Close to being DQ'd for Poor Process?

The failure of the U.S. 4×100 Track Relay teams this week at the Olympics is a great example of how superior athletes can fail to deliver world class results because: they lacked leadership; were taught/self taught poor or different forms(processes); and didn’t practice enough - tried it a few times and thought they had it down.  Well they had it down alright…and the women seeing the failure of the mens’ team did the same thing.  It’s amazing and sad at the same time.  How could this happen on the world stage? How could these talented people simply drop the baton?  Well it happens every day and it is happening in Logistics and Transportation as you are reading this article.

When I see this type of problem it is a strong indication that management has either assembled talented ‘individuals’ who are only interested in themselves and can’t spell ‘Teamwork’; does not understand what needs to happen; does not know what their current 1st pass yield rate is; does not know how to assess/solve the problem; is impatient and interested in the short term and low hanging fruit; does not understand that productivity and superior service only come from consistently effective, efficient, and exceptional performance; and has not seen the need to invest in the education of the team.

If your Logistics/Transportation group is made up of self-centered individuals who operate in a loosely defined and/or inconsistent process, relying on heroics to win — your team will soon be DQ’d by your strong business partners!

Have you done your due diligence and contingency planning?  When is the last time you audited your processes or asked your business partners if the have an ISO certification or can show you their process audits/measurements?  How close are you and your partners away from dropping the baton on the world stage and not only embarrassing yourselves but putting your company and customers at risk?