These days you can hear the phrase when we go back to normal, dozens of times a day. We all want to return to our normal lives, right?
As a lean practitioner, I believe that each event is a learning opportunity, the coronavirus pandemic is no different. During these slower days, there is time to learn new things and plan for the future. Lean is all about learning, experimenting, and adapting. That is just what everybody needs to learn now. Every day I read about how people are adapting to the new normal, and many are using lean or continuous improvement thinking without knowing it. For me, at this moment, Lean style problem solving is the on-demand skill.
I am not the only one that thinks that way. Last year, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD), published Indiana’s Employability Skills Benchmarks. It describes a set of 18 workplace skills recommended for success in today’s competitive workforce. One of the skills identified in the learning strategies category is problem-solving.
The way each business adapts the operation to comply with the CDC guidelines is unique. The solutions are not one-size-fits-all, and on top of that, those guidelines change as they gathered more information. Learning how to use a systematic process like PDCA and apply lean thinking is critical to identify and implement the new operational guidelines for your business.
This situation catches most people without the skills to learn and adapt, but it is never late to start. You are on time to start using lean thinking to approach the current challenges. With practice, you can build that muscle memory that will guide you through times like this. The new normal then should be something better than before the coronavirus pandemic. It is like when you create the future state value-stream-map, imagine a better and stronger business and plan how to make it happen! Many will go back to business as usual, your competitive advantage will be your new way to do business.
Better Process Solutions can help you to start designing your new processes, get in touch!