CEOs, COOs, and consultants like myself do NOT know everything. We shouldnât pretend to, nor expect ourselves to. We do need to constantly focus on learning, thinking, and applying what makes sense.
We all too often overemphasize the differences and underestimate the similarities of our operations with that of others. Becoming skilled at recognizing which differences truly matter in a specific circumstance and which similarities allow us to learn the most is crucial to the effective leader of a manufacturing business.
Lazy leaders believe that copy/paste is a step forward, when it is doomed to fail. For example, failing to comprehend the thinking system behind its tools, many see a Toyota tool like kanban and try to copy/paste it into our own operations. Toyota developed, and continues to evolve kanban and every other visible tool it has to address its own business challenges and its own current state. They donât have you in mind.