The Challenge of CI

?Enemy by Doc McIntyre

My favorite Jim Collins quote is:

“Good is the enemy of great.”

Once you’ve made it to good (as a person or a company), it’s very tempting to keep doing what you’re doing and not rock the boat.

But the problem is, the world around you is changing, so the status quo strategy actually leads to falling behind.

Beau says:

“Pretty good today is probably pretty bad tomorrow.”

I’m not trying to turn you into a perfectionistic malcontent. But don’t stop pushing and growing.

The Challenge of CI

As above, one of the hardest parts about CI is continued discipline necessary to move from “Good to Great.”? As you start seeing progress, the normal course of business shows up as disruptive as ever. Personnel challenges, supply chain issues, quality problems, safety concerns don’t stop just because you’ve launched a Continuous Improvement Effort. CI isn’t something that you do when it’s convenient, it requires a mindset shift. CI must become the way you do things, not something you do. It’s not a project, it is a way of life.

I’ve heard multiple times that fewer than 5% of Manufacturing companies truly pursue World Class, and of the 5% that do pursue it, only ~5% actually attain it.

So, if you are going to start the journey, recognize going into it that it is a journey, not a destination. There is no place where you say, “Okay, we are done!”? Thus, the name Continuous Improvement. As you see progress, pause, and celebrate, but don’t ever take your foot off the gas.

You don’t have to be great to get started, but you do have to get started if you want to be great.

Go get after it!