The Fallacy of Lean and Economic Downturns

I've seen a lot of people who are concerned for their jobs, who have lost their jobs or who know their jobs are going away.

Recently I had a discussion regarding my team's function in the organization, and that we are secure because of the climate. When things go south, that's when you really need your Lean leaders to help right the ship and bring savings home to maintain profitability.

I call shenanigans on that line of thought.

We need our Lean leaders to be the most engaged when times are at their best! We need to be out front, leading the discussions when people are least interested in listening.

No business I have encountered has ever said, "Nah, we don't need that $50,000. Go ahead and throw it in the trash." At least, not ones that stay around long.

While we can use this opportunity to "reset" our perspective and drive Lean thinking, we need to do so just as hard in the good times. When we don't, we end up in times, well, like these.

What would your companies position be today if you increased OI 5% a year over the last 10 years? Or just reduced waste by 25% Think you would be better positioned in the market?

A Lesson on losing from Election Day

Depending on your outlook, John McCain ran either a very shrewd and "mavericky" campaign, or an underhanded smear campaign (or somewhere in between, I suppose).  But there is no doubt that whatever your feelings on the man and the campaign, he spoke with an honesty and candor last night that is rarely matched in politics.

 

I am reminded of a very recent posting by Seth Godin on losing.  (He was referring to a customer, but the sentiment is the same…)

 

It seems to me that this is the perfect opportunity to be a statesman. This is when you earn the right to be seen as a trusted advisor, not a self-interested shill. Two months or two years from now, when you interact with that person or organization again, we'll remember that you were the one who spoke up on behalf of the competition, the one who helped us find a better fit, the clearly disinterested advisor who helped us choose between the two remaining good choices.

Your ego might not enjoy it, but in the long run, your organization will.

(Visit sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/10/how-to-lose.html for the rest.  It's worth the visit.)

 

It will be interesting to see how his speech impacts the future of his career and the GOP. 

Open letter to a young HR professional

Get out. Get out now.



Get out of the HR world for a while. Go run a function, manage a line, balance a P&L.



Got your degree in HR? Then you really need to go.



Getting an HR degree? Think about changing your major. Non-HR degrees enter HR all the time. Very few HR degrees go elsewhere. And take some statistics classes while you're at it. They are more important for the future of HR than you might think.



Don't be a career HR drone. Go see the world. Deal with the issues first hand. Understand business, leadership, employee problems, and what happens when people don't play nicely with each other.



Then come back. We'll need you.