The great business breakthrough of the 20th Century may be Lean (and Six Sigma) — techniques that cut waste and can dramatically boost productivity. Yet many firms can’t make Lean work for them.

The big challenge for any company is “the ability to make things stick” — to be able to agree as a group to do things a new way, and then follow through and actually do it in that new way, consistently.

According to expert Rick Pay, known by his clients as “The Sherlock Holmes of Operations and Supply Chain,” the biggest enemy of Lean is Culture — specifically, Lean will fail if you attempt to introduce it into a hostile culture that resists change.