You Worry That Lean Reduces Your Job Security.

There is a way people think known as an “availability heuristic.” That is a fancy way of saying that we judge what we think is going to happen by the easiest to remember examples. We’ve all heard about efforts to cut costs in other companies (or possibly even our own), and they all seem to include layoffs. It is no wonder that people hear about Lean and they leap to the conclusion that it mean jobs will be at risk.

The truth is that some companies that get into financial troubles do use layoffs. In some cases, they even resort to layoffs prior to starting on a Lean journey. But layoffs are actually contrary to Lean principles. Lean requires engagement, and you don’t get that when people fear for their livelihood.