To prosper in the “shift-age” your business must first survive.
Manufacturing companies that survived global competition learned that solvency depends on the unrelenting pursuit of continuous improvement. Unfortunately, many sectors of our economy still accept waste and rework as a normal cost of doing business. The cost of incompetance is passed on to consumers–who at this point, have no other options.
Manufacturers that survived global competition, did so by applying process discipline to the shop floor. Subsequently, prices fell and product quality improved all over the world. Consumers terminated long-standing relationships with the non-adapters–who were quicklyknocked out of the game.
The non manufacturing sector is just entering the price crucible . CEOs are waking up to the implications (and the certainty) of facing game-changing competition. Some CEOs are stuck like deer in the headlights—aware but not knowing where to turn. History suggests that there are only two options:
- get out of the business before being knocked out
- build a culture based on continuous improvement.
Becoming a continuous improvement centered culture requires:
- Exorcising industrial-age assumptions, attitudes, and habits.
- Making leadership everybody’s business (to generate Corporate energy, foster will to win and maintain a desire to belong).
- Subordinating personal authority to process discipline (to find out and take action fsater than the competition).