They Just Don't Get It!

This one is tougher. Some leaders resist data not because they can't use it, but because they'd rather not confront what it reveals. There's an odd comfort in chaos. When everything is urgent, nothing gets scrutinized too closely. When you're constantly firefighting, people see you as busy and essential. The rhythm of crisis management can become addictive—it feels active, even heroic. Here's the hard truth: very likely, you have major problems in your plant. Every plant has them. But you're hiding from them. You've been putting band aids on critical machines, and the performance and quality are deteriorating faster than you can change the band-aids. Some leaders have actually said to us, "I don't want my boss to see these numbers." They prefer the familiar struggle over the transparency that comes with measurement. The trouble is, firefighting may look busy and even heroic, but it's not leadership. It's reaction. Operating from visibility is harder—it demands discipline, transparency, and follow-through. But that hard work is the only way to build real trust, unlock capacity, and create results that last.

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