We value streamed this, and we SMED'd that, and along the way, we laughed, we cried, but we persevered and behold, an improved process was born!Then it turns into "how much money did you save?" and folks kinda shuffle their feet, look out the window, scratch their heads and try to explain... "ummm... errr..."
I love saving cash. Money money money. I love when the company makes more profit, money money money. It lets the company grow, develop better products, expand their market reach, invest in their people - all great stuff.
But sometimes, it's not about the money. Sometimes it is about the journey, the learnings, about the improved working conditions or employee morale (to which you could attribute a cost savings, if you wish). Success comes in many shapes and sizes; we shouldn't assume it looks like a dollar bill.
Mind you, some times it is about the money. Usually, the money comes up when things aren't going so well, when suddenly there is less money than wanted. No one likes bringing up the subject of the money in this situation; it's the giant elephant in the room. It's easy to try to focus even more on the money when doing kaizen in these situations, but we have to be steadfast and continue on the path of improvement. If one improvement yields little to no direct cash, but has other benefits to the organization, that one improvement may end up being the start of a much bigger result - the foundation of future wide-scale changes - the kind with truly large financial impacts to organizations.
Rome was not built in a day, and so we should let each kaizen be seen as the small incremental steps we take each day towards building the empire we want.
AMac
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