Can Lean help Haiti?

Can Lean help Haiti?

It is so sad to hear about the ever escalating situation in Haiti.  Just watching CNN and hearing the latest news is enough to make you think about "life" in general and to be more appreciative of what we have here in North America.  My family is also now discussing if there is anything we can do to help - even if in some minor way - to get them off the ground and recover quickly.

I guess providing donation is one way we can do that (last year LSI gave a $5000 cheque to World Vision at our Lean Strategy Summit, and my family sponsors 17 World Vision kids), but is that enough?

Then I begin to think . . .  could "lean thinking" influence the rescue mission?  Could lean supply chain get food and supplies there faster?  Could lean mindset help people to stay positive?  Could lean manufacturing help them recover faster by becoming more self sufficient in producing essential needs?  I can't help but keep asking more questions, though the answer is not clear.

I do feel that somehow, lean principles can help, because "can do" attitude, "teamwork", and "coaching" - three main elements of being a sensei - surely could do no harm to help them stabilize their emotional state and provide a bit of hope in the midst of this catastrophe.

The Pastor of the church I attend (Tenth Alliance Church in Vancouver), who incidently is a Japanese/Canadian person - is a board member of World Vision.  And because of our close relationship with World Vision, I am hoping that somehow we can lend hand or assistance to World Vision's team that is involved in the Haiti rescue mission.

I would love to hear about your thoughts and ideas on this subject. Are there things we can do to help the rescue mission in some way?  Could we streamline the flow of supplies through lean methods?  Whatever is your idea, let us know (I've turned on the comment section so that you can comment directly on this blog).  Please click on the "comment" link at the bottom of this post to publish your comments. Please note that you will need to be a "follower" to add comments.

For a complete update of the Haiti situation, please go to CNN site at:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/15/haiti.updates/index.html?hpt=T2