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When any organization has remained highly profitable for many years, there is a disease that is likely to infect every team member from janitor to chief executive. That is the disease of extreme satisfaction. Those with the infection always think and sometimes say “we are doing fine, so there is nothing that we need to change.” Innovators are dismissed as arrogant troublemakers. New ideas are rejected unless they were invented here. Windows that might let in fresh air remain tightly closed.
The prognosis for those with this disease is serious, and indeed sometimes fatal. Eventually the extremely satisfied team is overtaken by a lean and hungry competitor, an innovator with a superior system. The organization that is wallowing in satisfaction is then decimated by a dissatisfied rival who is willing and able to embrace change. If you look at corporate history, the examples are everywhere. Think about the companies that were trend setters when you were young. How many of them have declined or even disappeared because they did not adapt to a changing marketplace?
Now look at your own warehouse. How many times have bold ideas been adopted? Can you think of any times when innovations were squashed? Do you have competitors who are doing things differently? How is your company perceived in the competitive marketplace?
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