When My Design Didn't Win

Kaizen Snapshot

Setting: Armstrong World Industries – Pensacola Integration Project

Challenge: Help redesign and integrate multiple production lines into a single-flow manufacturing system while supporting a design direction I didn't believe was the best option.

Stakes: Millions of dollars in capital investment, worker safety, operational flow, changeover efficiency, and long-term plant performance.

Approach: Challenge the proposed design with a thoughtful alternative, support leadership's final decision, and focus on making the chosen solution as successful as possible.

Outcome: The integrated production system launched successfully, numerous changeover improvements were implemented, and several innovations were later adopted at other Armstrong facilities.

Key Lesson: Great leaders aren't defined by whether their ideas are selected. They're defined by what they do after the decision has been made.

When My Design Didn't Win

The Situation

Early in my career as a Corporate Industrial Engineer for Armstrong World Industries, I was invited to join one of the company's largest manufacturing redesign efforts.

Known as the Pensacola Integration Project, the initiative would connect multiple production lines into a single, continuous flow system at the Pensacola, Florida plant. Instead of moving product in batches between disconnected operations, the new design would allow material to flow much more smoothly through the manufacturing process.

It was an exciting project. It was also one where I quickly developed a different opinion than the rest of the design team.

What Was Getting in the Way

As the engineering team refined the layout, one section of the proposed design concerned me. I believed there was a safer, simpler, and more efficient way to accomplish the same objective. Rather than quietly disagreeing, I shared my concerns with the project manager and the plant's Industrial Engineering manager. To their credit, they listened.

Although the project was already well underway, they encouraged me to develop an alternative layout and present it to the leadership team. Over the next several weeks, I invested significant time refining what I believed would create better flow, improve safety, and reduce the need for elevated platforms throughout that section of the plant.

Eventually, I had the opportunity to present my proposal. Leadership appreciated the effort. They liked portions of the concept. But after careful consideration, they chose to stay with the original design.

The Decision

I'll be honest, I was disappointed. Like many engineers early in their careers, I was passionate about my ideas and believed they would create a better result. But I also recognized something important. Leadership had listened. They had seriously considered my recommendation. They simply made a different decision. At that moment, my responsibility changed.

Until that meeting, my job had been to improve the design. After that meeting, my job became making the chosen design as successful as possible.

What We Did

Once the decision was made, I stopped trying to convince people to revisit the debate. Instead, I redirected all of my energy toward improving the selected design. Working alongside the project team, we simplified work areas, improved changeover methods, and identified ways to make the new production system safer and easier for operators.

I was also given responsibility for designing changeover equipment that would support the new integrated manufacturing process. Rather than dwelling on the design that wasn't selected, I focused on making the design that was selected perform as well as it possibly could.

The Breakthrough

Something unexpected happened. Once I let go of proving my idea was better, I became a stronger contributor to the project. Instead of dividing the team by continuing yesterday's debate, we became united around tomorrow's success. The energy shifted from defending decisions to improving execution. And that's where the real breakthroughs occurred.

Several of the changeover improvements our team developed during the project proved so effective that they were later adopted at other Armstrong manufacturing facilities.

What Changed

When the integrated production system finally started up, the project was successful. The new manufacturing flow performed well. Operators appreciated many of the improvements incorporated into their daily work. The changeover innovations created during the project continued spreading throughout the company's manufacturing network.

Looking back, I'm proud of the design I proposed. But I'm even more proud of the decision I made after it wasn't selected. That lesson has stayed with me throughout my career.

The Takeaway

Every leader will eventually experience the same moment. You present your best idea. Leadership chooses another direction. At that point, you have a choice.

Continue fighting yesterday's decision or become fully committed to making today's decision successful. Alignment often creates more value than proving you were right.

Why This Matters

Many organizations lose momentum because people continue debating decisions that have already been made. Healthy disagreement is valuable. Strong debate produces better thinking.

But once leadership has listened, evaluated the options, and chosen a direction, organizational success depends on everyone pulling together. The strongest leaders aren't the ones whose ideas always win. They're the ones who help the team win even when the final decision isn't their own.

That lesson shaped the way I've approached leadership, Kaizen facilitation, and organizational transformation ever since.

Ready to Build Greater Leadership Alignment?

The biggest obstacles to transformation are rarely technical. More often, they're organizational. When leaders align around a shared direction and commit to making it successful, teams move faster, collaborate better, and sustain improvements longer.

If you're looking to strengthen leadership alignment before your next major initiative, let's start with a Breakthrough Assessment and identify the opportunities that will have the greatest impact.