You make a really solid point in noting that traditional organizations are not able to transform into a lean organization overnight. It is important to understand that lean organizations invest years going through the process of implement lean concepts.

Investment in changing the culture of the organization and ensuring leadership continues to support the implementation is critical to the success of the lean concepts. These investments take time to completely set into the organization.

It seems similar to losing weight for many people. It should be recognized that it took some time for the weight to establish itself in the body and it typically will take just as long for the weight to shed itself from the body with the appropriate commitment.

One thing you also add is that similar to someone trying to lose weight quick fixes tend to have short lasting results which is why lean is most successful in organizations that take the commitment seriously and take a long-term sustainable approach.

Required:

How long is the right amount of time to transform a traditional organization into a lean model? Can you offer some examples of companies that have transformed successfully in a short period of time?

REFERENCE: Harvard style