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The Lean Post / Articles / Can a Lean Mentality Help You in a Crisis?

Can a Lean Mentality Help You in a Crisis?

Executive Leadership

Can a Lean Mentality Help You in a Crisis?

By Andrew Quibell

October 11, 2017

We all know lean's power when problem solving. But what power does it have in resolving crises, which are more urgent and serious than what you might encounter in daily problem solving? A lot, says Andrew Quibell. Read more.

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Looking back at the 26-plus years I worked in the automotive sector, I have often reflected on my past “crisis” moments.

Did I handle all of them well? No.

Did I get better at handling them over time? Yes.

What helped me improve, you ask? As many in the lean mindset say, the learnings from reflection exercises. I learned through analyzing a combination of my own experiences and others’ experiences I read and/or heard about. 

As I progressively moved up the ladder, the depth and breadth of the crisis situations I experienced increased in severity, importance and cost implications. Sometimes the data for a given crisis situation was so overwhelming I’d more or less drown in it and couldn’t even make a decision. Ever had a few of those moments?

As the crises I was asked to handle increased in stakes, I reached a point where I started to apply more and more of a lean mentality. It helped me focus, navigate through the data to pull the facts from the fiction comments, and also helped me demonstrate the ability to lead others.

When a crisis occurred, it was important to set and create a clear direction for my people, applying calmness and a level-headed, pragmatic approach to solving the problem at hand. I’ve outlined some of the lean techniques I apply to crisis management in my new sketch and animation. Some of them may sound like common sense and/or things you already do every day, but one of my most important lessons was to never let your guard down. It is amazing how the pressure of the moment, the emotions of the customer and/or your people in your personal space, and the stress and panic of a situation turning sour very quickly sends very sensible folks totally off the rails quite quickly.

I hope some of these pointers in my sketch and animation can help you work through these situations better. They’ll help you avoid those manic tearjerker moments, and embark on a safe path to a steady-state situation.

Can a Lean Mentality Help You in a Crisis?

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Written by:

Andrew Quibell

About Andrew Quibell

Born and raised in the United Kingdom, Andrew Quibell entered the automotive industry in the mid 1980’s as a trainee quality engineer. He advanced through the ranks into quality management and worked in several established tier-1 companies in the UK before joining the Textron division Kautex in 2002. Quibell entered Textron’s Lean Black Belt program in 2006, eventually becoming a leading lean practitioner in the business, working primarily in high volume manufacturing. His roles at Kautex included VP CI Global and Director, Quality – Global.

Prior to leaving the automotive sector, Quibell sat on Textron’s Quality & Continuous Improvement Council while also working as a regional advisor within Toyota’s tier-1 supplier base organization BAMA. Currently Quibell holds status as a Chartered Member of the UK CQI, a Senior Member of the ASQ, an Incorporated Engineer within ICME, and is registered as a principal auditor in QMS with IRCA.

In January 2016 Quibell left Kautex and moved into the printing industry, joining CIMPRESS – a leader in mass customization of printed products – as their Global Head of Quality Assurance.  Presently Andrew lives with his wife and daughter in the Windsor / Greater Detroit area.

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