THE CORE 4
A Leader's Operating Framework for Philosophy, Profit, Cash, and Sustainable Growth
Most companies have some version of profit management, cash flow management, and operating systems. What almost none of them have is Operating Philosophy—shared belief that guides decisions when leadership isn't watching.
This book shows you the one piece that's almost always missing—and why everything else falls apart without it.
From the Author:
The CORE 4 Pillars
Four pillars. One causal sequence. The complete foundation for cash, profit, and sustainable growth.
Operating Philosophy
The belief system that aligns decisions—when leadership isn't watching
Profit
The throughput discipline that generates margin at the constraint
Cash Flow
The scheduling strategy that converts margin to cash
Operating Systems
The structure that sustains gains and enables scale
The Piece That's Almost Always Missing
"Most organizations can tell you who they say they are. They have values. They have principles. They have beliefs printed on walls and slides. But when pressure hits—when the schedule slips, the customer escalates, or capacity tightens—those statements stop making decisions. People do."
The CORE 4 begins with Operating Philosophy because without shared belief, the other three pillars become negotiations. Every decision escalates. Every conflict requires a meeting.
Discover the Full Framework →Josh Patterson
15+ Years of Transforming Operations
Manufacturing and operations executive specializing in Lean Management Operating Systems, multi-site transformation, and building cultures of continuous improvement.
The CORE 4 isn't theory—it's the codification of what actually works when you've deployed Lean across 46 sites, coached 1,250+ leaders, and delivered measurable results.
- 94% throughput increase through Theory of Constraints and flow redesign
- 346% engineering throughput improvement with enterprise scheduling
- $9M annual revenue enabled with only $100K capex
- LMOS deployment at 26 sites supporting 50+ manufacturing leaders
Bring the CORE 4 to Your Organization
Ready to go deeper? Josh works directly with leadership teams to implement the CORE 4 framework.
Speaking
Keynotes and workshops on the CORE 4, why change fails, and building operational excellence.
Learn MoreConsulting
Lean transformation, LMOS deployment, constraint analysis, and scheduling optimization.
Learn MoreTraining
CORE 4 workshops, Leader Standard Work, Tier systems, and visual management implementation.
Learn MoreReady to Start Climbing?
Step #7 reveals itself after you've climbed steps #1-6. Make a decision today based on the knowledge you have today.