Hi Gemba Community!
This week I’ll be sharing a personal story that ties in to present day realities.
I might be what you would call a “zealot” for authenticity. Nothing turns my stomach more than meeting someone who has read all the latest sales strategy books and from the minute you meet them, is trying to manipulate you. Or the odd propensity of the internet, to deliver fake content for clicks. This is incredibly obvious when you come across someone very interesting and different, only to have your enthusiasm for them die a quick death when they get caught up on metrics and do “fake” or “silly” things for clicks (engagement farming).
When I first started my business in 1997, I had little funding, a tiny 401K, and nothing to lose. Most of my spending money went to either computer gear or a new dirt bike. (Like the latest Nvidia graphics card, if you missed FMG20.) As it turns out, while both being very entertaining, one would result in a lot more opportunity than the other. One interesting aspect of it all, there was only a single person who tried to cast any doubt on my decision to leave a good paying job with great benefits, a company car, and lots of learning opportunities. There was a mid level manager who through the old “my friend who works in the Silicon Valley in technology tells me it’s a pretty hard business.” Imagine being the guy that said that in December of 1996, a time when the likes of Netflix, Paypal, and Google were just around the corner. Lucky for him, he misunderstood what my ambitions were, and lucky for me, I didn’t give any credence to the warning. Perhaps spectacularly, in hindsight, everyone else I talked to was supportive, even my least techie friends and family.
From there, it was a time of great change, and my business would see many ups and downs. It turns out I was great at seeing trends and adapting, but not as great at turning that into growth. Twenty-something me was not wired that way. I always had excuses for why, many or all of them one could argue, were valid. One thing is certain though, at times my complacency got cover from my authenticity. As it turns out, just being me had placed a lot of limits, and in hindsight, I am completely okay with the path I’ve trodden. During the time since, I found love and experienced the greatest love of being a father, two things I will never regret and always appreciate.
For the manufacturing direction, I had transitioned my business from an IT-focused organization to one that helps manufacturers improve outcomes. We’ve gone from being the guys building, protecting, educating, and problem solving, to the ones feeding continuous improvement. We even love the business so much, we caught the manufacturing bug ourselves, and developed a product that allows companies to harness their legacy equipment, and in some cases upgrade it to strategic use, adding great value for the long term. This is one of my proudest professional achievements!
Coming in to 2025, it’s a very different me. In many ways I feel similar to how I did back in 1996. Determined, understanding trends, but perhaps the biggest difference is, I am reaching the “legacy” stage of my professional development. My child is now a grown adult, my business is more mature, and the opportunities are historic. What will I do to be part of the solution? How will I capture the abundance for authenticity and impact?
I recently shared on LinkedIn that 2025 is perhaps the worst time of my adult life to be complacent. What I did not disclose was the “colleague” I spoke to on my drive, was an AI, and the biggest reason it’s a terrible time to be complacent is there are historic changes and opportunities technologically and for manufacturing.
There are some great parallels for continuous improvement, in our journey here. Consider each of these a potential exercise to break through some complacency “hiding in plain sight” next week.
- Comfort trap, framed as authentic, that’s our system, that’s how we do it, that’s how we’ve always done it. Which out of date processes are not challenged or even defended?
- Velocity, tech cycles have collapsed, waiting a year might be similar to skipping an entire generation. What would yesterday look like if we’d have implemented x already?
- Authenticity is not static. Real authenticity aligns actions with purpose. Today’s kaizen, the same philosophy, endlessly updated. What is your North Star and your vehicle (tools) to get there?
- Agility. Small, fast experimentation creates breakthroughs! Pilot a single legacy machine with smart edge and sensors. Commit to micro experimentation.
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