astute mathematical and economics aptitude have positioned Rebecca to successfully enter the historically male-dominated world of manufacturing consulting. "What clients value the most is my strategic thinking and the way I help them quickly pinpoint veiled issues they may not have seen," Rebecca said. Fulcrum is among a select handful of manufacturing specialists with the combination of technical and people management skills for complete operations overhauls. Manufacturing executives across a spectrum of industries value her expertise. Her work touches every department, every function. As an example, Fulcrum recently assisted Avery Dennison, whose poorly defined and overly complicated systems were impairing customer service and costing them money. The corporate executives had not begun to understand the magnitude of the problem until Rebecca discovered the origin of their problems.

"Becky has the unique ability to look at a situation from 30,000 feet above," said Art Koch, who worked with Rebecca at Avery Dennison. "She has the hands-on work experience and the academic background that allows her to analyze production processes from a complex perspective and then help the company implement specific changes that increase productivity and customer satisfaction and improve reliability."

Today Rebecca’s strategy consultation helps 25 to100 million dollar manufacturing firms get products out better, faster and cheaper. "I am most often called in to define strategy, provide project management and offer implementation support," Rebecca said. Many industrial companies are 20 years behind in technology and strategy to be competitive, which Rebecca seeks to correct. "In many industrial companies we’re still using the same things we did in WWII in terms of thought process and management style. We are in need of manufacturing structure and strategies that support market needs. Manufacturing exists to meet and exceed market requirements; we must make sure it is positioned to do it well."

Rebecca’s manufacturing acumen began back in her Kansas childhood. Two things she remembers about her youth: one, she grew up "on the wrong side of the tracks," and two, she’s glad she did. Her father, Robert Gaddie, worked his way up from milkman, salesman and postal clerk to better times as a postmaster. Mother, Glenna, had four children, two boys and two girls, and worked close to home. The children were taught frugality and responsibility, and became self-sufficient at an early age.

Rebecca started kindergarten at age four, walking the five blocks to school, whatever the weather. Recalling that wintry day she struggled to school between her brothers, she believes the experience was a defining moment in her life. "The lesson was, you meet your obligations head on, no matter what the obstacle." Adding compassion to the mix further fueled her desire to solve problems. Train tracks ran through the back yard. Hobos would ask for food, and Rebecca learned from her mother’s generosity the joy of making someone’s life easier. "My family’s influence and my early lifestyle galvanized into life principles. Certain behaviors were acceptable and certain things were unacceptable. You maintain a strong work ethic, treat people with respect, do what you say you’re going to do, make the best with what you have."

Rebecca and her siblings were all achievers, excelling in school, sports and extra-curriculars. Without the material possessions of their peers, they applied mental
resources and hard work. Rebecca began babysitting at 12 and was often found playing ball games with her friends, mostly boys. It is not surprising that the world of manufacturing would appeal to Rebecca Morgan. By her teen years she could rebuild a clutch and motor as well as any man. Always the early bloomer, soon she was the all-star catcher for the women’s fast-pitch softball team, which she qualified for at age 14. By age 16 she was working two jobs, and at 17, she graduated high school in the top tier of her class.

Following graduation in 1971, she began taking honors classes at Wichita State University, working full-time on the side. When an economics course triggered a passionate response, her mind was made up. She entered the college of liberal arts, where she could take the highest number of economics courses permitted.

During this time she met an economics professor who would change her life—Jimmy Skaggs. Appalled at a poor midterm score from his star student, Skaggs questioned her priorities. Shocked that at age 19 she was working as a restaurant manager, overseeing 30 employees while carrying a full load of college courses, he had an alternative to the area restaurant manager position she was considering. Skaggs found a job for Rebecca at the Center for Business and Economic Research, including a position as Assistant to the Dean. After working full-time and taking 18-21 hours per semester, she graduated with honors from Wichita State in three and a half years, with a liberal arts economics degree and a history minor.

Urging Rebecca on toward a master’s degree, Skaggs took Rebecca to an economic conference in Dallas, where he introduced her to the head of economics at Oklahoma State University. She was offered a University Fellowship under the stipulation that she was to study, not work, and in May 1976 she completed graduate school with a 4.0 GPA.

Following the two years at Perdue, in 1978, she moved to Cleveland, where she once again chose a lower paying job for the experience it offered. Confronted with two options — Progressive Insurance or Cleveland Trust — she strategically chose the bank in order to gain experience in high finance and corporate banking. Only 24, she often spoke about economics issues and was lauded for her insights. She added economic and interest rate forecasting and public speaking to her repertoire. Her first foray into manufacturing came in early 1980 when she left the bank to work at Stouffer’s Frozen Foods. There she was assigned to production and inventory control under Dan DiRenzo, who immediately recognized Rebecca’s talent. Within a year, DiRenzo stepped aside to usher Rebecca into his own position as Manager of Production Planning and Inventory Control.

Rebecca worked at Stouffers from 1980 to 1984 until her drive for variety urged her on to new challenges. By the time she left, she had learned to incorporate distribution issues, production planning, inventory control, raw material and finished goods inventory planning and product rationalization through new production facilities. As the Manager of Product Planning and Inventory Control, she launched the allocation system nationwide for their Lean Cuisine brand. She learned new ways to manage people and technology—how to streamline, automate, plan, schedule and distribute efficiently.

But most important, she discovered an uncanny gift for looking at a large manufacturing facility and seeing almost immediately where improvements could be made. "When I walk into a business I see a flow of product, information, money, equipment, people, and I see what’s in the way of making that flow work best."

Within a few weeks Rebecca was offered the Materials Manager position at TRW, in charge of the Castings Division’s six plants. "Going from macaroni to airplane parts was no problem. You’ve still got to know your market, know what to make and what it takes to make it," she said. By the time TRW sold its Casting Division to Precision Castparts Corporation (PCC) one year into Rebecca’s tenure, she had added capital budgeting, tooling, purchasing and customer order management to her credentials. After six years in aerospace and once again ready for a new challenge, in 1990 she left PCC and founded Gaddie & Associates as a solo practitioner, subcontracting consulting services to a software reseller and other new clients she acquired. For the first time Rebecca discovered the exhilaration of recognizing challenges and creating solutions for a diverse client base. After two years, eager to grow the company and bring on board strategic partners whose complementary skills would meet key operational challenges within a manufacturing organization, Gaddie & Associates segued in 1992 into MCE, Inc.

Rebecca learned from one MCE partner the invaluable skill of marrying technical vision with human development, which complemented her experience portfolio. Anxious to shed the administration portion of her function in the partnership, she realized her creative energies flowed best in autonomy, and in January of 1997 Fulcrum ConsultingWorks Inc. was born. Since then she has soared to success, finding the client’s "pain" and recommending and implementing actions to solve it. Often she is at a client’s site at 5 a.m. or 11 p.m., working right through a manufacturer’s three shifts. "My entire focus is on growth. Cost reduction is important, but people reduction is something I won’t support as an end goal. If your goal is to grow your company effectively by increasing the productivity of your resources, count me in."

Rebecca continually learns new ways to help manufacturers improve their service to customers. An avid traveler, she visited Costa Rica where she toured a coffee producer’s facility to understand the decaffeination process. That same appreciation for a smooth process also translates into Red Cross volunteer work and playing sports, all of which have one thing in common—the need for teamwork. Rebecca compares ideal operations to a pit crew in a car race. "The team can change tires, fill up a tank and make mechanical adjustments in 14 seconds. Everyone has a role and they know what it is. That picture applies to every area in the company, not just the production line."

Rebecca Morgan takes Fulcrum ConsultingWorks nationwide, providing custom service to manufacturing firms eager for progress. The name ‘Fulcrum’ means the point at which a lever turns. Apropos for someone whose life was built on leveraging resources for maximum advantage. Apropos for a woman who has dedicated her career to creating healthy operations and optimal results for companies too close to their own operations to see obstacles to growth. "I won’t be deterred by what their boss wants on Monday, or that they're busy, or that it's hard; it's what we must do and must do well."

© 2005-2007 Fulcrum ConsultingWorks, Inc.