Maintain balance

I'm currently writing (or more accurately co-writing) a book on productivity improvement in the retail sector.

It seems that retailers have broadly 'got it right' ... they work hard at productivity improvement ... but they always maintain a balance with maintaining excellent customer service.

Of course those of us in the know about the the true focus of productivity improvement - and those steeped in the 'lean' tradition -know that productivity always has a focus on customer need and customer value.

If we are not creating customer value, we are not being productive!