Rob Hamlin

Rob Hamlin

Rob Hamlin is a Taylor grad who majored in Computer Science.  He has worked around the world on computer systems and administration databases.  During his junior year he had the opportunity to go to Germany and work at a system firm called Bell Labs, where his trainer as a system administrator left after one week.  After four stressful months of trying to get the system operational, Rob fell on his knees and prayed that God would show him how to fix it.  During Rob’s prayer time, God showed him tables and queries that needed to be built for the database.  This is one example of how God has impacted Rob’s life.  Later he worked with Operation Mobilization and eventually came to Treehouse Foods, where he is currently the CIO.

            Rob’s seminar revolved around the concept of guiding principles.  He described guiding principles as a theoretical concept that achieves efficiency, consumer focus, and product innovation.  In general terms, the principles are a series of statements that give the company context and guidance for future development. 

            For efficiency, guiding principles allow everyone in the corporation to work for a single purpose.  Having everyone focused on the same problem and solution reduces complexity and generates group activities. This will optimize the efficiency of the company.  For consumer focus, guiding principles will help the sales and operation planning. As a corporation the second goal, after making profit, is to satisfy and retain customers. This will help the company to focuses on the consumer needs and how to market sales appropriately.  For product innovation, guiding principles increases creativity and originality for products.  They will also help in avoiding costly customizations. This will help reduce recalls and failed products.

The guiding principles concept is a powerful tool that can be used in almost any situation.  In anything involving one or more persons it is important to have everyone working for a single purpose in order to increase their performance.