People can make plenty of mistakes when launching a lean enterprise transformation. Interestingly, many of these mistakes are similar if not identical to those made by entrepreneurs when starting a business. Perhaps these mistakes are generic enough to be widely applicable and not specific to lean or start-ups.

1. Starting without professional help. It’s easier to build a sustainable business transformation on a foundation of others’ knowledge and experience. In addition to this general caveat, there are plenty of industry- and application-specific dos and don’ts at each phase of a lean implementation. Ask for help, visit a local company known for being steps ahead of you, or pay for some time with a person who has a head full of tales from the lean journey.

2. Looking in too many places for advice. An easy but damaging habit is to keep reading, searching, attending seminars, or asking questions until you finally “get it” or feel capable to commence. Provided that controlled failure for the purpose of learning is allowed within your organization, stop researching and try something. The best way to judge the usefulness of advice is to test it immediately in real life. Most often the people who work in the places where you tested your ideas will tell you why it didn’t work and what needs to be done to make it work.

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