One of the most compelling aspects of lean manufacturing is to eliminate wasted time, effort, and of course, money. In many organizations, the number of internal activities having little or no impact on the customer (which is the primary reason businesses exist in the first place) is staggering. Why all this non-value stuff and what to do about it?

Owners and senior executives I work with frequently describe a gnawing sense that something is not quite right inside their business. Even when things are going relatively well, there’s a feeling that it’s harder than it should be. Complex, and sometimes, convoluted processes, procedures and systems, overlapping job responsibilities and redundant steps rob the enterprise of time and energy. Investments in new technologies help but only marginally as their full capabilities are not fully utilized. Team members who are “trained” on the fly are forced to react in real time and are ill equipped and not adequately prepared to do so effectively. What to do?

In my experience, the following three questions can help senior leadership teams frame problems in a way that simplifies these enduring challenges.

• If we could fix or improve one thing about the business (enterprise-wide) starting tomorrow, it would be….
• This would have been fixed by now except for the following obstacle(s)……
• The best way to remove this (these) obstacle(s) is to….

While the strategic planning process is useful in identifying organizational strengths and establishing goals and objectives, a deeper look reveals the primary reason why many businesses fall short of their stated targets. Something is in the way. We call these obstacles and they can take many forms.

By taking a thoughtful, thorough, clear-eyed view of these issues (obstacles) leaders can put in place an action plan which is not focused exclusively on attaining desired goals, but on eliminating the obstacles that are in the way.

In the strategic planning process, we don’t necessarily focus on identifying goals (these are already in place, and many are not being met) but on understanding what is in the way. The tactical plan which is created articulates not only what needs to be done, but what needs to stop being done.

For more information on ways to get your organization to a better place, contact me at joe@ajstrategy.com. To download a free copy of my strategic planning primer and worksheets, go to ajstrategy.com/snp.