Learning to WAITT

I'm going to vent a little now - (it's a perk that comes with having your very own blog).

Want a technique that will make things easier, faster, and more successful?  Consider this:

It's not a secret that the most important components in a project are the people involved. And yet so often the impediments to success are those very same people. 

When that happens 9 times out of 10 it's because there are personal agendas that hamper progress. They can be subtle or blatant. They can revolve around everything from poor self image to greed and opportunism.

All that can be said is that whatever the reason(s) answers are harder to come by and often sub-optimized.

The solution is to make it understood from the beginning by everyone involved:
we all have to WAITT (We're All In This Together)

It's a simple concept - we agree on the goal, we work together and (most importantly) we are willing to sacrifice egos and agendas to get to a successful conclusion. 

And finally you have to be able to ask yourself if you need to have someone involved that's not willing to WAITT.
       

Being Honest

Time to confess. In my life I have sometimes been both honest and dishonest. I've done it with family, friends, myself, and even God (He wasn't fooled). 

But I've learned - as a result of my experiences I now know that it's much better to be honest than dishonest. When I shine the light of truth (painful as it sometimes is) it's easier to move forward in life and to achieve the goals I actually want.

So why would anyone ever be dishonest?

Often it's simply a matter of convenience - if we choose to ignore or gloss over an inconvenient truth we can move on to the next step - whatever that is.

We sacrifice the solid foundation of truth in the false belief that we can achieve progress if we do.

So what does this have to do with supply chains?

Well, let me ask you this - are you honest with your ERP system? Your organization? Do you tell yourself the truth?

I have had people apologize to me before they share data with me - "These numbers aren't right but this is what we have."  What's up with that? 

Here are some questions for you:

• Are your lead time correct or are they "close"?
• How about your inventory accuracy? Do you really know what you have on the shelf?
• Are you using proper order history for forecasting? Do you adjust forecasts to skew inventory positions to your advantage?
• Are there any "fake" orders in your system?
• How accurate are your costs? Are you sure?

How about your organization? 

• Do you confuse training with a change in behavior? 
• Are you measuring the wrong things when you evaluate your supply chain? 
• Do you even know what you should be measuring? 

If you are not being honest with your ERP system you are building your house on sand - and it will catch up with you.

And if you are not being honest with your organization you will wind up expending a lot of effort for marginal results.

Sometimes bringing in a seasoned consultant - one with an outside view who is honest and is willing to speak up might be the best investment you'll ever make.

Do want real, positive change? Be honest.