When you think about manufacturing excellence, continuous improvement and operational excellence, Dolly Parton probably is not the first person who comes to mind. Honestly, I am guessing she never led a Kaizen event, filled out an A3 or spent an afternoon arguing over which KPI should be on the scorecard. But after listening to her song, Better Get to Livin,’ I started thinking that perhaps she should.
Last week, I was in an AME offsite meeting when I heard the sad news that Dolly Parton had passed away. The entire meeting stopped, and someone pulled up Better Get to Livin.’ We all took a moment to listen. I started thinking about the song and how much of Dolly's advice applies to continuous improvement.
The message in Better Get to Livin’ is simple. Stop sitting around waiting, stop making excuses, stop worrying about everything that might go wrong and get moving. And isn't that continuous improvement?
The song is full of practical, conversational advice about living a better life. I realized how many of those same lessons apply to how we lead, work, and improve our organizations.
- Give, forgive and care - Continuous improvement starts with people. If we want people to identify problems, share ideas and try new things, they have to feel valued and trusted. Giving people the opportunity to contribute matters, forgiving mistakes matters and yes, caring about people matters.
- Be concerned about where you are going - Continuous improvement requires purpose. It requires understanding where you are today, where you want to go and being willing to adjust along the way.
- Stop whining and get your dreams in line. This one is my favorite. We can all identify problems. We can point out everything that is wrong, explain why something will never work and probably tell you who caused the problem in the first place. But identifying a problem is not the same thing as improving it.
At some point, we have to stop talking about what is wrong and start asking, “What are we going to do about it?.” That is where continuous improvement comes in. We need to understand the problem, get the right people involved, try something, learn from the results, and make adjustments. And then we keep going. It is not about getting everything right the first time. It is about learning, refining, and continuing to make progress.
That is also what I love about the AME community. People are willing to share what they are doing. They open their doors, share what worked, but just as importantly, they share what did not work and what they learned along the way. That is how all of us get better.
Dolly built an extraordinary career because she kept moving forward. She took chances, tried new things, and reinvented herself more than once. There is a lesson there for all of us. You cannot improve if you never start, and you cannot make progress if you are waiting for the perfect time.
There is another reason Dolly makes me think about AME. She understood the power of people. Throughout her career, she has used her success to lift others up, create opportunities and make a difference. That is a pretty good lesson.
Which brings me to the AME International Conference and this year's theme, People First, Progress Together. The AME International Conference is not about sitting in a ballroom for three days listening to someone tell you that you should improve. It is about seeing what improvement looks like, experiencing it firsthand and talking to the people who are doing the work.
You will walk into companies willing to open their doors and share their stories. You may come looking for an answer to one problem and leave with an idea that changes everything. That is what AME has always done best. We bring people together, create opportunities to learn from one another and remind ourselves that none of us has all the answers, but together we know a lot.
I hope you take a break from the Nine to Five this Labor Day weekend. Whether you spend time at the beach, visit with family or just slow down and listen to a few Dolly Parton tunes, I hope it is a happy healthy end of the summer holiday.
And when you return next week, make sure you register to join the AME community in Milwaukee in October for the AME International Conference.
As always, please stay safe and keep looking out for one another.
