The scaling system for $10M–$100M businesses
EPS builds the operational foundation that turns unpredictable growth into reliable, profitable, scalable results. Start with a free 25-minute People + Process Integrator Review with Ryan.
Not a sales pitch. A facilitated discussion about one of your workstreams.
Your next step · free
Spend 25 minutes with Ryan working through one of your real workstreams on a single page. You’ll see where the work breaks down, what can be automated or outsourced, and what to do first.
Steps in your workstream that AI agents, Power Apps or Smartsheet could take off your team’s plate.
Repeatable tasks a trained team could run for less, with your standards and monthly reporting.
Handoffs, missing owners and undocumented steps that cause rework, risk or frustration today.
The first actions to take, in order, so the conversation turns into progress.
What we do
Most consultants specialize in people (DISC, PI, MBTI) or in process (Lean, Six Sigma, TPM). Our work sits where the two meet, because a process without people is waste, and people without process are frustrated.
Document, streamline, and automate the workstreams your growth depends on.
Run streamlined processes with a trained team at a fraction of the cost.
Align your leadership team on purpose, metrics, and the plan to get there.
Not sure which service fits?The free review shows whether you need consulting, outsourcing, planning, or none of the above.
Book your free review →Service 01 · Process Consulting
We start by observing your customer’s process and your team’s, not by reading the data. Self-focused processes lead to sub-optimal results, so we align every department around the value your customer actually receives.
Your team helps build every map, so the documentation reflects how work gets done and people adopt it. Each step records what to do, how to do it, and why it matters. Once the workstream is standardized, it becomes the foundation for automation and generative AI.
SIPOC and swim-lane maps paired with Job Breakdowns, which include the reason behind each step, so onboarding no longer depends on one key employee.
Find the steps that cause pain, create risk, or waste time, and rank them by impact on quality, value and speed.
The ARM (Accountability Responsibility Matrix) makes clear who owns each outcome and who does the work.
A RACI action log and monthly cadence close gaps instead of filing them in a binder.
When the process is clean, we automate it. Standardization of process workstreams is the first step to automation and generative AI integration.
Service 02 · Business Process Outsourcing
Don’t outsource jobs or people. We build a foundation of streamlined processes first, then deploy a trained team to run them consistently, with your brand standards and monthly reporting.
Ryan led a 180-person North American shared service center in Manila across eight teams: call center, supply chain, material planning, accounts receivable and payable, customer service, continuous improvement, and accounting. Our outsourcing model comes from running that operation, not from a sales brochure.
Streamlined, documented processes let a skilled offshore team deliver the same work for far less.
Documented, transferable operations make the business less dependent on its owner and more attractive to buyers.
Add volume without adding chaos. The process absorbs growth instead of your managers.
Outsourced workstreams are already standardized, so they are ready to automate next.
Service 03 · Strategic Planning Facilitation
Setting vision and purpose is a core job of leadership, and it can’t be delegated. We facilitate the sessions where your leadership team agrees on where you’re going, why, and how you’ll know you’re on course.
Sessions follow the P5 Rocket™: Purpose, Product, Performance, People and Process, fueled by your team’s human energy. Each manager leaves with metrics they chose and a cadence to improve them. Ryan has facilitated the core one-page tool thousands of times over two decades.
A single strategy page linking purpose, product, performance, people and process, with the gaps between current and future state.
Each team selects one Quality, one Value and one Speed metric: improvable, tied to real process pain, and measured monthly.
Find which part of the rocket is holding you back before you spend money fixing the wrong one.
POPA (Personal & Organizational Purpose Alignment) connects what your leaders care about with where the company is going.
The OPTIC(S)® System
Every engagement moves through the same three phases. Start where your business needs it most; each phase builds on the one before.
The P5 Rocket™
Each component matters on its own, but transformation happens when they work together. We build from the bottom of the rocket up. Select a stage to see what it means and the question we ask your leadership team.
Question for your team
Clearly aligned processes enable your team to optimize performance and ultimately fulfill your organization’s purpose.Ryan C. Weiss
A bad process will beat a good person every time.W. Edwards Deming
Leaders should become concerned when motivated employees become disengaged.Ryan C. Weiss
Tools · Skills · Mindset
At Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo in the 1960s, an orangutan named Fu Manchu kept escaping. Staff were blamed, until someone watched him pick the lock with a wire he hid along his gum line. Every improvement your team makes needs the same three things he had.
The templates, systems and software to do the work: process maps, QVS™ boards, the OPTIC(S)® App.
He was not given the tools. They were obtained.The ability to use those tools well, built through facilitated practice on your own workstreams.
He was not born with the skills. These were learned.The desire to see the cage and get out of it. Leaders set the cadence; the team chooses to move.
He was not forced from the cage. He chose to get out.Field notes
Real engagements from Ryan’s work in manufacturing, shared services and food service. Each one started by watching the process before touching the data.
Large manufacturing plantDowntime reduction
Management wanted more output without risking quality. A cross-functional team used a LEGO® simulation to learn the tools, then walked the line and found missing brake pads, operators who didn’t know brakes existed, and dry-rotted hoses.
Several million dollars of added capacity, and a safer plant
Shared service center, Manila180 people · 8 teams
Each manager chose one quality, one value and one speed metric with their team, posted results monthly, and listed the experiments they’d run next. Teams started mapping how their work affected each other.
Standing-room-only improvement meetings the team ran without the boss
Factory, ShenzhenData integrity
The client wanted analysis right away. After 90 minutes on the floor, the machine had stopped several times while the data computer sat idle. Two weeks of manual recording told a very different story.
A new root cause, and decisions based on accurate data
Restaurant kitchenJob Breakdown
A manager said Robert couldn’t consistently flatten the chicken. Robert knew what to do and how to do it, but not why. Once he saw how hard a thick slider is to eat, the problem disappeared.
Done right “every. single. time.” once the why was clear
You understand my business better than my team does.Mr. Lin, Owner, Everbeauty · after a 90-minute SIPOC session that mapped his people and process on one page
“Our KRU has been working with Ryan and his team for several months identifying, aligning and documenting multiple core processes. We knew this was a critical step to effective planning, assigning workload and training, but we really saw the benefits during the discussions with EPS. The EPS team takes the time to understand our core services and our people!”
“We have increased profits substantially… The EPS Team has created clarity & simplicity in our operations through consulting, training, and support services. The integration of People & Process is essential in everything we do!”
“A silver lining for me this year is connecting with the EPS team. They have been easy to work with, responsive, committed to safety, credibility, employee engagement, quality and continuous improvement. The integration of People & Process to Accelerate Performance is critical to our success!”
“We have been so fortunate to work with the EPS Team. Ryan brings great energy and ideas to our processes & annual planning. I am looking forward to continuing our work together!”
Every one of these started by observing one process.Bring yours to a free 25-minute People + Process Integrator Review.
Book on Ryan’s calendar →Learn from Ryan
Read the book, listen to 50+ business owners on the podcast, or bring Ryan to speak to your team or event.
Five key steps to accelerate your team’s performance, plus the templates behind OPTIC(S)®.
Get the book →How business owners and leaders solve real-world problems through people and process.
Listen →
Keynotes and workshops on storytelling, leadership and leading through process.
Book Ryan to speak →It could be both. Bring one workstream to a free 25-minute People + Process Integrator Review with Ryan and find out. You’ll leave with automation and outsourcing ideas, the gaps to fix, and an initial roadmap.
Home / The Book
Free copy · #1 international best seller
Learn how the story of an orangutan transformed a boring presentation into a life-changing experience. Get your free copy of From Orangutan to Rocket Scientist by Ryan C. Weiss and impact your business with the power of the OPTIC(S)® System to streamline and scale.
What you will learn
Inside the book
He was not born with the skills. These were learned. He was not given the tools. They were obtained. He was not forced from the cage. He chose to get out.From Chapter 1 · From Orangutan to Rocket Scientist
Want to apply the book to your own team?Book a free 25-minute People + Process Integrator Review with the author.
Book on Ryan’s calendar →Home / Podcast
The OPTIC(S)® in Action podcast
How they solved real-world problems through people and process. Host Ryan C. Weiss talks with founders, operators and integrators from manufacturing, construction, the trades, technology and the public sector about what it takes to scale.
Recent episodes
A selection of recent conversations. Find every episode on your favorite podcast app.
Hear something that sounds like your business?Talk it through with Ryan in a free 25-minute People + Process Integrator Review.
Book on Ryan’s calendar →Home / Meet Ryan
Founder · Author · Speaker
Ryan helps teams clarify, simplify, document and execute on processes that work. He brings two decades of global operations leadership, a best-selling book, and a stuffed orangutan to every stage.
Background
Ryan started his first business at 15, and it’s still operating today. He went on to earn degrees in chemistry from the University of Illinois and finance from the University of Kansas, then spent more than 20 years leading teams, programs and operations.
As a global executive for a $20B chemical company, he held roles in finance, technical, business development and continuous improvement, and completed two expat assignments. In Manila he turned around a 180-person North American shared service center across eight teams. He has trained thousands of people in continuous improvement in more than 20 countries.
He founded Effective Performance Strategies in 2016 and created the OPTIC(S)® System. USA Today named him one of the top 10 emerging entrepreneurs of 2023.
Mission
By helping teams clarify, simplify, document, and execute on processes that work.
What clients say
“Our KRU has been working with Ryan and his team for several months identifying, aligning and documenting multiple core processes. We knew this was a critical step to effective planning, assigning workload and training, but we really saw the benefits during the discussions with EPS. The EPS team takes the time to understand our core services and our people!”
“We have increased profits substantially… The EPS Team has created clarity & simplicity in our operations through consulting, training, and support services. The integration of People & Process is essential in everything we do!”
“A silver lining for me this year is connecting with the EPS team. They have been easy to work with, responsive, committed to safety, credibility, employee engagement, quality and continuous improvement. The integration of People & Process to Accelerate Performance is critical to our success!”
“We have been so fortunate to work with the EPS Team. Ryan brings great energy and ideas to our processes & annual planning. I am looking forward to continuing our work together!”
Speaking
Ryan’s talks are built on stories from factory floors, kitchens and shared service centers on four continents. Audiences leave with a memorable story and a tool they can use on Monday.
The best data doesn’t win; the best story does. Why our field needs better storytellers, not better statisticians.
Recently delivered at BPO4OPX 2026
The keynote behind the book. What an escaping orangutan teaches about the tools, skills and mindset every change needs.
The P5 Rocket™: why some organizations fly and others crash, and how to align purpose, metrics, people and process.
The five words that turned Ryan from managing into leading, and the cork board that let 180 people run improvements without him.
Email Ryan or book a short call to check availability. It helps to include:
Home / OPTIC(S)® Software
OPTIC(S)® Software App
The OPTIC(S)® App keeps your workstreams, gaps and action logs in one place, so your team focuses on the things that matter and closes gaps between meetings, not just during them.
Already a member? Sign in
Illustration
What the app helps you do
Built on the same one-page People + Process Integrator Ryan has facilitated thousands of times, now as software your whole team can use.
Keep every team pointed at the same short list.
See where work passes between departments and where it gets stuck.
Agree on what the business needs most right now.
Capture how work gets done for faster, more effective onboarding.
Surface the gaps that create pain, risk or wasted time.
Assign actions and owners to close the gaps.
Track improvement actions and learn what’s working.
Plans
Try one core workstream free for a month, then bring your team on board.
Not sure where to start?Book a free 25-minute review and we’ll map your first workstream together.
Book your free review →