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It takes guts, to start with lean training in a turnaround!

Written by: Joe Dager

Article Overview: Are you willing to risk the fate of your company on training? Can you imagine what your first day would be like in a turnaround? That day one meeting with the employees, they are sitting there thinking about getting fired. A very different message is communicated when the boss calls everyone together dispenses with the mumble jumble and spend time talking about a Lean Transformation. When the boss lays out the actual training that is going to take place to the employees, he shows commitment.

It takes guts, to start with lean training in a turnaround!

It takes guts, to start with lean training in a turnaround! When you think about it, what better way to get buy-in of the employees than starting to build a lean culture.

Can you imagine what your first day would be like in a turnaround? That day one meeting with the employees, they are sitting there thinking about getting fired. A very different message is communicated when the boss calls everyone together dispenses with the mumble jumble and spend time talking about a Lean Transformation. When the boss lays out the actual training that is going to take place to the employees, he shows commitment.

It will not do a lot of good to expose just a few people to a lean transformation. With everyone taking part in the program, you create uniform language and system that can be used throughout the company. Training and development programs help shape the culture and attitudes of the business. Lean education is the best way to stop the finger-pointing and gain individual responsibility.

What is a Lean culture? From a recent blog post, John Shook, Senior Adviser at the Lean Enterprise Institute, Inc., said: " Toyota -> revolutionized the technical side of lean production with inclusion of product complexity (for customer benefit). More importantly it revolutionized the social dimension, respecting workers brains as well as their hands (so factory workers become knowledge workers, the scientists)."

You can hardly move quick enough in a turnaround situation. Sometimes education of an employee is imperative for them to know what is not their decision to make. In a lean culture, seldom is just one person isolated in making a decision. So the chance of making a smart mistake will be reduced but may still be possible. But making a smart mistake twice is very unlikely. It also will ensure a mistake to be handled quickly and efficiently, when they do happen. Some employees may not survive the transition. However, the fittest and most willing will adapt and be the survivors. Your company turnaround will be defined by the people that are willing to participate in it.

Lean training is not learned in the classroom. It is learn in the application and participation in kaizens, waste walks and other lean tools. But to pass the correct knowledge on you need very proficient lean people in key roles to lead these events. You know training is the right thing to do, but it still takes a lot of guts to do it!

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  Business Turnaround - Do it with Lean

Article Tags: boss, fate, guts, mumble jumble, transformation, turnaround



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Re: Bounce! by Barry Moltz - Hi, Good, we need people with guts to go on, irrespective of their experiences. Sir Winston Churchill said the following: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP! This concept of positive thinking will never loose its power. It creates a strong mentality to cope with alll sorts of situations. Think of all the disaster areas in the world, but a strong tenacity to pursue life to the end carries a lot of guts. Any other ideas?
Re: What exactly do you need to start a business - Starting a business takes many things. Like guts and brains. But what I find pays off the most in online busines is HARD WORK. There is no better alternative. The more energy you use to make your business successful, the better your chances of it being successful
Re: Has anyone used the SBA's Micro Loan program? - I have never got any loan for my buisnesses. I have started all my businesses with nothing but ideas. I am of the opinion you don't need loan to start business. You can start with your savings. There was a time, I started a training school., I didnt have an office, equipments and computers for training. I advertise the school on the local radio. 21 students enroll online and they deposit 50% of the training fees. I used their deposits to rent the office,but two computers and lease the furniture for the school. That was how it was started.
Training - Louis: Some regulated industries mandate that you attend training. However, even then, finding time to meet those requirements becomes an issue. This may explain the growth of tele-seminars. To answer your questions though, ROI is very important and everyone needs to sell or market no matter what they do. The best tip I ever got on training is not to pitch training as training b/c even big companies have limited budgets for training but training rebranded as "sales support." It makes the ROI argument that much more appealing. Hope that helps. Good luck.
Re: When do you process online orders? - If the shipping takes longer - I'm find with that IF the seller made that clear on their sales page and IF they communicate about what's happening. Its the sellers who say they ship immediately and then send later with no communication that irritate me. I always pay immediately and expect quick turnaround. I ordered a PDA and no joking - it didn't arrive for 5 months and the seller never did communicate with me or respond to any messages. When it did finally get here, I looked at the ship date and once they finally shipped it out - I received it within a week. Shri


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