Are we setting ourselves up for another recession 30 years from now by focusing on "job creation" as opposed to "business management training"?
While shooting the breeze with friends, we discussed what we would have done differently over the past 15 years if we knew then what we know now. I realized that companies should require Lean training (or some other type of process excellence training) for new businesses. Something that none of us had when we started out.
I see many advertisements about how to start your own company and be an entrepreneur in these tough times. The Kaufman Foundation is an excellent example of a great organization dedicated to entrepreneurship and education. However, if you search their site for "Lean" it gets 5 hits, but only to draw attention to the phrase "lean and mean" within the text.
The Kaufman Foundation does have an entrepreneurial program called FastTrac. The FastTrac search tool also didn't return any hits for "Lean". Although, it didn't return any hits for "FastTrac" either so I don't think it's searching as well as they would like.
I do know that some of the companies associated with FastTrac are lean organizations. I strongly feel that learning this type of business methodology should be a "requirement" for participation in these types of programs and not and option.
I don't want anyone to think I'm pointing a finger at the Kaufman Foundation. They provide a wonderful program but as I've learned from Lean, there is always room for improvement.
I feel that this is something that not just the Kaufman Foundation can improve upon but any organization that offers this type of assistance.
Thirty years from now I want the United States to be a powerhouse in area of process excellence as opposed to what it is today. I believe giving entrepreneurs the training they need early is one way to ensure this.
