In parts 1 and 2 of this series, we covered some of the issues and pitfalls associated with:

• Personnel
• Resources
• Suppliers
• Customers

In this, the third and final article in the series, we will discuss possible problems regarding the infrastructure of the company and the management culture.

Being blind to potential infrastructure issues.

• Since you probably stripped your resources (lived off of inventory, stock, etc.), think before you bring it all back in kind. Take a snapshot of what you currently are using and what you didn’t use at all. During this recovery, some things may be difficult to purchase quickly. Be the first mover to replace what you will need eventually. On the flip side, you may have items that you don’t need and that may be in demand. Somewhere during this ramp up may be a great time to rid yourself of these at a profit if you have them identified and have that as part of your game plan.
• What corners did you cut that still got the job done? You may have stopped all preventive maintenance, for example, but you know that isn’t a sustainable answer. Evaluate what was done and not done, and do your VA/NVA (Value Added, Non-Value Added) analysis. If it falls into the NVA side, figure out how to get rid of it or automate it. If it is a VA activity, put it on your priority list to restart as soon as practical.
• That includes ERP/MRP (computer-based resource planning) protocols as well as what equipment to bring back on line. If you are getting along without it, think twice before bringing that practice back. Anne Mulchahy, Chairman of Xerox, noted in a recent interview that the company is evaluating the new ways that things are getting done as a result of the recession and making the ideas and process changes that make sense part of the company culture. Never waste a good idea!
• Take time to evaluate the overall impact of the recession on your infrastructure. Don’t be one of those companies that have to stutter-step their recovery because of infrastructure snafus. That especially goes for critical equipment, processes and people. As you regain bandwidth, make sure that either they are made robust or add some redundancy.

Maintaining a management mindset focused on returning to “business as usual”.

• Your management team just went through a graduate course on how to survive a significant downturn, so why wouldn’t you use that knowledge going forward? We did a straw poll on how managers are reacting to this downturn. The majority response revolved around the, “I can’t wait to get this behind us to get back to business as usual” theme. So much for the diploma. Take time to record the lessons learned and add key action triggers to the company databank. (We should have done X immediately when Y occured.) It will help you respond better the next time.
• If you followed the advice of most change guru’s, you got very close to your employees during this time and communicated a lot more than you have historically. Don’t throw this one aside as things start back up. Managing by Wandering Around, visible management and Going to Gemba (going to where value is added from the customer’s point of view) work ALL the time. Make this part of the new management paradigm.
• You may have reduced your management headcount as well as the first line workers. Rethink how you restaff your support team. This is an opportunity to make some of the structural changes that you may have been considering. Also, decide what your company culture will look like going forward. Have you started to rely more on teams versus command and control? Make sure that you bring back only those individuals that will reinforce this new way of working.

Conclusion

This has been a challenging time for management at every level, and hard time for everyone in the organization. Now is the opportunity to turn the time, effort and money that the recession cost the company for an investment into a smarter and more solid future. What would you like your organization to look like and act like three years from now? Today is the day to start making that vision a reality.