Culture change is one of those buzz words we hear seemingly everyday in corporate America. But unlike most of them, this one is actually important. Given the amount of significant change organizations face today, learning to quickly and effectively change a culture is extremely important. By understanding some simple concepts, you can rapidly accelerate changing the culture of your origination.

There are presently an awful lot of unemployed experts out there who have been recently downsized. There are more top notch recruits out there now then there has been for nearly thirty years! Now is the time to take advantage of the situation and put some of those great employees to work in your company. Yes, there is always the chance that these experienced workers will leave for greener pastures once the market changes, but only if you make it more attractive for them to do so. Train your management staff in how to retain those outstanding employees and start building a better workforce.

Then you use a lean concept called “pull.” Let your need determine what gear you buy as you upgrade. Optimally, you should never own a piece of equipment or software that you don’t use regularly. That would be waste. In manufacturing, if you have the capacity to produce more than is being demanded by the customer, you should look for ways to REDUCE your capacity! I know, crazy right? But the object is to MATCH capacity to need. If you have more of one than another, an imbalance occurs that will have negative consequences somewhere along the line.

The Kaizen Blitz is a decisive, quick attack on a particular area or process in order to improve it. Kaizen means, in general terms, continuous improvement, and the blitz is a great way to get people’s attention and make something happen quickly. It also means that there is little time for resistance to form, or opposition to a new program to develop.

It is advisable to start out small in order to learn the process. Over time, a 5S blitz will yield dramatic results in almost any work area, including the office. A plastic injection molding company is a prime candidate for tubulares lean, and a kaizen blitz does wonders in such a workplace.

This facility is also looking at other ways to increase productivity. They are looking at ways to rearrange the facility to make better use of the space that they already have. They are looking at a 30 percent increase in production if they layout is changed. It is believed that the cost of this project would be recouped in about 4 years. One major proponent in JIT is to eliminate wasted space. Siemens seems to be trying to accomplish this by this proposed project.

Knowing that there is a solution framework out there that works is what allows most CIOs to be able to sleep at night. Actually implementing a solution and saving the company, well that’s a job that will be waiting for you when you become the CIO.