Building Excellence: How Lean Leadership Stops Daily Firefighting

Do you remember the story of the big bad wolf? 

He huffs and he puffs and he blows your house down.

Now, imagine the big bad wolf is all the fires, challenges, and crappy chaos that happens in your day to day. 

Do you remember the three little pigs? Which little pig are you? 

The first little pig built his house out of straw - there was no strong foundation, no direction, and no processes. 

The second little pig built his house of sticks - he was a bit more determined, wanted something good, but couldn’t quite get there. 

The third little pig built his house of bricks - he had a clear vision, the strength to do it, and the process to get it done. 

Most businesses are the first or second piggie. And when the big bad wolf of chaos comes, their house blows down. This doesn’t mean they’re closing up shop, but they aren’t able to easily bounce back from big challenges. Their teams aren’t built out for adaptability or collaboration in order to really navigate challenges in ways that don’t impact customers or revenue too heavily.  

The companies who built their house with bricks have implemented lean leadership. Their teams are resilient, their operations are strong, and there’s clear goals driving productivity. This house is sturdy and invites excellence. 

This house has tremendously less firefighting. If your house is made of straw or stick (or maybe a little bit of both) then you’re probably stuck in daily firefighting. And if you’re spending most of your day reacting to challenges and tackling immediate crap, then you’re more of a business firefighter than a leader - and that’s not a fun or sustainable place to be for you or your employees. Burnout, frustration, and decreasing revenues are right around the corner.  

Lean leadership creates a clear, simple pathway to get away from daily firefighting and allows us to develop strong teams so that we can strive for excellence together. 

To build your house with bricks, you have to understand the brilliance of lean leadership. 

First, let’s be clear that it's not...Read the full blog here