Leaning American Politics
For the first time in my life, I was excited by a political primary in a state 2,500 miles away from my own home. The race was for a senate nomination in Washington state, and the candidate was Paul Akers, small business man and Lean evangelist who had promised to eliminate the waste in Washington (D.C. this time…)
Akers’ campaign revolved around applying the Lean principles he relies on to successfully manage his business to the bureaucratic nonsense that goes on in our nation’s capital. I for one was intrigued to see if he could pull it off.
But alas, the voters have spoken, and he was not tapped to run in the election. Instead, he’s launched LeanAmerica.org, a website that looks to organize and implement a Lean transformation in government operations at all levels.
According to the website:
Lean America is all about helping government organizations throughout America learn and implement lean thinking; by empowering their workers to continuously improve, eliminate waste, and to add value for all Americans. The enemy is waste! It exists in all of our lives, everyday, in everything we do.
He points to his trip to the local burrito joint as proof that waste is everywhere:
As one who has studied and worked in a state-sponsored university, I speak from experience when I say we have waste in our processes, and Lean thinking has helped us to eliminate it when we apply it in cross functional teams. ‘Nuff said.
I think the idea is exciting, but some have questioned whether government can or will apply Lean thinking if there is no consequence for failure. In other words, when governments waste time or resources, they can appropriate more! Under those circumstances, why would anyone choose to operate more efficiently?
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