Sometimes Lean is not enough

If you have read any of my other posts below you will begin to realise that whilst I am a big fan of 'Lean', I do not see it as a panacea and recognise that it can be implemented just as badly as anything that has come before (TQM, JIT, BPR etc).

The real art of 'Lean' is recognising when it might not be appropriate to use it or even when you might have to modify your approach to make it fit with the requirements of the organisation you are working with.

I was chatting to an old friend who works for one of the big consulting firms today and he was moaning that they had to apply the same methodology irrespective of the needs of the client. They were not really Lean specialsts and therefore the only way they could get large numbers of consultants earning cash was to develop a fixed structure.

Without the background experience of having down a variety of improvement programmes, he could not see how these inexperienced (but bright) people could really help the clients. Instead, there was a danger that because everyone was getting an 'off the shelf' solution, no one would get an optimal solution.

The ability to flex programmes to meet the needs of clients and the ability to recognise when the approach you are using is not delivering the results you really want only comes with experience, along with a healthy dose of empathy for the organisation you are working with and the environment in which they operate.

So, sometimes Lean is not enough - but do you know when that is? If not, why not call me on +44 (0) 7841 464916 for a chat or sign up for one of our workshops at http://www.amnis-uk.com/.