As the measles outbreak that began in Disneyland spreads to multiple states, Public Health experts (including John Swartzburg from UC-Berkeley) voice frustration and concern. Entirely too many people have concluded that diseases they haven’t seen in over a decade are eradicated and vaccinating is no longer required. WRONG!
Just because things seem to be running smoothly doesn’t mean we can take our foot off the pedal. The belief that vaccinations are no longer needed represents the same faulty thinking as operations managers who think it’s okay to shift attention away from daily management of excellence.
Measles was eliminated from the United States because children were vaccinated. It was not eradicated from the world. Similarly, daily improvement happens in operations because management focuses on it every day.
An adult can quickly see if a child has contracted measles, but then it’s too late to prevent it. An operations manager may not notice the slide away from daily management until very hard work to re-institute that culture is required.
Keep vaccinations current so the greater population isn’t threatened. Keep daily management of operational excellence in place out of respect for the people who want to be great.