When the biggest problem is not a problem at all

Four statements heard in every factory, and what really lies behind them. Why many problems are not problems, but perspectives.

Most problems in manufacturing companies are not problems. They are perspectives. People discuss symptoms, optimise details and defend decisions that nobody has questioned for a long time. And at some point, they mistake their own view for reality.

That sounds like a platitude until you listen to the statements people use when discussing problems in factories. Four of them come up almost everywhere. And behind each one, there is usually something different from what the statement claims.

Four statements you hear in every factory, and what often lies behind them

“We have always done it this way.”

The statement tells you how old something is, not why it makes sense. Behind it is almost always a decision that was right years ago, but whose underlying assumptions nobody remembers. The productive question is not whether the procedure is good or bad, but: what problem was it designed to solve, and does that problem still exist? Surprisingly often, the answer is no.

“SAP is the problem.”

In the vast majority of cases, the system is not the cause, but the place where the cause becomes visible. Incorrect master data, poorly maintained routings, processes that run differently on the shop floor from how they are defined in the system. The system merely shows the chaos; it does not create it. Anyone who replaces the system without cleaning up the underlying data will make the same mistakes faster afterwards.

“The process does not work.”

Usually, the process works exactly as it was designed to, but it was designed for a different reality: half the volume, fewer variants, a different customer. The process is not broken; it is outdated. That is an important distinction, because you repair what is broken and redesign what is outdated.

“The employees are not on board.”

The most convenient statement of all, because it shifts the cause down the hierarchy. In practice, people almost always get on board when three things are in place:

• They understand why something is changing.
• They have been asked what they know about the procedure.
• The change does not make their work harder in ways that go unacknowledged.

If any one of these is missing, resistance is not a motivation problem, but a correct response to a poorly managed introduction.

Why organisations rarely see this for themselves

Not because they lack ability. Because they are too close to it.

People who have worked within the same procedure for years no longer see it as a decision, but as a given. Those who introduced a solution themselves at the time defend it because replacing it feels like an admission of error. And those who work with the same colleagues every day stop asking questions that might be considered naive.

This is not a weakness of individuals, but a characteristic of every established organisation. We have described the specific signs that an organisation’s internal perspective is reaching its limits in a separate article.

What an outside view actually achieves

The value of an external perspective is less spectacular than it sounds, and effective for precisely that reason. It consists of three things that are structurally difficult to achieve internally.

• No history: An outsider does not have to defend a previous decision and can ask why a procedure exists without anyone losing face.
• No loyalties within the organisational chart: Whether the cause lies in planning, procurement or leadership makes no difference to an outsider; they can name it.
• Comparison: Someone who has seen many factories recognises patterns, which “special case” actually occurs everywhere, and which “unsolvable” situation has long since been resolved elsewhere.

A new perspective turns chaos into structure, complexity into clarity and stagnation back into movement. Not through magic, but because it can ask the questions that nobody inside the organisation asks any more.

Why we place personalities, not CVs

This is precisely why we at SMART iNTERIM do not simply pass on profiles. A CV demonstrates what someone can do. It says nothing about whether someone will ask the uncomfortable question that creates clarity in an unfamiliar organisation, or whether they will take responsibility for the answer.

We bring experienced individuals into companies who challenge assumptions, create clarity and take responsibility. Professional competence is the prerequisite. Whether someone has the courage and standing to offer a different perspective comes down to personality. Personality First.

Sometimes the solution is not to do more. But to look differently.

Which of the four statements do you hear most often in your organisation?

About SMART iNTERIM

SMART iNTERIM Management is a transformation partner for manufacturing: Operational Transformation, SAP and Enterprise Transformation, Program & Project Management, as well as Interim Management and Executive Search. We bring hands-on experience, not a detached perspective. Headquartered in Switzerland, with an office in Dubai.