What keeps people from trying Lean? What are the barriers?

What keeps people from trying Lean? What are the barriers?

There are several reasons companies choose not to try to implement Lean. More accurately, it is the people who make decisions for the company who decide not to try it.

The first common reason is reputation. Some people have heard things about Lean that they don’t like. While Lean has a positive reputation among a lot of people, there is another group that doesn’t think very highly of it. They see it as a way to push employees harder, or they have had a bad experience with it. So, some people hear about the negatives and shy away.

The second reason is that Lean is counterintuitive. It is hard to picture that lowering the amount of inventory you have and reducing the size of batches can make you more efficient and have fewer shortages.

The third reason is a lack of training. If a leader doesn’t know how to do something, they are less likely to try it. If they have a lot of resources at their disposal, they can hire talent. If not, they may be scared to try it out.

Some people are turned off by how hard Lean is. As they research it, they learn more about what it entails and how long it will take, and they decide it is not worth it.

The final reason is that when Lean is most needed, the company is in the toughest financial situation.