beermonster,
I'm not sure that I understand the point of your post. If you're saying that lean activities somehow undermine sales, then I would disagree. If you're saying that lean practices don't directly produce higher sales, then I can agree with you.
Some people define "lean" so broadly that the term encompasses virtually every good business idea or practice. Some of these people seem to hold the belief that there is a "lean" solution to every business challenge. That's simply not true. The idea that lean or any other single management methodology is sufficient to insure success is completely unrealistic. The recipe for success is just more complicated than that.
But this does not diminish the importance of lean, especially in these very tough economic conditions. We all know that printing sales are declining, and printing companies of all sizes are responding to lower demand by laying off employees in significant numbers. See today's column by Dr. Joe at WhatTheyThink for more on these topics. Sadly, some companies have been forced to shut down their operations completely. The companies that survive this recession will need to be more productive than ever before, and improved productivity is one of lean's primary benefits.
Ironically, a crisis often provides the motivating force for a successful lean transformation. It happened that way at Toyota and many other companies as well. It's surprising how "easy" difficult change can become when your livelihood is at stake. Lean alone is not sufficient to guarantee your survival, but when used with other sound management practices, lean can substantially increase your odds of survival and position your company for an earlier and faster recovery.
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G. David Dodd
Point Balance, LLC
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