ust say it "Let's going lean". But the next question will be "How" and probably "why need to be a lean organization?"
I think later question must be answered first by senior management team leader, I am talking about CEO or VP Operation level. Because, I believe only lean transformation process is support and drive by the top management level otherwise there is not going to be a real lean organization. Let's talk about real lean later!
Usually, there are a lot rush to answer the "how" question BUT I prefer, from my personal experience, that this have to be answered step by step. Remember that the lean transformation process is a "journey" and the speed of the process vary depend ranging from culture to personality and to the DNA of an organization. It is always good to set the time line for change to happen, realization of "goal" but to use the speed from one place as benchmark to other, I think it is a mistake.
Let's back to the subject, what does it take to going lean and who should drive it? My believe is that CEO should drive the lean transformation process thought there are lots of arguments that CEO have lot other thing to do than just driving lean. Well... If lean manage properly, it will have the impact on the bottom line whether it is about "Profit" "People" and "Planet", the popular "triple P". Taking the recommendation of Prof. Porter in his article "What is strategy?" published in HBR, whether you are "low cost" or "differentiate" or both at the same time, your strategies are still vulnerable to be copied. Therefore, I believe taking your whole organization/business into lean way will make it almost impossible to copy. Therefore, you will always ahead of competitors.
However and whoever is going to drive this lean transformation process should equip themselves at first a skill in managing change transformation process supposing he/she already a leader. The 8 steps to transforming your organization model developed by Prof. Kotter and published in his HBR article "Why Transformation Efforts Fail?" is so striking me and I am highly recommend those who will driving change to come across his research. Also the theory "E" and "O" develop by Prof. Beer and Prof. Nohria in their HBR article "Cracking the Code of Change". Find out more on the right side bar for more downloadable link to change management!
So my closing remark here is, it take first the " need" for going lean by senior management and "change management" skill by the driver.
