- High maturity businesses are usually successful
- 4 elements of maturity
- Be balanced in your analysis of challenges
How to Respond: Don't be a Hole Person
Let me presume you are not the CEO but someone in the trenches. Whatever you decide to do, make sure it is based on a mature approach.
First, carefully, critically and dispassionately evaluate just how big and how many of these are problems. Likewise, do not ignore the many assets you have. Many of us, due to the very nature of our business, can become “hole people.” That is, always finding the “hole,” the things that are missing and ignoring the “donut,” the many things with which we are blessed. Be balanced in your analysis and in your efforts.
Second, if you find something that truly detracts from your company’s ability to execute its mission, find a welcome ear of someone who can do something. Initiate action. Don’t wallow in your misery at the coffee pot; be responsible. Responsibility is “the ability to respond.” Do something.
Third, don’t search for something that does not fit with the company mission. If you are a manufacturing company and your plant works 24/7, don’t expect a life of no overtime…or completely uninterrupted weekends…that’s not real in a living-breathing manufacturing plant. Be realistic.
Fourth, don’t expect everything to get fixed today. Progress is a reasonable expectation. Instant change is usually unreasonable. If you carefully and critically evaluated an issue before you acted to change it, then it is very likely you can see, measure and assess any changes that occur. These issues often are deeply embedded in the business culture, and they do not change quickly -- don’t expect that. On the other hand, they can change in the fullness of time, and very likely many of them can get better -- expect that. Continual progress over the long term is the goal.
I like to say, “At the end of the day there are choices and there are consequences.”
Eldridge Clever said, “You are either part of the solution or you are part of the problem.”
It’s your choice.
*Note: *I owe a debt to M. Scott Peck for a similar concept he cultivated in his book, “The Road Less Traveled,” where he used the term “discipline” and applied it to individuals.
Lonnie Wilson has been teaching and implementing lean and other culture-changing techniques for more than 40 years. His book, “How To Implement Lean Manufacturing” was released in August 2009. His new book on “How to Lead and Manage a Lean Facility” is under construction. Wilson is a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars. In addition to IndustryWeek, he has published articles in Quality Digest and is a frequent contributor to iSixSigma magazine. His manufacturing experience spans 20 years with Chevron, where he held a number of management positions. In 1990 he founded Quality Consultants, www.qc-ep.com, which teaches and applies lean and other culture-changing techniques to small entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 firms, principally in the United States, Mexico and Canada. In particular, he specializes in “lean revitalizations,” assisting firms that have failed or failing lean implementations and want to”do it right.” In his not-so-spare time, Wilson is the men’s varsity soccer coach at Cathedral High School in El Paso, Texas. You can e-mail Lonnie Wilson at law@qc-ep.com.
