Page 111 - How To Implement Lean Manufacturing

90 Cha pte r S i x

Our leader and all the key persons in the Lean initiative will be well served if they
have an abundance of some of the blessings we humans are endowed with. These
include the blessings of:
• Awareness The ability to fully see and appreciate the reality of all that is
happening around us.
• Imagination The ability to see things that may not, but could be there; and
the ability to conjure up options that translate into opportunities.
• Conscience-driven values and principles These are the things, ideas, and
ideals that we consider important. They become the basis for prioritizing
our options.
• Choice The independent ability to apply our priorities and consciously
decide what to both do and not do.

Motivation to Change
It has been our experience that almost all successful
“It is not the strongest
Lean initiatives are driven by one of two motivating
of the species that survive,
factors. The first factor is evident when the company
nor the most intelligent, but
is looking survival square in the face, and is on the
the one most responsive to verge of going broke. Under these circumstances, it
” is easy to get people’s attention. However, the most
change.
Charles Darwin common factor occurs when your customer says you
must implement Lean—that is, they say, “If you
wish to continue doing business with us, you must implement a Lean Manufacturing
System.” In the end, both are about the same issue: survival.
On some occasions, we run across companies that want to implement a Lean initia-
tive because some visionary has decreed it so. This choice is often an informed choice that
is part of an overall business strategy. Normally, the direction comes from the home office,
which is often a long way from the affected manufacturing facilities. In my experience,
these efforts generally proceed far slower and with much less success than those that are
survival motivated. Seldom do I see a strong buy-in at the plant level, and the degree of
success is inversely proportional to the distance the plant is from the visionary.
So in the end, if your concern is not that of your immediate survival, the issue is
likely one of long-term survival. For you see, you will learn that the competition is
improving, and if you do not improve, you will not survive. Our Lean initiative is the
most aggressive form of improvement we can create—so, in fact, it is a survival issue. It
will be important to carry this message to the entire facility so they will have the proper
motivation to make this initiative a success. Do not be surprised if you find resistance
to this issue, since what we are talking about is cultural change—and with cultural
change you always get resistance.
This is true of my experience with virtually any type of a cultural change initiative.
All cultures seek stability. This means all cultures naturally resist change.
This resistance to change is also seen in the human body—something called homeo-
stasis. It is the body’s desire to seek a position of equilibrium. If we wish to change our
body, we must force it to go beyond its limits. We must make it uncomfortable. Take,
for example, someone who wants to become a great athlete—a soccer player, let’s say.