Oh yes, we are happy today. For a very small and perhaps even funny reason 😊 But let’s start from the beginning.
Many years ago, I had a rather conservative-minded team who had already survived two failed lean implementations when I started trying for the third time. My goal was not to focus on the tools or visual management first, but to change the mindset and perspective so that the team would understand that we NEED to produce cheaper and more efficiently for long-term success. And once we understood why and what needed to be done, then we could bring in lean tools, which are precisely for this purpose.
Of course, the resistance was sky-high, and I made very slow progress even on the simplest issues. Every step forward was followed by two steps back. One of the toughest challenges was to collect data on production efficiency, improve its quality, analyze it, and then make data-based decisions or give opinions. Because, naturally, everyone already knew perfectly well what was going on in the plant without any data, or at least they had their own idea.
I don’t remember how many different ways I tried to show the team the importance of data, but I clearly remember when our European lean colleague, Milan, asked how things were going. I replied, "I’ve figured out the 167th possible way to convince X that it’s worth dealing with data, and I’m just waiting to see how it works out." We laughed together out of frustration because the economic indicators forced us to go this way, but we both knew it was literally like breaking rocks uphill, and even after months of hard work, it was uncertain when the old thinking would resurface.
Economic necessity is a powerful force; it can give people endless perseverance and creativity. So there was a 168th attempt, and a 169th, and very slowly, the corporate culture and operations started to change. A former colleague recently confirmed that our efforts weren’t in vain. He said he doesn’t like working at his new place because he can’t stand the wastefulness, and his efficiency improvement ideas aren’t taken seriously. He’s not used to that...
So why are we happy now? In one of my projects, I encountered inefficient operations and a similarly conservative team that had been working a certain way for a long time. My first change suggestion wasn’t good; it didn’t address the complexity of the issue. The second was good, but no one but me used it. It would have been too big a leap at once, requiring too much effort from the team.
Then came the third idea. A much smaller change, requiring much less effort from the team. I didn’t make a big deal out of it, hoping it would slip under the resistance radar. I hoped that if they found it useful, it would naturally integrate. And YES!!!! I was already happy when two people mentioned in conversation that they had worked with it, but today I saw in an email that it was being used for another task as well. WITHOUT ANY INTERVENTION…🤩
Of course, we will probably take two steps back tomorrow, but every little step is progress, and this kind of success gives me the strength to come up with new creative ideas and try again 😊 The second time around, moving forward is always easier...
Perseverance and many successful small steps to everyone trying to make a change! 😊
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