Lean Connections

Kevin Meyer, in his “Evolving Excellence”  blog post today is very much on target concerning the declining importance and influence of traditional media.

“Two different articles both appearing yesterday and discussing obliquely-similar industries got me to wondering about business models and commitment to those models.  How long should an organization stay committed to a model?  When should it change?  What should trigger change?  The meat of the articles is nothing new and simply part of a long-term trend, but the data supporting the trend was just updated.”

“If you stay true to your beliefs and your passion, is it enough?” Kevin asks midway through his post…

Kevin, my sense is that beliefs and passion should not be confused with business models. Beliefs and passion are the source of the values (not as in “customer value”) which we as individuals have come to hold.

The business model, on the other hand, is how we think and execute during the process of serving customers and stakeholders, while at the same time upholding those values. Yes, it is critical that these values somehow manifest themselves in the business model, but they are only a small part of the total picture.

I agree that no business can succeed in the long-run without strong beliefs and passion, but the business model itself must evolve and transform over time. Toyota started out by making and selling weaving looms; Honda began with motorized two-wheeled vehicles; I’ve had to reinvent my own executive recruiting practice three times during the 15+ years I’ve been doing this.

So news organizations, just as every other company, should constantly reinvent to stay competitive in their market place. That’s not betraying beliefs and passions; it’s staying true to them by continually figuring out how to deliver ever more exceptional customer value.

Let’s hope they figure out their new future state in the market sooner rather than later. Long live the Lean Manufacturing (now Lean Management) business model.

Check out my recent phone interview with the Lean Insider.  Today’s Lean Executive must focus on clear targets to land that next executive role…

http://leaninsider.productivitypress.com/2009/06/finding-lean-jobs-today-rifle-not.html

Continuously improving means just that. Nowhere is it written that when things aren’t so rosy it’s time to take a break from CI. If your corporate culture has any meaning at all, focusing on Operational Excellence is all the more critical now. These are the cornerstones you need to be reinforcing for the future.

Do you have the Lean Leadership team necessary for your company to survive, and even thrive, during the current economic downturn?  Do your Lean Leaders have the expertise and experience to build a stronger foundation for growth and profitability during the coming rebound?  

As a recent message from Jim Womack’s Lean Enterprise Institute emphasizes, great Lean Leaps are made during tough economic times. Taiichi Ohno pushed the Toyota Production System through the entire Toyota Motor Company in 1950 during the great crisis that had left Toyota teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.

Short term, the right Lean Leaders will create immediate benefits:  freeing cash through elimination of excess inventory, protecting profit margins by improving quality and productivity, strengthening ties with customers by improving service, and converting orders-to-cash faster by reducing lead times. But just as importantly, strategic Lean Leaders will also help your company build for the future and create long-term competitive advantage. With the right Lean team in place your company can advance its Lean transformation using a systemic approach across the enterprise:

• By developing employees as problem solvers;
• By changing the management culture from command and control to fact-based and flexible;
• By extending the Lean transformation beyond the manufacturing shop floor to finance, engineering, marketing, and other critical support areas;
• By implementing Lean principles across the supply chain at your key suppliers and at their key suppliers;
• By transitioning from a tools-based implementation path to a course that applies Lean Management as a complete business system;
• By changing the very culture of how the organization thinks and conducts business on a daily basis.

You know it makes sense.  Do it!