Moving On

One Adventure Ends, Another Begins

Tomorrow, May 3, 2004, is a milestone for me personally, as it marks the conclusion of a wonderful time in my career. I'm leaving FBi Buildings and moving on to a new adventure in the medical device industry.

As I tied up projects over the past four weeks and prepared to move on, it struck me time and again how crucial people are. Yes, we talked about maintaining the momentum we'd established for continuous improvement, keeping up on work we'd started with our fine set of vendors, talked about continued training in understanding the tools of Lean.

But mostly we talked about people. About the depth of relationships we had. About how that depth was due to trust. About how that trust was forged in both the competitive fires of business and the realities of each of our lives. About how trust grew as we learned that teammates were both competent in their areas and consistently did what they said they would do.

In the end, relationships always trump techniques. And I saw, clearly, that to be the case at FBi. Given the strength of relationships, the techniques of Lean were straightforward to apply. Deep mistrust will deflate even the most brilliant technique.

It was tough to drive away, one last time, from the FBi office as the sun cast long shadows last Thursday afternoon. Mostly because of the friendships that will continue but I won't experience on a daily basis.

And that's what it is all about in the end. And for that, I'm deeply grateful for the owners and team at FBi for welcoming me for a most fascinating 6.5 years; for Ken, Sue, Tina, John, Randy, Ernie, Stan, Vickie, Jeff, Greg, Miles, Barry, Kurt, Ed and many more. You are forever in my heart.

More about the new adventure in weeks to come. Stay tuned to this space. For now, just go build a bit more trust today with those around you.

I hope this is helpful. Feel free to forward to a friend. Email me