For those not familiar, Lean Management is sometimes summarized as: Doing more with less. Fundamentally, it’s the application of several tools and concepts to become more efficient through better planning and organization.
Humans so often develop tunnel vision towards the world around them. Over time they neglect to see the opportunities that exist. We become de-synthesized to problems and opportunities. We begin to accept them as the norm, when to others they may not be. We are blinded to the inefficiency we create for ourselves.
Case in point, while flying home from a business trip the Delta gate agent announced a delayed departure. Not unusual for the routine traveler, but then she went on to say, “You all know how these MD-80’s are prone to these problems. I will update you on the status as soon as I can”.
For the gate agent, spending every workday at the airport handling MD-80’s, maybe this is a routine occurrence. But no matter how much I fly, these are not words I want to hear! If true, this is a big problem for Delta, but it seems their associates simply accept it as the status quo.
Imagine how much Delta has spent trying to market themselves as a safe and reliable airline. In a couple short announcements, one associtate ruined all that effort for hundreds of people within earshot, not to mention how many of those people, like myself, will pass along this story.
This made me reflect however on the things that are wrong or inefficient in my own world. And what has been the impact on my life? How many extra hours have I spend over the decades looking for a specific drill bit because I didn’t have them all organized and stored in a central location?
I use to face this when looking for a drill bit.
Today, I know where to find exactly what I need.
How often did I pull out the wrong lathe gouge?
Now there is a place for everything and everything is in its place.
I’m proud of the progress I have made, but there is so much more. The more I improve, the more I organize, the more I find to change and improve. I too have a million more steps to go, but I am glad to be on the journey.
A fellow associate once said that learning to apply lean will “ruin” you. Because the more you learn to see the waste and inefficiency in the way you and others do things the more waste you will learn to see.
Not a day goes by now that I don’t see some form a waste in my life or in companies that I do business with. We are surrounded by waste and inefficiencies.
But given the choice to be ignorant of the opportunity, and being lost in lean; I’ll take lost, but with the ability to see. While all others blindly wallow in their inefficiency, I can enjoy the great benefits to a lean journey and the improvements that are experienced in one’s life, making everything you do more organized, higher quality and faster.
