A: The most challenging aspect was reducing WIP. Our consulting partners, Vector Consulting Group, insisted on freezing nearly 75% of running work in various departments to reduce WIP. It was a frightening proposition considering we were already running late. Vector showed us that not everyone works on all tasks. There is always a waiting list and an active list. The real problem is that in an environment of frequent priority changes, these lists are different for different resource groups, and they change daily causing overall desynchronization. Through simulations they showed us that the step of freezing, and establishing common priority, was less risky as compared to the status quo. The daily management rule was also most difficult to implement as most managers rarely understood the difference between delegation and abdication. The comfortable practice of issuing a task deadline and checking with subordinates only close to the deadline had to go; we had to bring in the culture of daily management. We also had difficulty enforcing the rules of strict closure criteria gates, there was always a temptation of diluting them. However, once we stood by the rules, and people saw the benefits, these rules became part of the organization’s DNA.

A: We started the implementation with Vector Consulting Group about two years back. Apart from the great advancement in numbers, what I like best is the decline in stress levels of people, and improvement in overall harmony.