I believe there's a tendency to think that the greatest inventions are the ones being created now. Things like cars that drive themselves and watches that tell us how well or poorly we've slept are indeed marvels. The same thing applies to business. We may think modern concepts—like the lean business model—are the pinnacle of entrepreneurship, but there's so much we take for granted.
It occurred to me that in all of our entrepreneurial struggle, particularly in the pursuit of a lean business model to transform our companies, we have a lot we can learn from inventions of the past.
1. The Printing Press
Prior to the invention of the movable type printing press, books were rare and expensive, as they were either handwritten or laboriously printed using hand-carved wooden blocks.
But what on earth does a printing press have to do with the lean business model? It's all about the process—defining, refining and making it infinitely repeatable.
When you have durable components—like metal type—you have an array of configurations that can be reworked and reused to produce large quantities of books … or anything else. Lean process is all about creating systems, building a means of production that is efficient and streamlined, and the printing press is a perfectly elegant example of making a process leaner.
2. Vaccines
Developments in treating serious illness have certainly lengthened lives and improved the quality of life in the process—but it's even better to prevent illness altogether. Vaccination keeps people healthy by giving them the ability to resist serious diseases like smallpox and measles.
How can we apply the core idea of vaccinations to that of a lean business model? Simply, that it's better to prevent problems than to deal with them after they've presented themselves.
Identifying potential bottlenecks and taking steps to prevent them is an intrinsic part of lean business practices. Anticipating barriers to success and implementing processes to avoid them is part of the lean ethos.
An ounce of prevention can prevent a ton of troubles, and both vaccines and lean process can attest to that. Healthy businesses are inoculated—they're ready to ward off problems.
3. The Telegraph
Prior to the mid-1800s, information traveled at the speed of a horse, or in the case of trans-oceanic information, at the speed of a ship. Can you imagine running your business with days or weeks-old information?
Now, of course, information races around the globe faster than we can blink. But what the telegraph can teach us in terms of a lean business model is profound: Accurate, timely information can be absolutely critical.
Lean management relies on information, reported correctly and consistently. For example, you can't expect to effectively tweak your offering to satisfy customers if you aren't getting feedback from those customers. And you can't maintain a just-in-time inventory if you don't have an accurate read on consumer demand.
In fact, running a business without consistent, reliable information could result in the furthest thing from a lean process. You'd find yourself guessing, rather than deciding.
Information in the modern age is a form of capital, and that wouldn't be the case if we were still waiting on the next horse to arrive from California. The lean business model is only possible if we ensure clear, consistent communication in a number of directions.
4. The Light Bulb
The incandescent light bulb made it possible to read, work and socialize after dark in a way that was more reliable and much, much safer than using candles and oil or gas lamps. Before the light bulb, we simply went to bed earlier because there wasn't much we could do that was productive.
Similarly, the lean business model relies on finding ways to do more, to become more efficient and productive. Rethinking usual business hours and capitalizing on formerly idle hours are all hallmarks of lean process that are analogous to the ways in which the light bulb transformed our lives.
We spend so much time figuring out ways to use modern technology to our advantage, and that's a good thing! Figuring out that Facebook and Instagram can benefit your business is important. But reflecting on how historical developments changed the world can also help give us perspective as well. In a way, we've been working toward the lean business model for centuries, and history has much to teach us about going forward.
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