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May 2014 • The PCB Magazine 55 DOES CORPORATE LEAN WORK? continues ripe for change. I could see it in their eyes. They knew that if things didn't change, chains would be wrapped around the front doors. Knowing that this could not continue, I talked to peo- ple every chance I could, telling them our live- lihoods were intimately linked and that the seemingly never-ending strategy of per- petual firefighting had to stop! But change wouldn't hap- pen solely because the peo- ple in the plant were ripe for change. I needed to know if I would have complete air sup- port from above when it came to using Lean and conducting Kaizen events. Without that support, it would be no more than a suicide mission. I was fortunate enough to have a vice president of operations as my boss who understood and had experience with what I now call PowerLean. He let me know by his words and ac- tions that I was the right guy. He trusted me. I trusted him. This was a big deal too, be- cause I soon discovered that he was under some serious fire because of my poorly perform- ing plant. For example, within days of making my decision that I was going to change, I got a call from our corporate par- ent company, and it is rare you get any attention from these guys who like to fly around in helicopters and private jets because their time is so valuable. He said, with little in- troduction other than his name, "What the hell is going on there?" and hung up. Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead once said something like this: "Somebody has to do some- thing and it's just incredibly pathetic it has to be us!" My plant and I were the "us"! It chilled me to my bones! You can imagine the word I uttered shortly after he hung up on me. I felt extreme gratitude that I had a boss who, even under this immense pressure, would stay out of the way and let the process work instead of take the easy road and fire me on the spot! The question I had in my mind at that moment was whether or not I would stay out of the way and let this process work. Would I commit to lead- ing the charge? A charge doesn't really mean too much when it is just one crazy person running out onto the battlefield with a flag. But in that moment, that is exactly what I wanted and craved. I wanted to take control. Take charge. Order everyone around. And I knew nobody would follow me. In that moment I didn't care. I just wanted to have that comforting illusion of control. I wanted to micromanage the crap out of the plant! But an ef- fective and powerful charge re- quires people—people that are so manic in their pursuit that they will do anything, because they completely trust their manic leader who is willing to do the same thing—have their backs and stand out there in front and suck it up and take it no matter what. The easy way out would be to hire someone else to do this while I sat pas- sively in the peanut gallery and criticized in the hope of buying me more time while I continued to collect my pay- check. But I knew if I wasn't the one leading it, then it just wasn't going to happen. There is no such thing as a cowardly leader. Leadership demands bravery and the courage to stand at the front, knowing full well that instant annihilation is possible, because the front position is always fully ex- posed. And if you decide at the last minute to throw a body out in front to take the blow for you, at that moment, nobody will follow you. It takes integrity. It defines who you are and it is only revealed by the actions you decide to take while you are under pressure. As I sat there staring at the phone, I had some soul searching to do. I had to lead the charge—for real! I knew what that meant: I would have to spend time communicating and there is no such thing as a cowardly leader. leadership demands bravery and the courage to stand at the front, knowing full well that instant annihilation is possible, because the front position is always fully exposed. and if you decide at the last minute to throw a body out in front to take the blow for you, at that moment, nobody will follow you. It takes integrity. " "