--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you think IT Operations has nothing to…" description: "\"“If you think IT Operations has nothing to learn from Plant Operations, you’re wrong. Dead wrong,” he says. “Your job as VP of IT Operations is to ensu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f2/gene-kim-2268_operations_if-you-think-it-operations-has-nothing-t_621684.jpg" --- # If you think IT Operations has nothing to learn from Plant… ![“If you think IT Operations has nothing to learn from Plant Operations, you’re wrong. Dead wrong,” he says. “Your job as VP of IT Operations is to ensure the fast, predictable, and uninterrupted flow of planned work that delivers value to the business while minimizing the impact and disruption of…” quote by Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f2/gene-kim-2268_operations_if-you-think-it-operations-has-nothing-t_621684.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f2/gene-kim-2268_operations_if-you-think-it-operations-has-nothing-t_621684.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f2/gene-kim-2268_operations_if-you-think-it-operations-has-nothing-t_621684.jpg) > ““If you think IT Operations has nothing to learn from Plant Operations, you’re wrong. Dead wrong,” he says. “Your job as VP of IT Operations is to ensure the fast, predictable, and uninterrupted flow of planned work that delivers value to the business while minimizing the impact and disruption of unplanned work, so you can provide stable, predictable, and secure IT service.”” [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. IT Ops must adopt plant‑style discipline: predictability, flow, and minimizing disruptions to deliver stable service. **In simple terms:** IT Ops should be predictable and stable like a plant. Key Takeaway Apply lean, flow‑focused practices to IT. Themes operations predictability flow service stability Mood analytical pragmatic Type leadership process improvement When to use this quote - IT service delivery - project planning - incident management Key Concepts lean management systems thinking continuous improvement Questions to Reflect On - How can IT teams balance predictability with innovation? - What plant‑operation practices translate best to IT? A Different Perspective May overlook unique IT complexities and cultural resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [It’s not the upfront capital that kills you, it’s the operations and maintenance on the back end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/it-s-not-the-upfront-capital-that-kills-you-it-s-the-operations-and/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [Certainly in the United States, you have a constituency in the form of the weapons laboratories, and you also have the branches of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/certainly-in-the-united-states-you-have-a-constituency-in-the-form-of/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [Without calculation, economic activity is impossible. 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They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/for-those-organizations-that-provided-a-stock-ticker-symbol-we-found/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“A critical part of the Second Way is making wait times visible, so you know when your work spends days sitting in someone’s queue—or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/a-critical-part-of-the-second-way-is-making-wait-times-visible-so-you/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“when something does go wrong, we conduct blameless post-mortems, not to punish anyone, but to better understand what caused the accident and how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/when-something-does-go-wrong-we-conduct-blameless-post-mortems-not-to/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“Bill Baker, a distinguished engineer at Microsoft, quipped that we used to treat servers like pets: “You name them and when they get sick,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/bill-baker-a-distinguished-engineer-at-microsoft-quipped-that-we-used/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“To even get feedback from our integration process would require twenty-four to thirty-six hours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/to-even-get-feedback-from-our-integration-process-would-require/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“work can bounce between teams endlessly due to incomplete information, or work can be passed onto downstream work centers with problems that remain completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/work-can-bounce-between-teams-endlessly-due-to-incomplete-information/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“practicing five minutes daily is better than practicing once a week for three hours. And if you want to create a genuine culture of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/practicing-five-minutes-daily-is-better-than-practicing-once-a-week/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“habits are what enable mastery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/habits-are-what-enable-mastery/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“20% on detailed planning (Their poor throughput and high lead times were misattributed to faulty estimation, and so, hoping to get a better answer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/20-on-detailed-planning-their-poor-throughput-and-high-lead-times/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“Features are always a gamble. 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I look at operations globally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shahid-khan/i-don-t-think-it-s-any-different-if-i-m-in-the-u-s-or-in-london-i/) [Shahid Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shahid-khan/) > [Since I came to the White House, I got two hearing aids, a colon operation, skin cancer, a prostate operation, and I was shot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/since-i-came-to-the-white-house-i-got-two-hearing-aids-a-colon/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Bread is a second cause; the LORD Himself is the first source of our sustenance. He can work without the second cause as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/bread-is-a-second-cause-the-lord-himself-is-the-first-source-of-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You will recall that for months after 9/11, there was incredible support and sympathy for the US. I really hoped and wished they had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/you-will-recall-that-for-months-after-9-11-there-was-incredible/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [There is a patent office at the seat of government of the universe, whose managers are as much interested in the dispersion of seeds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/there-is-a-patent-office-at-the-seat-of-government-of-the-universe/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In the formation of such a government, it is not only the right, but the indispensable duty of every citizen to examine the principles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-webster/in-the-formation-of-such-a-government-it-is-not-only-the-right-but/) [Noah Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-webster/) > [Without calculation, economic activity is impossible. Since under Socialism economic calculation is impossible, under Socialism there can be no economic activity in our sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/without-calculation-economic-activity-is-impossible-since-under/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Certainly in the United States, you have a constituency in the form of the weapons laboratories, and you also have the branches of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/certainly-in-the-united-states-you-have-a-constituency-in-the-form-of/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [We will apply the experience accumulated in the past four years to the operation of every competition and training venue as well as facilities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-jingmin/we-will-apply-the-experience-accumulated-in-the-past-four-years-to/) Liu Jingmin Browse all 1,395 Operations quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If you think IT Operations has nothing to learn from Plant Operations, you’re wrong. 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