ABSTRACT
The business elements around Paul began to change, but, oddly enough, nothing changed internally to adjust. Paul’s product offerings began to change, so he needed the flexibility of quick changeover to different product lines and faster deliveries from his vendors. From a psychology of change perspective, Paul appeared serious about turning his assembly operations into a Lean organization. One of the elements of Lean and the perception of change is overcoming the concept of victimizing. Change can be difficult. Even though positive transformation can result, changing paradigm, breaking old habits, and discarding established routines can be tough transitions for anyone—management included. Nevertheless, lack of commitment from management is the one, definable reason why Lean implementations fail. Lean manufacturing principles, when correctly applied to lean leaders' environment, can be a powerful tool to determine optimal cost, quality, and delivery for their products or services.
