The Just Don't Get It!

Over time, we've found it helpful to think about improvement in five levels: Level 0: The Mirage Sometimes what looks like progress is really just a set of favorable circumstances. A week with fewer changeovers, an easy product mix, or a temporary lull in quality problems can make performance appear better than it actually is. When conditions return to normal, the "improvement" disappears. Example: A packaging line shows a 15% jump in weekly output. The data reveals the real story: they ran only two products instead of the usual six, eliminating most changeover time. Nothing fundamental changed about the line's capability—they just got lucky with the schedule. The takeaway: Before celebrating performance gains, understand why they happened. If you can't trace improvement to a specific change you made, you may be looking at a mirage. Level 1: Just Work Harder People dig deeper and push harder—like a team fighting for a playoff spot or playing with extra

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