How Fast We Fix Problems

What I want to share here is that having problems is not the problem. The real focus should always be on how fast we fix those problems and how we create that culture within our organizations.

At LeanTakt and Elevate we live this principle every day. In our tact review meetings we invite the whole team to bring their perspective, tear projects apart, and make sure we are delivering real value. To support this we created something called an action red card. It is a simple tool that captures major action items we need to rally behind to help our clients stay on track without hurting trade partners. Once an item goes on the red card it goes straight to our board and project managers are expected to fix it quickly.

At first people saw it as negative. They thought getting a red card meant they had done something wrong. But the culture we reinforce is that finding problems is good. What matters is fixing them fast. That is the culture we are building, trust, openness, and responsiveness.

This lesson was reinforced for me years ago by Janet Howe at DPR. She showed me that it was never about whether you got safety observations during a walk. It was always about how quickly you corrected them. When I started responding immediately and sending updates back, I earned a reputation for running some of the safest projects. Not because I never had problems, but because I fixed them right away.

Here is the bigger truth. Every company, every family, every team, every person has problems. There is no exception. The most dangerous belief is thinking that you do not have problems. Lean systems exist to bring all problems to the surface. That is what Last Planner, Takt, huddle boards, and visual systems are designed to do. They are seeing systems. Once you see the problem, you can solve it.

This principle is embedded in the most successful approaches out there. Geno Wickman’s EOS is built on identifying, discussing, and solving problems. Paul Akers teaches a two-second lean which focuses on finding waste and making small improvements. Toyota’s production system revolves around just in time, Jidoka, and Kaizen, all centered on surfacing problems and responding quickly.

The pattern is clear. Lean thinking is not about perfection. It is about visibility, responsiveness, and continuous improvement. At Elevate and LeanTakt our tools are not just pretty visuals. They are designed to surface problems and drive action.

The ideal state for any team is not a job site without issues. It is a job site where problems and constraints are constantly being surfaced, discussed, and fixed quickly. It is a business where challenges are raised openly, even if it stings, because the team trusts each other to solve them together.

Having problems is not a big deal. What matters most is how fast we fix them. That speed of response is what creates safety, stability, and flow.

Key Takeaway

Every team has problems. What defines success is not avoiding them but how fast we bring them to the surface and fix them together.