How the Most Effective SMEs Improve Their Performance

The Message from Stratégies PME 2025

At the 2025 edition of Stratégies PME, Maxime Lavoie, President and Founder of LevelOps, shared a simple but powerful message: improving performance isn't about doing more — it's about doing what matters, better.

Based on more than 15 years supporting manufacturing and retail companies, Maxime explained how the most effective SMEs consistently achieve better results by building clarity, discipline, and alignment into the way they operate.

Three Elements of High Performance

Performance starts with three simple elements: a clear vision tied to a small set of meaningful priorities, fewer initiatives each connected directly to strategic outcomes, and a structured execution cadence that keeps teams aligned.

Most companies don't struggle because of bad ideas — they struggle because execution is inconsistent. High-performing SMEs use a practical rhythm of reviews and standups to stay synchronized, remove ambiguity, and focus on rapid problem-solving.

The Operational Excellence System

To sustain performance long-term, companies need more than a good plan. They need a system. The Operational Excellence System is built on three pillars: engaged people with clear roles and a culture of accountability; clear, repeatable workflows that allow teams to act, measure, and improve continuously; and technology that serves the strategy — not the other way around.

As Peter Drucker famously said: "Culture eats strategy for breakfast."

The Bottom Line

Improving SME performance doesn't require more tools or more projects. It requires clarity, discipline, and the right operating system. Companies that build this foundation first are the ones who successfully leverage AI and technology to grow.