
79
4
The No. 1 Root Cause
We need to stop trying to make processes useful and start creating
useful processes.
FIFTH-GRADE MATH EXPOSES THE PROBLEMS
I present many talks and workshops on the dysfunction of functional think-
ing and sometimes I illustrate the problem. I ask a participant to come up
and help me demonstrate how a vertical organization and its inherent “white
space” is perhaps the biggest impediment to continuous process improvement.
White space is dened as the interaction between departments, which
shows as white space on traditional organization charts.
1
Let’s call the participant Andy. Andy is going to start a shirt factory.
Isketch ...