It's a Short Life

I had a great lunch today with a friend and former colleague today. The great part was he picked up the check! Acutually, we had the opportunity to once again try and solve the worlds problems. As usual our conversation moved quickly to business, leadership, Lean Enterpise principles and something we call manufacturing triage. One of the more interesting points he raised was the fact that organizations tend to think they can thrive on chaos. It is almost as if a new paradigm is evolving that says "don't worry about that problem, another one will occur any minute now". What a way to run a company! I have always felt that the worst organization to manage is one in which there is no repetitive action that you can count on happening every day. Now those who know me will tell you that I love change. I am the guy that drives a different way to work everyday. But I can make that change because I always know how to go the way that is guaranteed to work! In otherwords if you don't have an established baseline process, people trainined in how to execute that process, you are in essence thriving on chaos. One of the more amazing aspects of this scenario is to watch companies reach out for the latest continuous improvement method to stop the chaos. Unfortunately, you can't have continuous improvement without a disciplined baseline in place. If there are wild swings in peformance, how do you know if you have implemented sustainable, long term improvement? In most good problem solving approaches the first question you ask is are we following the process as it was designed to function. If you can't answer this question then you don't have a baseline in place. Well enough of my venting...have a great week. Until next time...remember John!

Where Does the Lean Journey Begin?

One area that we find some differences of opinion is in answering the question of where do we start? That is really pretty easily answered. First you must have top leadership committed to this journey. That always applies no matter what you are trying to implement or change. Secondly, you need to give everyone at least a basic understanding of just what a Lean Enterprise is all about. This should also include some definition of what is waste. What we have learned is if you don't give people some definition of Lean practices, they will create their own. This will result in a great deal of misinterpretation and could stop your journey before it begins.
Next there needs to be open communication explaining why the top leadership is embarking upon this journey. Included in this step should be a depiction of what the new organization might look like. I emphasize the word might because we really don't know for sure until we get to a specific point in time. We can however, describe in general terms, just what we hope to achieve and how that will benefit the major stakeholders of our organization. We will continue this discussion next week. Until then, have a great week.

Welcome to Solomon's Dangerous Minds

- February 2, 2006 -

We would like to welcome you to our new Solomon Second blog. We will share a bit of wisdom regarding Lean Enterprise concepts, practical business ideas, helpful hints, things to avoid, and any other information we believe to be valuable. Of course your input and feedback is always of value to us. Please email us with any thoughts you have regarding our blog, our training, etc. Anything but our golf games....we can't handle the truth! Have a great day!