It Has an Execution Problem.

If I asked a room full of manufacturing leaders what keeps them awake at night, I’d probably hear a familiar list:

• Missed production targets
• Quality issues
• Labor shortages
• Rising costs
• Too many priorities
• Difficulty implementing change

Most organizations naturally view these as operational problems. The “solutions” are equally familiar: improve the process, invest in new technology, launch another Lean initiative, or provide more training. Those are all worthwhile actions, but after more than twenty years working with manufacturers, I’ve come to believe that many organizations are solving the wrong problem. The issue isn’t always operations. More often, it’s execution.

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