Zombies in the gap

Many of today's problems and issues were once fine solutions, but today somehow they don’t seem to work so well.

Perhaps your coworker, supplier, factory assures you this continues to be the right way to go as it works for most if not all applications. Perhaps its been a small problem in the past…it worked but it wasn’t ideal.

So now it's back and it's a bit worse this time...perhaps much worse.  

Seemingly small issues that don't seem to be central to the product are easy to put aside as not worth the time investment to optimize. ...after all, why focus on issues that will give incremental gains, versus focusing on obviously bigger opportunities, right?

In reality, all elements are like interconnected components in an assembly - the weakness of any one piece reduces the effectiveness of the whole system. True some parts are more instrumental than others (an engine block versus a hubcap), but it pays to approach each component with the same rigor to eliminate weak links and to establish a consistency of design intent, performance and quality in the finished product.

The undead nature of a problem is a sign that something significant is happening that needs attention. There's a gap between previously good and currently poor. This gap is an easy one to overlook but it's a crucial one to pay attention to.

Take a fresh look at your assumptions for what continues to work versus what is a poor choice to carry forward.  If you don’t address them, these zombies will come back to haunt you…like the undead from a bad 80’s B horror film, they don’t go away until you face them head on.

In the past, you may have used a great process or material to produce a part, but now the part is different, with different functions and a different customer. This previously best solution is no longer the best. Go for the silver bullet, the wooden stake, whatever works best with the least gory special effects and slay the zombies to save the day, the product, the company and your customers.