Lean Thanks

The upcoming holiday is my second favorite (after New Years), first because it’s energizing to reflect on things to be happy about, and second because it’s a four-day break.   While I’m thankful for many personal-type things and people, this post will just be for Lean things that I’m thankful for.  Here are a few:

• The creators of TPS who understood decades before the West that a supplier-first philosophy is not viable, and that employees are not just “human machines.”
• The hardworking shopfloor employees who, after decades of being beaten down by a bad system, still have the chutzpah to overstep their traditional roles.
•  Middle managers who take a risk when it’s not personally necessary and often potentially hazardous to their careers to support a fledgling Lean effort.
•  Top managers who leave their offices and meetings to see the real world.
•  Engineers that get their hands dirty.
• Accountants who ask why 5 times about traditional cost accounting.
• Buyers who know more about the part than its piece price.
• Marketing and Salespeople who “get it” that just-in-time sells products and services.
• Material handlers who once were lowest in the pecking order but now are the governors of material and work flow.
• Maintenance departments who do more fire prevention and less fire fighting.
• Boards of Directors who consider the value of making products in the regions where they are consumed.
•  CEO’s who are not slaves to quarterly earnings reports.
• Businesses and individuals that freely share what they are learning.

This is the short list.  I should add a couple more quasi-personal things: I’m happy to be doing what I’m doing, and grateful for the dedicated and passionate staff at GBMP.

Are there any things you would add to this list?  Let me hear from you.

Happy Thanksgiving.

O.L.D.