Lean Connections

This unfortunately short 4th of July weekend was none-the-less a great opportunity to see some beautiful fireworks from our vantage point at Old Brookside Farm. Though it did make me ponder if such awesome displays might someday in the future be subject to cap-and-trade restrictions.  And along that same vein, just how “Green” is it to be setting off a few gazillon tons of this stuff all across the country anyway? 

And this thought, in turn, brought some of us to question how and whether or not our manufacturing industries can afford to continue their emphasis on “Green” in light of Mr. Biden’s weekend assessment that maybe we’ve underestimated the degree of this economic downturn.

Perhaps we need to reposition the question and redefine the issue. Green will survive and thrive to the degree that it’s redefined as a business necessity, not just something nice to have around. If we can quickly come to realize that by “doing Green” we are also removing waste (in this sense, non-value added processing, resources, etc.) we are also doing good for the corporate bottom line.

I believe there is already a growing realization that operational excellence principles and practices can offer much in the way of direction to the rapid acceleration toward Green business.

More and more business leaders agree that the shift to Green is necessary and, when done well, can be profitable, and that Lean, Lean Six Sigma, and other Continuous Improvement strategies can be applied to integrated management systems as a framework for the shift to Green. This is bottom-line stuff, and dramatically so, meltdown economy or boom times!

Like Lean, Green can embrace the concept that reducing consumption and preventing waste is more efficient and effective than subsequent mitigation. Global Lean leaders have seen first-hand how continuous improvement across the value stream can capture competitive advantage. Lean’s focus on reducing input cost, waste, and risk; promoting line-level innovation and professional development; and building proactive EHS strategy to mirror the triple bottom line impact Green seeks to generate. Add marketing and social responsibility to the mix and the result is a Lean + Green management strategy that brings PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) principles that many “Green-only” transition managers often don’t realize they’re missing.

If you do “Green” right, with core “Lean” principles and practices as your guiding beacon, you’ll be amazed at the results you can achieve.

This is Adam Zak, and that’s how I see it…

“There is a better way for everything. Find it.”

Thomas Alva Edison

Turbulent times provide ample opportunities for success, if we approach things with the right frame of mind.

by Adam Zak 

In my role as an executive recruiter specializing in helping companies with Lean transformation, I’ve been spending a lot of my time lately speaking with people all over the world who are wrestling with complex decisions. I thought I’d share some of my observations with you, and in turn, hope that you will share your thoughts with me. 

Everywhere we turn, there’s advice heralding “How to manage in a crisis,” or “New rules for surviving the crunch.” Just the other day I heard a discussion on PBS involving business writers trying to agree on a title for what the economy is going through. And there was no consensus (imagine that, from business writers). 

Crisis Breeds Opportunity 

Craig Barrett, recently retired CEO of Intel told Newsweek readers, “There is a general rule in business life: market share is won or lost during transitions. You cannot save your way out of a recession, you can only invest your way out.” No one is denying that cutting costs is essential to surviving 2009, but we Lean disciples have always practiced a different philosophical approach. As we look for ways to eliminate waste and improve productivity, we are always focused on getting better. In early February Muhtar Kent, Coca-Cola’s CEO told the Wall Street Journal “I’ve been through this movie in smaller versions a number of times in the past…times like these are not an excuse to sit back and ride out the storm.” And this week, at a global sustainability conference in Chicago, I spoke with Rick Frazier, Coke’s VP Supply Chain, who told me they were leveraging their Lean & Green efforts even more dramatically during this time of uncertainty. 

“A recession creates winners and losers just like a boom,” observed Mauro F. Guillen, a professor of international management at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in BusinessWeek. Let’s chose to be among the winners.  read more »

“Respect for people: Very few businesses start up only on the backs of the sole founder. It takes a team.”  Jamie Flinchbaugh 

Just a few days ago Jamie blogged over at LeanBlog about the Lean Entrepreneur. With layoffs mounting at even the Leanest Thinking companies, he argued that this might be just the time for “lean-minded” individuals to strike out on their own and start new businesses. In fact, some quick research I did indicates that 16 of the 30 DJIA (Dow Jones index) corporations were launched during past recessions, among them Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, and Walt Disney, for example. Jamie makes a persuasive point. 

And he’s also on target writing that Lean Thinkers’ clear focus on “customer obsession,” “direct observation” and “respect for people” can add tremendous value to the new venture.  But I might have changed the order a bit and put “respect for people” first. So here’s some additional perspective on the importance of the team – people – to the success of your new business undertaking.

In my earlier days I spent some time in Silicon Valley helping start two companies, one which turned out moderately successful and was sold to a strategic buyer, and one which burned to a crisp and was eventually abandoned.  These two experiences qualified me for a very small seat at the venture capital table, and I found myself assessing the viability of entrepreneurial ventures as they were brought to our attention. 

I learned that, without question, the start-up team is absolutely the most critical element in the success or failure of a new company.  Analyze carefully your own strengths and weaknesses and recruit others who can balance and complement these.  Sure, it may be your brilliant idea for a phenomenal product or service, and you may be hesitant to share decision control, execution responsibility and eventual profits with others.  But unless your business is high-powered consulting (think Deming, Drucker, Ram Charan, or James O. McKinsey – well, you get the picture) you are not likely to make the big time on your own. read more »