Many of the “anti-lean” stories I hear sound like descriptions of situations or methods that I would hardly describe as “Lean.” There are many problems with the word “Lean,” but we’re pretty well stuck with it.
- “Lean” is often used in a negative sense that has nothing to do with the Toyota Production System, as in “we have a very lean staff,” meaning “we don’t have enough people to get the job done.”
- There is no official ‘keeper of the lean” to officially bestow the “lean” title on any practice or behavior. We’re free to describe pretty much anything we like as “lean,” the only downside might be getting mocked in the lean community, but that’s not much downside, is it?
For example, the “5S” program in the UK that was described as “demeaning.” From the news reports, this didn’t sound very “lean,” in terms of doing anything much to reduce waste or improve things for employees. Does this give “lean” a bad name or does it give the consultants and the managers a bad name? People tend to blame “lean.”
When companies use lean methods to drive layoffs, something most lean consultants (myself included) say you shouldn’t do since it understandbly drains any employee enthusiasm for lean, does this give “lean” a bad name or that company a bad name? People blame “lean” and say that “lean” led to their layoffs.
When this guy got the idea, somewhere, that Gemba walks led to more bureaucracy and paperwork. If that the was the case somewhere (and it shouldn’t be if a Gemba process is implemented properly, would “lean” get the blame for wasting managers’ time?
We need a phrase that describes these “bad” or misguided attempts at Lean, things that give Lean a bad name.
How about:
LAME: “Lean” As Misguidedly Executed
Lean As Mistakenly Explained? Can you think of a better phrase? We need something to describe what bad managers do when they purposely distort or accidentally misunderstand Lean. Maybe this will catch on, or maybe it’s lame. This way, when we see a “lean horror story,” we can refer to it as the “LAME method” instead of a “Lean method.”
Do you have any “LAME” stories to share for others to learn from?
More “LAME” posts and stories.
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Since most (if not all) failed attempts to become Lean are due to senior leaderships’s failure to educate, engage, and evolve, how about Lacking Any Management Ethics?
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I like it. Easier to describe and keep consistent than the “real lean” vs. “fake lean” that we talk about a lot.
I do think that “distort” or “accidentally misunderstand” is a little narrow. Some leaders (and the previous commentor is right) simply don’t have the capability to understand, they are misinformed, etc.
Kevin
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This reminds me of a discussion I heard about yoga, which is not only exercise, but a philosophy. Those who treat it as “exercise” move away to the next thing, while those who embrace the philosophy get the benefit. When yoga “contests” started popping up, it was an indicator that those participating didn’t “get it”. The same can be said of Lean – or, for those who don’t understand, LAME.
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Unfortunately most people jump on any bandwagon, I have seen supposed Lean consultants that double as outsourcing experts for China. That rates a lame, why would we expect businesses whose owners and managers only care about now be expected to actually implement lean, not likely, but if they can use it as a short-term fix they will, or at least pretend they did.
The LAME above is close but not quite Lacking All Morals & Ethics, maybe we can create a set of awards or a reality TV show on Fake Lean.
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