We are increasingly reactive, as opposed to proactive, and this contributes to a degree of chaos in everybody’s work life. Company managers demand efficiency, yet if we dig into that requirement we can learn that – too often – little has been done in the past to contribute to efficiency.
Efficiency is tightly coupled with a proactive mindset as well as behavior which enables teams to operate more effectively. Teams practicing continuous improvement are always finding new ways to reduce time, which translates to cutting costs. Continuous improvement can have a small upfront cost with a future payback.
However, because we are largely reactive, demands for efficiency usually occur during economically challenging times; work forces are reduced and the burden of efficiency is placed on the shoulders of those who simply do not have the time or energy to create efficiency.
A better time to start asking for increased efficiency is when money flows more freely and people have the time and energy to enable and create efficient solutions. When the economy becomes challenging, more resilient companies are those that have developed efficiencies.
When in panic mode, reactive leaders will contribute to ever-increasing anxiety and stress. Some problems require immediate solutions, but if the boss is frantic and emotional, everyone else will be too, and efficiency diminishes markedly.
Leadership is more than a job title. Those who are capable, future-thinking professionals, willing to proactively step up to the plate and buy into a culture of progressive action, have a better survival rate during lean economic times.
The balanced score card can show how a company can experience a ROI with continuous improvement. Reducing our number of employees, however, leaves us without the resources required to spearhead process change efforts.
Those of us who are serious about improving the return on investment in our company will continuously and proactively approach efficiency with a view to:
- meeting customer demands and
- transforming company performance.
“Reactive management is a strategy in which problems are dealt with after they arise, without planning for the long run. Proactive management is a strategy that believes in planning for the future and recognizing and preventing any potential problems before they arise. It (is about) envisioning the future and working towards achieving it.”
The decision to shift to proactive thinking to solve economic compression in a company is a difficult transition as it involves modifying behavior. To operate with less means the company must be able to provide the same level of service, and production with fewer people. However, with fewer people to champion the cause, it’s likely to fail, leaving a poor experience for everyone. Continuous improvement is a practice that contributes to operating with less.