Dear Systems Thinker,A number of conversations in the past month about failed change programs. Over a year ago, I wrote a post commenting on the WSJ article where it was claimed that
over 60% of improvement projects fail - I was surprised it wasn't higher.
Another lean claim is that only 2% of lean efforts are successful -this isn't my opinion this is from a whitepaper from the toolhead leaders. Just Google "Why Lean Programs Fail." My (somewhat irreverent) post is
The Truth about Why Lean Programs Fail. I was actually surprised they admitted it!
I went back and read some articles about Bob Nardelli's tenure as CEO at Home Depot by Russ Nussbaum back in 2007. The article was titled
Lessons from Home Depot's Bob Nardelli. The Six Sigma manufacturing doesn't work in service either, talking to folks that were there hated the elitist black belts and back-stabbing that accompanied a deflating culture.
Even worse, practitioners (of lean and six sigma) are claiming to make systemic changes. If they were they success rate would be higher than 2%.
The Vanguard Method offers a much better approach, it addresses the fundamental thinking problems in the design and management of work.
This is certainly an opinion. But having worked with it for several years now, I have found that it is a comprehensive method for learning. It will challenge management like no other method and needs to be cause today's management is steeped in assumptions. It challenges top business school curriculum and the organizational structures that have been passed down from generation to generation.
Everyone has a choice, my job is to make sure people know about something very different and powerful.
