When it comes to managing our businesses, we discover it always comes down to systems. Whether systems for sales, production, administration, inventory, human resources – the more effective and efficient our processes, the better we maintain the consistency needed to produce our desired results.
Automating these processes becomes the next step in creating, and improving the bottom line goals and outcomes. Often management knows this, but yet somewhere along the line, the linear path from input to output seems to get skewed. It’s bound to happen when machines break, new human error is introduced, consumer demands change, new technology becomes available…and plans aren’t in place to address these constant, yet often unpredictable changes.
Business Management Consulting
Business Management consulting allows an expert outside perspective come in and take a look at these changes in an objective way. It helps organizations to slow down in order to course correct for better effectiveness. Lean business management consulting adds the additional benefit of also cleaning up processes, organizing tasks to reduce waste, and systematizing processes that have been pieced together over time, or that have failed to exist.
What is Lean Business Management Consulting?
Lean management is a set of tools, tried and true business management techniques that create a culture of continuous improvement. By asking “why” and getting to the bottom of processes with a robust and complete understanding of it, allows for consistency, systematization and, when applicable, automation.
This in turns creates proven results such as an increase in productivity, increase in work area space, decrease in dead inventory, improved safety, improved customer satisfaction, reduced defects and more.
An Analogy to Understand Lean Management
To truly understand how lean management works, it may be helpful to consider an analogy:
Mannie Facture is experiencing pain in his wrist while working. He goes and sees Dr. Getterdone who recommends he wraps the wrist with duct tape, as it is strong and will reduce the appearance of swelling. He gives Mr. Facture a few pain killers and sends him on his way.
This is like most business operations who see a problem and do what they can to make a quick fix, which works, but it may only be a short term fix. It is far from holistic, unlike the second approach, which is more like lean management:
Mannie Facture goes to visit Dr. Excellence who takes time to ask Mannie about the severity of the pain, what his daily workload is and his previous health history. Dr. Excellence listens to his heart, as it effects every part of his body, and looks at not only what is causing the wrist pain, but what other conditions may be present. He offers physical therapy to help strengthen the wrist, elbow, and shoulder, which provides a more robust, long-lasting and supportive solution.
Business management that is done as “spot treatments” rather than holistic approaches results in inefficiency and even failure. A business consultant, particularly one who specializes in Lean Management, can help get your business back into shape before a collapse.
PBEX, LLC provides a complete review and analysis of the business processes that create efficiency and profitability, and the barriers to them. Contact us today to learn more about lean business management and to schedule your review.