2 Second Lean-- by Paul A. Akers

Author:Paul A. Akers [Paul A. Akers]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: -
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2016-09-06T16:00:00+00:00

A Lean culture is a free culture where people are trusted to express themselves and be creative…This is uncomfortable for most leaders.

My sensei, Brad (of “Brad and Jon” fame from chapter 2) described the effect of a Lean culture as analogous to “wild mustangs.” I swear his eyes were blazing wild when he described this! Wild mustangs, free from fear. They drive themselves from an instinctive, gut level, as though their lives depend on running. The full effect of creativity coming alive in people is as powerful as a herd of wild horses. The trick, of course, is keeping those horses running and free. There is never a time when it’s ok to coast. That is “Extreme Lean.”

Just before the economic crisis hit its full stride in 2008, I began to see troubling signs all around me. I saw companies that had been very successful and responsible in their financial dealings begin to teeter and crumble. As you know, FastCap is heavily dependent on construction and next to real estate and banking, you’re hard pressed to find an industry that was harder hit by the recession. At this time we were doing well. We were in what I call “crazy Lean mode,” meaning we were riding high with company morale, great profits, international expansion and a very enthusiastic team of employees. Improvements were happening every day at all levels. Business took a downturn by 25%. Really good people and smart businessmen closed their doors. I decided that it was not the time to coast on our good fortune. If we wanted to escape the perils of the bad economy, we would need to stare it down and dare the recession to touch our shores. It was time to commit to full battle mode. It was time to go “Extreme Lean.” This is called operating from a position of strength. Why should we wait for bad times to put on our battle dress?

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