Principle of War #2 – Offensive

Offensive: Seize, retain, and exploit the initiative.

1. Objective
2. Offensive
3. Mass
4. Maneuver
5. Intelligence
6. Concerted action
7. Unity of command
8. Simplicity
9. Security
10. Economy
11. Surprise
12. Exploitation

This is the principle of courage – willingness to move forward under conditions of uncertainty or danger with no guarantee of success. All great successes you’ve ever read about were the result of someone taking action. In Lean Six Sigma we live under the umbrella of continuous improvement (CI), stay on the offensive. 

This principle drives a proactive approach to problem solving and process improvement. Offensive principle naturally follows “Objective”, knowing the objective is required, but so is taking action to accomplish it. We (Lean Six Sigma folk) should be constantly driving more improvements, more Kaizen activities, eliminating more waste, and training more people. Be relentless in your pursuit of TIM WOODS – he doesn’t let up and neither can we. 

A couple of common proactive tools we use are the Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and SWOT Analysis. Remember, as a Green or Black Belt you are the organization’s CI engine pushing it toward greater and greater levels of excellence. 

Once you get going, keep going.