Jim Huntzinger | On April 6, 2021

Individualism is the critical key to economic success. Since we are sovereign beings — that is, children of God — our individuality is absolutely critical to our existence. In fact, God demands our individualism, just as He desires an individual relationship with each of His children. Therefore, in God’s eyes the individual is the most important and the focus of His love for us.

This makes “the collective” mindset as interpreted here wicked in His eyes, but He created us and compels us to work, not as a collective, but in a collaborative manner. Strong economics and good business practices are not collective efforts, but collaborative efforts. Good economics, as has been and will be discussed in many of my articles, relies on individuals joining forces. Positive business practices, as exemplified by the lean business model (see I’m a Manufacturing Engineer and I Think It is a Masterpiece of Failure) emphasizes collaborative efforts for the best success, creativity, and actual execution to service customers.

Rabbi Daniel Lapin reveals that “Engaging in business with other people is thrilling, exciting, and effective. God wants us to collaborate, and so he makes it more effective to do so. He has put collaboration at the center of the moneymaking process by giving us the principles of business.”[1] Plus, ask anyone who has worked in an effective lean enterprise and they will tell you this in spades.

The innate initiative of Americans has existed since the beginning. It was the very motivation for the Pilgrims, the Puritans, and many others to venture across the Atlantic to the New World. The spirit of initiative in economic freedom, religious freedom, and the freedom to live one’s life as they see fit in order to better themselves and their families compelled these groups of people to take action. The great Secretary of the Treasury, Andrew Mellon wrote in 1924 that “Initiative has always been the most valuable American characteristic. It was this spirit in the early colonists which brought them to America, not to find as easier existence, but to enjoy religious and political freedom, as well as to better their material condition. […] It was the same spirit of adventure which peopled and developed the West. And it is this same spirit extended into business that has made America the great and prosperous nation she is today. […] The United States is no mere happy accident. What we have has been achieved by courage and hard work.”[2]

Originally published on Townhall Finance.

Jim Huntzinger

Jim Huntzinger began his career as a manufacturing engineer with Aisin Seiki (a Toyota Group company and manufacturer of automotive components) when they transplanted to North America to support Toyota. Over his career he has also researched at length the evolution of manufacturing in the United States with an emphasis on lean’s influence and development. In addition to his research on TWI, he has extensively researched the history of Ford’s Highland Park plant and its direct tie to Toyota’s business model and methods of operation.

Huntzinger is the President and Founder of Lean Frontiers and a graduate from Purdue University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering Technology and received a M.S. in Engineering Management from the Milwaukee School of Engineering. He authored the book, Lean Cost Management: Accounting for Lean by Establishing Flow, was a contributing author to Lean Accounting: Best Practices for Sustainable Integration.