In pre Covidian and pre Geo Political Disruptive times, the continuous improvement program was working well, improving quality, reducing lead time and reducing cost. The Return On Investment was healthy and even the culture was starting to move towards a more positive one.
Then at the start of 2020, the pandemic took hold and all of a sudden, the world is a different place. And since February 2022 Geo Political disturbances have been around more than ever.
The carefully crafted Continuous Improvement strategy seems like it could be torn up, the challenges being faced today were not even in the most unlikely rows of the risk assessments. It is no longer a question of whether the lead time can be improved by 5% over the previous year, but now we ask ourselves how to manage more remote supply chains that have gaps and are struggling themselves to keep going.
All in all, maintaining the status quo will be tough, let alone making improvements. So the current focus is solely on surviving.
It must be time to stop Continuous Improvement activities and divert team members to help other areas that are short of staff, right?
NO, Wrong!
Survival is the minimum requirement of this situation. Thriving is the desired outcome. These are the times when it is necessary to review the new current state, adjust the strategy and put in plans to deliver a new improvement plan that reflects the new normal. Does a change in current state mean that you should abandon the improvement system that has delivered so much so far, or should you use that same system to enable to overcome the issues that have now arisen and make the business stronger and more robust to future risks?
