Most folks feel that if they and their organizations are not working at a fever pace nothing is being accomplished. This can be a significant error of judgment … we know the following phrases but have you ever taken the time to abide by them ?
Haste makes Waste !
Take Time to smell the roses !
The economic turbulence of 2025 created frantic panic in most organizations. Organizations operated at a frantic pace plugging holes, reorganizing the troops and attempting to implement quick fixes to nagging problems.
Unfortunately the implementation of Lean is more about changing the culture and the way people think and act than the actual adoption of tools. Often what I see is what I describe as Veneer Lean the visual adoption of tools without creating the depth within the organization to have truly changed the DNA of the organization.
For example, I cannot count how many times I have gone into an organization to be shown with admiration that the organization has implemented a Kanban system. Upon further inquiry we actually see that the organization has just implemented a 2-Bin system … this is not Kanban … so please let us call it what it is. A good Kanban system can have multiple signals within the value stream to insure a steady flow of materials to the point of use in spite of the procurement lead-time.
In other cases, organizations have embarked on a 5S+1 journey which is nothing more than a disciplined house cleaning under the banner of a fancy phrase. Proper Workplace organization is a tactile engineered assault to reduce walk, improve ergonomics while reducing search time and eliminate wanderitis of employees.
I am fully aware that Lean has now become the latest buzz word and we are now being overrun with Lean Experts. In many of these cases someone has visited a facility that has implemented some Lean practices goes back to their organization and hands the mandate to implement to an individual that does not have the knowledge or skill set but has been empowered. In these cases I can guarantee that in a couple of years their Lean implementation will be described as a failure which will be a blemish to the Lean community in general.
Just like if you want a piece of solid wood furniture, it takes time to grow the tree that
produces the wood that will be crafted into a heirloom piece of furniture. Others will just purchase a piece of furniture that looks Good, but is just a few pieces of particle board covered with a thin skin of veneer to give a false appearance.
But how do we avoid creating a false appearance of Lean? It all begins with observation … a lot of observation and then a ton of Reflection before implementing action.
An excellent method of observation is to employ the use of Enterprise Value Stream Mapping.
Running an Enterprise Value Stream Mapping event allows your folks to be removed from being “IN” your organization to being “ON” your organization. During this event folks need to walk, interview and document the entire value stream. The value of a mapping exercise can be significantly enhanced should you decide to add “Outside Eyes” from venues such as; suppliers, customers or inviting us to facilitate.
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