TABLE OF CONTENTS "The more complex the problem, the simpler the solution must be or it will not work!"
Most organizations deal with complexity by breaking down their organization into functional parts and demanding that each part figure out how to improve itself. For ease of reference, I will call this the "silo" approach. Before we rush to replace this approach, we must understand why this silo approach blocks the achievement of a Viable Vision and often fails to improve the organization as a whole.
One of the most dreaded words in today's management vocabulary is expressed as a command: IMPROVE! The reaction is often:
I am totally overwhelmed fixing problems from the last improvement effort. Leave me alone. Or
What do you want me to do, fulfill my operational responsibilities or work on improvement projects? I do not have time to do both. Or
Not again! Here comes another program of the month.
With these typical reactions, any executive launching even a minor improvement effort is rarely greeted with enthusiasm. As managers everywhere find themselves in fierce competition with other functional areas over the resources needed to execute their improvements, it is no wonder the command to improve intensifies cross-functional battles! Even when a manager successfully completes his/her part of an improvement project, he/she comes face-to-face with other functional areas and other organizations (suppliers, distributors, retailers) that did not...
