Why you need a coach on your Lean / Operational Excellence Journey

I'm a big fan of NBC's Tuesday evening show, The Biggest Loser.  If you're not familiar with the format, the storyline goes something like this: obese person spend multiple weeks at The Ranch in order to lose 30% or more of their body weight.  The draw of the show is the human dilemma in which we just can't make phenomenal change without the aid and support of other people.  The contestants (it is a contest to see who will lose the most weight) are guided on this journey by  Trainer Bob Harper and Trainer Jillian Michaels.

So, here's the thing: you can't go from 400 pounds to 210 pounds without the help of a trainer guiding you into what to eat and how to exercise.

And, you can't go from high levels of waste and inefficiencies and untapped creativities to "lean", innovative and world class on your own.

The contestants on the show don't start by running a half marathon, but by the end, many of them are doing a full marathon.  In fact, they start with a mile "run" or walk and many of them are collapsing at the finish.

To believe that they could declare themselves to be pursuing a lower weight then achieve that lower weight in a short time and without a coach is ridiculous.

To think that you can jump into a lean system without working up to it is equally ridiculous.  You can do some test and show some people how it works, but to try to create a system without a solid foundation is sheer lunacy.

The success of these contestants is simply amazing, but each one would tell you that without the trainers it would have never happened.  All of them had tried various forms of weight loss only to be disappointed with results that start well but are never sustained.

So, what makes a good coach?  How do you evaluate a lean coach? Stay tuned for more on the subject.