Lean Leadership Lessons From The Olympics

Like millions of others from around the globe I have been glued to the TV watching the Olympics. Once again the eyes of the world are on its best and brightest athletes as they attempt to push the human body to new limits, and remind us that our best human qualities — determination, perseverance, innovation, sacrifice, and camaraderie – know no bounds.

As much as the Olympics represent the pinnacle of the sporting world, they are also the source of a number of inspiring stories that showcase both the human spirit and what we can accomplish when we strive to be our best.

To that end, I’d like to share some important lessons for leaders on how to guide their organization to succeed and thrive, regardless of the challenges that stand before them.

Lesson 1: Olympians know no goal is impossible with the right mindset. If you want to succeed, don’t lose sight of your goals. Stay unwaveringly motivated. Your focus determines your results. Focus on the right things.

Lesson 2: When Olympians suffer an inevitable setback, they don’t let themselves succumb to doubts. You can’t compete at the highest levels without inner-confidence. And when you do get a taste of success, don’t rest on your laurels. You have to pivot, hone in on the strengths that have carried you so far, and overcome adversity with perseverance.

Lesson 3: There’s no substitute for surrounding yourself with the best possible team. With the right players, there’s no limit to what you can accomplish. Don’t compromise on talent, and hold yourself to the lofty expectations people will place on you.

Lesson 4: Olympians break through excuses. Many businesses will face immense challenges on the road to success. They will also be presented with opportunities to overcome these challenges. Don’t squander your potential with self-imposed limitations. Don’t make excuses for why you cannot engage more fully. Capitalizing on your chances is a matter of being dedicated and sacrificing for the greater good of the business.

Lesson 5: Olympians never stop learning from mistakes. In business you need to measure everything so you can analyze how to be more effective, more productive, and more profitable in the future. What gets measured gets improved. You never settle for good. You always strive to be great. It’s an attitude of constant improvement.

Lesson 6: Olympians give 100% commitment to their goals. You have to give 100% commitment to what it is you want to achieve. Without a doubt those that are competing have committed themselves 100%. They don’t expect it to be easy and are ready and willing to do what it takes.

To achieve success businesses and leaders within them need to take a long term view. The reality is there is no shortcut to success. These lessons above show how we should approach our leadership and guiding the people we lead towards achieving our shared goals.

Lean Quote: Change is Not a Flash, It is Built Brick by Brick

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.

"Change is not a bolt of lightning that arrives with a zap. It is a bridge built brick by brick, every day, with sweat and humility and slips. It is hard work, and slow work, but it can be thrilling to watch it take shape." — Sarah Hepola

Being a leader today we must to be more adaptable to change than ever before. Technology alone will challenge us to learn new things and adapt almost on a daily basis! Change is absolutely unavoidable and successful people recognize this fact and learn how to play the “Change Game”.

Change should be ongoing and employees should be a critical part of that process so there is not fear of change but a willingness to embrace it because it’s a part of the everyday process in the organization.

Here are four steps to have a change management process that involves every single employee in an organization:

Step 1: Keep people informed. Communicate as much as you know about what is happening as a result of the change. One of the major reasons people resist change is fear of the unknown. If you communicate and keep them informed, you put this fear to rest.

Step 2: Answer the "What's in it for Me?" question. This suggestion is similar to Suggestion 1. Generally people will accept change when they see a personal benefit. . Assist people in identifying what the change will do for them.

Step 3: Empower people to become part of the change. There are several reasons people resist change, one of which is fear. Help people identify how the change will influence them, benefit them, and improve their present situations.

Step 4: Help people assimilate to the change. Once people begin to experience change, help them assimilate to it by reinforcing the personal benefits they're gaining.

As employees begin to demonstrate a willingness to assimilate change into their daily routine, they develop a commitment to the change, a willingness to stick to the plan of action. The change actually becomes integrated into the work environment, and employees begin to feel a sense of satisfaction in accomplishment. They readily see the payoffs associated with the change. They enjoy, and may even take credit for, their participation in the process. Employees can view their efforts to bring about change with personal respect and pride. The change becomes a part of their routine, and any lingering concerns vanish.

Meet-up: Lean Six Sigma Academy's Ron Pereira

Today's Meet-up guest is Ron Pereira, blogger at Lean Six Sigma Academy and Managing Partner of Gemba Academy. I have never physically met Ron but we have chatted online for years. Ron's face is probably familiar from all videos you may have seen on YouTube or Gemba Academy.  Over the last couple of years their online content has grown substantially. Ron will share how he got started and his thoughts on lean.



Who are you and what do you do?
I'm married with 5 kids under the age of 9. That alone keeps me busy! I'm also the managing partner of Gemba Academy, who provides online and DVD based Lean & Six Sigma training to companies and individuals around the world. When I'm not in front of a video camera you can usually find me on a soccer field here in North Texas coaching or cheering my kids on. I'm also a huge Ohio State and Texas Rangers fan. Yes, I know, one strike away. Two times. Oh, the pain.

How and when did you learn Lean?
I was first introduced to lean while working at Nokia many moons ago by Jon Miller who, as it turns out, is now my good friend and business partner! Crazy how things turn out. I first cut my continuous improvement teeth with six sigma and learned lean later and have found having a solid understanding of both methodologies to be extremely helpful.

How and why did you start blogging or writing about Lean?
I have always followed Jon Miller's blog and decided to start my own blog several years ago. I had no earthly idea what I was doing but just started to write. A few days after starting it someone left a comment and I was like, whoa, someone besides my mom read this! That started an amazing journey that ultimately lead me to start Gemba Academy.

What does Lean mean to you?
Hmm... this isn't easy to answer. From a technical perspective of course lean is all about improving personal and company performance through the correct deployment of strategy and operational excellence... but, more importantly, lean is about respecting people while constantly seeking a better way.

What is the biggest myth or misconception of Lean?
That it's about attacking waste while six sigma is about attacking variation. When I hear consultants ramble on about this I want to scream! You see lean is MUCH more than waste reduction just like six sigma is MUCH more than variation reduction. Attempting to place any sort of continuous improvement methodology inside narrowly defined boxes is very dangerous.

What is your current Lean passion, project, or initiative?
Bringing the good news of continuous improvement to as many people across this amazing world through the power of words and web video.

Daily Lean Tips Edition #34

For my Facebook fans you already know about this great feature. But for those of you that are not connected to A Lean Journey on Facebook or Twitter I post daily a feature I call Lean Tips.  It is meant to be advice, things I learned from experience, and some knowledge tidbits about Lean to help you along your journey.  Another great reason to like A Lean Journey on Facebook.

Click this link for A Lean Journey's Facebook Page Notes Feed.

Here is the next addition of tips from the Facebook page:

Lean Tip #496 – Process-mapping is just a tool to get you somewhere.

Unlike a real map, it often only shows some of the roads on a landscape. You and those reviewing the map will determine the right roads to add to the map to show the destination.

Lean Tip #497 - Keep your process-maps simple.

Feel free to make lots of process maps and string them together rather than one massive, interconnected, complex beast. Everyone wants to capture everything on single flipchart sheet. You can’t. But that’s OK.

Lean Tip #498 – Write your process maps for the unfamiliar to avoid assumptions.

Try your best to imagine you’re writing it for someone who knows nothing about your processes. This will force you to think through your assumptions, the process, ask the right questions and get to the right level of detail. This way your process-mapping will have vigour.

Lean Tip #499 – Map your process for change not just for the sake of it.

Start with mapping out your existing processes and then use the map to highlight the gaps, process improvements and get some consensus built about what you do. Feel free to go further and map out your future processes. Medium to longer-term, it almost always will save time, money and help build consensus.

Lean Tip #500 – Process mapping is all about the journey not the destination

A process-map is just a snapshot in time. Processes change, so keep you process-maps simple and flexible. Just because you wrote it down won’t stop the real thing from changing. When you start, start anywhere. It won’t matter. Write it down, step by step, including your assumptions. The process of making a map is to define the landscape. You’ll quickly see the roads you’ve missed. And if you won’t, others will. Remember those unfamiliar who are going to see it.

Lean Tip #501 – Show Respect for People: Listen harder.

Obviously there are times when you're busy for extended discussions. But you need to set aside times when you can listen carefully to employee's problems, reactions, concerns, and suggestions.

Lean Tip #502 – Show Respect for People: Look at people when they talk.

Good listening means being willing to stop working computer, close a door, stop reading your email, or only answer emergency calls. Give the speaker your full attention, and let them know they are getting your full attention.

Lean Tip #503 – Show Respect for People: Keep your promise.

By keeping your word to someone, you not only establish yourself as a person of integrity, but make the other person feel as though you value them.

Lean Tip #504 – Show Respect for People: Be on time.

Another way to demonstrate that you value someone, is by treating their time as though it is valuable. Nothing says this better than being punctual. Don't waste others time.

Lean Tip #505 – Show Respect for People: Encourage.

Sometimes when we hear a silly idea, it's easy to shoot down someone's hopes and dreams, or otherwise make them feel unimportant. Genuinely encouraging someone could be very empowering and liberating.

Lean Tip #506 – Show Respect for People: Take Care of Your Work Environment.

Your co-workers can see your work space, especially if you are in a cubicle paradise. If you keep your work space and the common areas clean, everyone will be calmer when they are around you.

Lean Tip #507 – Show Respect for People: Let the Buck Stop With You.

This means take responsibility for your own faults and your successes. Don't claim other people's work as your own, and don't push your failures onto a co-worker.

Lean Tip #508 – Show Respect for People: Create a Learning Environment.

Developing your people shows respect for them. Building explicit (book) and tacit (hands on) knowledge and distributing it is equally important.

Lean Tip #509 – Show Respect for People: Allow Mistakes.

The real source of power of Lean lies in its ability to learn from mistakes, and to continuously improve. Mistakes are seen as opportunities to improve and not as something that needs to be monitored and punished.

Lean Tip #510 – Show Respect for People: Go to the Gemba.

You can't genuinely listen if you aren't there. Go to where the action is happening and seek the facts. Lean implementation takes place on the floor, not in the office.

GBMP's WIP It Video

My friends at GBMP sent me a great video yesterday. Bruce Hamilton (a.k.a. Mr. Toast) and the GBMP team sing a little jingle to Devo on WIP.  Excess inventory, be it raw material, work-in-process (WIP) or finished goods just results in waste, stagnation, quality risks, excess lead-time, increased costs, etc. etc. In fact "excess inventory is the shadow of muda". Hope you enjoy this video as much as I did.

Lean Quote: Mistakes are the Portals of Discovery

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.

"Mistakes are the portals of discovery." — James Joyce (1882-1914), Irish novelist and poet

One of the premises of Lean is to make it right the first time. The truth is people make mistakes.

In Lean organizations, mistakes are seen as opportunities to improve. There is no blame game if something goes wrong. People are not rewarded for how few mistakes they make, but on how well they improve the process when mistakes have occurred. Management bears the responsibility for creating effective systems that prevent mistakes.

Learning from mistakes clearly needs some analysis of the mistake itself to gain value from it. Here are a few steps to use to analyze a mistake quickly and efficiently:

1. Accept that it happened and can’t be changed.
2. Know there is always something to learn from it.
3. Look to understand it and the factors that caused it.
4. How could you have recognized the mistake earlier?
5. How can you avoid the mistake next time?
6. Are there similar things that might have a related mistake to avoid?
7. What has changed now to ensure that mistake doesn’t reoccur?
8. Who else should know about this and learn from it?

When you focus on the improvements and lessons learned from a mistake you reinforce the ability to make mistakes part of the process and something that is accepted as long as it improves things. There is no value in worrying about the mistake or dwelling on it after it is done. So, move on!

Meet-up: Gotta Go Lean's Jeff Hajek

Today's guest on the Meet-up is my good friend Jeff Hajek. Many reader's of this blog know Jeff from the Webinars we have done together over the last couple of years.  I have been fortunate to collaborate with Jeff because I have learned so much from him. We share a passion of continuous improvement, learning, and helping others do the same.



Who are you and what do you do?
I am Jeff Hajek, the owner and founder of Velaction Continuous Improvement, a company dedicated to making great Lean training more accessible to everyone. The backbone of the site is The Continuous Improvement Companion, a free online guide, complete with hundreds of pages of downloadable terms, and dozens of forms and tools.

We also sell an a la carte premium Lean Training System that allows you to choose any combination of modules (topics) and components (PPT, Student Guides, Exercises, DVDs, etc.).

How and when did you learn Lean?
I left the army and went to work as a manufacturing engineer, where I immediately became involved in a Lean transition. The company had fully committed to Lean, and I was quickly part of a series of kaizen events. I was hooked. About 18 months after joining the company, I transferred to the “Lean Promotion Office” and was in and out of Lean roles until I started Velaction.

In truth, though, most of the Lean principles I learned in the civilian world were present in the military. Specifically, tracking KPIs, strategic planning, personnel development plans, standardization, TPM, and 5S were all already ingrained in me from my military days. The transition to Lean was an easy one.

How and why did you start blogging or writing about Lean?
I left the workforce for a while for personal, family reasons, but never got Lean out of my blood. I started writing a Lean encyclopedia so I would not forget all the lessons I learned. Very soon, the book was over 500 pages with 700 terms in it, and I realized it was not something that could easily be published. I switched to writing a smaller, more focused book, which became Whaddaya Mean I Gotta Be Lean?, something of a Lean survival guide.

I didn’t want to let the other writing go to waste, so it became The Continuous Improvement Companion I mentioned earlier. It was a natural transition to start adding articles to the online reference guide, so now I publish the Gotta Go Lean blog as well.

What does Lean mean to you?
I tend to prefer the term continuous improvement to Lean. It has a lot more staying power. The meaning of Lean has really evolved over the last 20 years or so, and it is far different than it was in its early days. The biggest change was the shift to the office, which required a substantial modification in some of the tools, though not the key driver behind Lean or any other CI effort, for that matter.

It all comes down to problem solving. All of the Lean tools solve a problem. Policy deployment solves communication problems and alignment problems. Kanban solves the problem of stockouts.5S solves the problem of workspaces working against workers. So, I guess that’s the specific answer to the question. Lean is problem solving.

As far as the actual term “Lean”, though, I have nothing against it I just think it will fall out of use in the next 10 or 20 years. The principles behind it will stick around, but we’ll all be calling them something different. As long as it is popular, an is the term people are looking for in search engines, I’ll continue to use it. But the problem solving mentality is far more meaningful to me.

What is the biggest myth or misconception of Lean?
I think the biggest misunderstanding about Lean is that it is often pitched to employees as a way to make jobs easier. The truth is that people in a Lean company work just as hard, if not harder, than those in other companies. The difference is that the time is much more productive, and much less frustrating. Further, Lean tends to eliminate some of the worst aspects of jobs, which, in turn, takes away some of the conflicts between managers and their teams.

So, the energy expended for both a Lean employee and a non-Lean employee might be the same, but the Lean employee would tend to have a higher sense of job satisfaction.

What is your current Lean passion, project, or initiative?
I am in the midst of a multi-year project to build up the most comprehensive set of Lean training materials available in the world. Right now, I’m fleshing out the modules that are currently posted on Velaction with more student guides and DVDs. After that I’ll be adding additional modules.