Marks & Spencer, the large UK retailer has an environmental strategy branded ‘Plan A’ …. “because there is no Plan B. They are trying to get over the message that we HAVE to look after the environment and they are doing what they can
Of course, in business, there has to be a Plan B – except in severe emergencies. We have to have the flexibility to respond to changing circumstances – competition, legislation, technology or whatever.
There is now some concern that if we over-emphasis resource cutting approaches such as lean, we might reduce such flexibility to the point where there is no Plan B.
So, by all mean make yourself lean – but alongside the lean programme carry out a risk assessment and keep a little resource ‘in the bank’ for emergencies.