Daily Lean Tips Edition #51

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 #751 – Lean Managers Develop Their Employees

Leaders who are not concerned about helping their direct reports develop and are not seen as coaches or mentors are highly likely to fail. Primarily focused on themselves, they are not concerned about the longer-term success of their employees or their department.

Lean Tip #752 – Lean Managers Learn from Mistakes And Improve

Arrogance and complacency combine in the poorest leaders as they rise, causing them to come to the dangerous conclusion that they’ve reached a stage in their careers where development is no longer required. Closely connected to this failing is an inability to learn from mistakes, leaving these unfortunates to repeat the same ones over and over.

Lean Tip #753 – Lean Managers Walk the Talk And Lead By Example

Saying one thing and doing another is the fastest way to lose the trust of all your colleagues. The worst offenders here also pose a wider threat as dangerous role models — creating the risk that their organizations will degenerate if others behave as they do.

Lean Tip #754 – Lean Managers Rely On Data To Make Decisions

Many managers rely on gut instinct to make important decisions, which often leads to poor results. On the contrary, when managers insist on incorporating facts and evidence, gathered from direct observation at the source they make better choices and their companies benefit. Lean companies however strive to empower their employees to make decisions at all levels through access to data, knowledge of evaluation methods, and defined standard processes.

Lean Tip #755 – Lean Managers Assess Situations and Plan in Advance

Business is sometimes unpredictable. But the fact that things are unpredictable is, well, predictable. As a Lean manager, it's your job to assess the situation and plan in advance. Occasional emergencies are understandable, but constant ones mean that you're not doing what you need to do. Sometimes that involves pushing back against your superiors and protecting your people. It means scheduling according to actual needs, and if you don't have the budget for that it often means changing the definition of need.

Lean Tip #756 – To Create a Positive Work Environment Set the Example

The example you set in the office will have a ripple effect on your employees whether positive or negative. You can make a positive impact daily by remaining in a good mood and keeping a positive, optimistic outlook at all times. Don't blame others or complain about things you don't have any control over, and don't be vocal about your gripes or annoyances. This kind of attitude and example will spread to your employees and soon create a negative atmosphere in the office.

Lean Tip #757 - Don't Dwell on the Negatives to Create a Positive Work Environment

Mistakes are inevitable. Deadlines are missed, typos are made, and plans are botched. If these things are happening on a regular basis, then it is important to call attention to the problem and fix it. However, don't dwell on mistakes. Doing so can bring down the overall motivation of the office. Instead, focus on how they can be fixed and how to prevent them in the future. It's important also, when reprimanding or pointing out something negative, to preface and end on a positive note.

Lean Tip #758 - Fostering Good Communication Skills Can Help Create a Positive Work Environment

You can make a positive impact daily by taking the time to communicate with and recognize your employees. Don't rely solely on email and phone calls to conduct the majority of your business and correspondence with your employees as well as your customers where possible. Instead, drop by offices and cubicles. Face to face interaction can have a more positive, personal effect than just emails or phone calls.

Lean Tip #759 – Setting Clear Goals and Deadlines Will Drive Positive Attitudes

The greatest keys in helping people to become self-motivated are clear goals, a sense of purpose and urgency and challenge. These elements provide a feeling of accomplishment, the "Wow I did it!" feeling. People thrive on challenge and this will drive the positive attitudes in the workplace that you want.

Lean Tip #760 - Promote Respectfulness to Create Positive Attitudes in the Workplace

Job titles may mean that there is a certain order to control and responsibility, but that doesn't mean someone with a lesser job title is any less important. Respect each individual for what they bring to the organization. Success and positive attitudes in the workplace are created when the entire team respects the value of each position and the diversity of thinking, talents, styles and experience each person brings.

Lean Tip #761- Encourage an Attitude of Cooperation Rather Than Competition

One of our basic human needs is to feel we belong to something bigger than ourselves, and for many people that need is met by being part of a supportive work group. Encourage an attitude of cooperation rather than competition. This unity will help your team members feel valued and that they belong. As a result they will want to be at work, your team will function smoothly, and your unit will be better able to carry out the missions and goals of your organization.

Lean Tip #762 - Continue Learning and Trying Out New Ideas

Encourage your organization to promote the importance of learning at work as a value. A culture of learning promotes both formal and informal learning, It acknowledges that employees need opportunities to try out newly learned skills and that mastery or competence takes time. It’s possible that creating a culture of learning will reduce resistance to change, because change is an inevitable part of learning and performance improvement. A positive environment promotes learning.

Lean Tip #763 - Create a Favorable Office Environment with Communication

Employees are happier if they like where they work. Simple things such as reducing the length of meetings, providing food to employees in the office, and recognizing employees after a job well done make employees happier. Communication with employees also helps to alleviate many concerns they may have about their job since it helps workers feel happier and more secure at work. Communication either in person, in an email or with a handwritten note all helped to make workers feel better at work.

Lean Tip #764 - Offering Autonomy to Workers Makes Them Happy and Productive

Allowing workers to perform tasks related to their jobs in their own way will not only make workers happier it will also make them more productive since they will not have to waste time waiting for approval from superiors.

Lean Tip #765 - Offer Good Training Programs and Opportunities For Growth

Employers shouldn't underestimate the impact training has on employees and their future happiness. A company-sponsored mentorship or structured training sessions are likely to lead to engagement among employees. People are happier when they are learning, and they are happier doing their jobs when they feel that they are enjoying continuous opportunities to grow.  A lot of those people are even happier when they know that growth is helping them get to the next rung on their desired career ladder… or lattice. 

Ten Inhibitors of Continuous Flow

A Lean Enterprise is centered on the concept of flow. Once value added activities and necessary non-value activities are identified, improvement efforts are directed toward making the activities flow. Flow is the uninterrupted movement of product or service through the system to the customer.

An obvious question is why the processes we operate at the moment are not Lean. There are 10 basic reasons that inhibit flow:

Defects

Products or services that are out of specification that require resources to correct. Defects are the result of executed processes that did not produce value.

Overproduction

Waste from producing product that is not currently needed or product that is not needed at all.

Waiting

Idle time created when material, information, people, or equipment is not ready. No value is added while people wait for product to process or product waits for people or machines.

Non-utilized resources/talent

The waste of underutilized intelligence and intellect commonly referred to as behavioral waste. When employees that are not effectively engaged in the process.

Transportation

Transporting items or information that is not required to perform the process from one location to another. While the product is moving, no value is added to it.

Inventory

Inventory and information queued-up between people and processes that are sitting idle not being processed.

Motion

Excess movement by people or equipment only consumes time and resources without producing value. People, information or equipment making unnecessary motion due to workspace layout, ergonomic issues or searching for misplaced items.

Excess Processing

Performing any activity that is not necessary to produce a functioning product or service. Doing more than what is necessary to generate satisfactory value as defined by the customer.

Overburden

Work that is too hard creating unnecessary stress to our employees and our processes.

Unevenness

Inconsistent workload or quality from fluctuations in customer demand, process times per product or variation of cycle times for different operators.

Lean production theory focuses on managing the flow of production through all the steps that add value to the final product. The objective in creating continuous flow is to keep parts and components moving through the production process, without pause. The benefits of this to a production system is that materials are not purchased before they are required, that defects are detected early in the production process, and that resources are not expended storing and moving unneeded materials and components.

Lean Quote: Humility Shows Respect Toward Other People

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.

"Humility is considered the quality of being modest, unassuming in attitude and behavior. It can also be taken as a feeling or showing respect and deference toward other people." — President Kiichiro Toyoda, June 1950

Foster a corporate culture that enhances individual creativity and teamwork value, while honoring mutual trust and respect between labor and management. A "Lean" culture is characterized by two learning elements: Humility and Respect.

Learning begins with humility.  The more you strive for Lean, the more you realize how little you know, and how much there is yet to learn.  A sure sign of impending failure is a manager who claims to "know it all" or says "we have tried that…"

Respect is to make every effort to understand others, accept responsibility, and build mutual trust.  Respect for people is the second pillar of the House of Toyota and means recognizing the value of your people through developing them. 

Leaders need to be mindful of their role in creating culture change.

Taiichi Ohno stated:

“In order to lead a large number of people in work, you have to be tough. But I think this is basically not a matter of giving orders or instructions, but a game of wits with subordinates.”

• When you give orders or instructions to a subordinate you have to think as if you were given those orders yourself.
• The attitude of “You’re the expert, so go figure it out” is not acceptable.
• Need to have not only the awareness of the problems but the ability to think about how to solve the problems yourself.
• Leaders have to think about the problem and struggle together to solve the problem with subordinates.

Achieving a Lean culture with humility and respect requires constant demonstration over a long period of time.  Remember the shop floor is a reflection of management.  You can't listen and learn if you don't go to the Gemba.

 

Five Traits of Customer Focused Organizations

The importance of the quality function within the organization has been evolving along with that of the customer. Organizations focused on their customers consistently outperform their competition. A truly customer-focused organization sees things through the “lens of the customer” not the “lens of the organization”.

Customer-driven organizations share certain traits.

Flattened hierarchies. When customers are the focus, a larger percentage of the resources are directly or indirectly involved with customers, reducing the number of bureaucratic layers in the organization structure. Employees will be empowered to make decisions that immediately address customer issues, reducing the need for structured oversight. The traditional functional hierarchy, with departments focused on singular functions, is best replaced with horizontal process or product-based structures (often referred to as value streams) that can quickly respond to customer need.

Adaptable processes. Customer’s demands are at times unpredictable, requiring adaptability and potential risk. Customer-driven organizations create adaptable systems that remove bureaucratic impediments such as formal approval mechanisms or excessive dependence on written procedures. Employees are encouraged to act on their own best judgments.

Effective communication. During the transformation the primary task of the leadership team is the clear, consistent, and unambiguous marketing of their vision to the organization. The behavior of senior leaders carries tremendous symbolic meaning, which can quickly undermine the targeted message and destroy all credibility. Conversely, behavior that clearly demonstrates commitment to the vision can help spread the word that they are serious.

Measuring Results. It is important to verify that you are delivering on the promise to customers, shareholders, and employees. These measurements form the basis of the improvement efforts, and should include internal processes as well as external outcomes. Data must be available quickly to the people who use them and be easy to understand.

Rewarding Employees. Employees should be treated as partners in the improvement effort. Rewarding individuals with financial incentives can be manipulative, implying that the employee wouldn’t do the job without the reward, which tends to destroy the very behavior you seek to encourage. Recognizing exceptional performance or effort should be done in a way that encourages cooperation and team spirit.

For too many organizations, the journey from traditional to a customer-focused organization begins with recognition that a crisis is either upon the organization, or imminent. This wrenches the organization’s leadership out of denial and forces them to abandon the status-quo. Their actions at this point define their success. The successful organization will establish a customer-focused vision, and develop plans to attain the vision.

The common thread in the evolution of quality management is that attention to quality has moved progressively further up in the organizational hierarchy. Quality was first considered a matter for the line worker, then the inspector, then the supervisor, the engineer, the middle manager and, today, for upper management. Quality will continue to increase in importance, in tandem with customer relations. Ultimately, it is the customer’s concern with quality that has been the driving force behind quality’s increasing role in the organization. As Juran (1994) stated, the next century will be the century of quality.

Key Organizational Metrics and How to Make Them Effective

Most businesses understand the value of using metrics to assess the state of their company and validate the company is heading in the right direction. Organizational metrics, sometimes called Key Performance Indicators (KPI), are developed to understand the overall health of an organization. They provide the fundamental element of balanced scorecards and dashboards, which are used to quickly show how well the organization is performing relative to the past, a target, or both.

The choice of metric is important only so far as the metric is used to guide behavior or establish strategy. Poorly chosen metrics may lead to the suboptimal behavior if they lead people away from the organization's goals instead of towards them.

To be effective and reliable, the metrics we choose to use need to have ten key characteristics. The following table was adapted from Keebler (1999) which suggest the qualities to look for in indicators.

A good measure:	Description:
Is quantitative	The measure can be expressed as an objective value
Is easy to understand	The measure conveys at a glance what it is measuring, and how it is derived
Encourages appropriate behavior	The measure is balanced to reward productive behavior and discourage “game playing”
Is visible	The effects of the measure are readily apparent to all involved in the process being measured
Is defined and mutually understood	The measure has been defined by and/or agreed to by all key process participants (internally and externally)
Encompasses both outputs and inputs	The measure integrates factors from all aspects of the process measured
Measures only what is important	The measure focuses on a key performance indicator that is of real value to managing the process
Is multidimensional	The measure is properly balanced between utilization, productivity, and performance, and shows the trade-offs
Uses economies of effort	The benefits of the measure outweigh the costs of collection and analysis
Facilitates trust	The measure validates the participation among the various parties

Traditional KPI are established within four broad categories:

Customer. Customers generally consider four broad categories in evaluating a supplier: Quality, Timeliness, Performance and Service, and Value. Customer communication methods are the means to understand the relative importance the customer base places on these categories as well as their general expectations.

Internal process. These metrics that are strongly aligned with the strategic objectives are best suited. Total cycle time (i.e., time to process the order) and first-pass quality are relevant indicators of internal process performance. Process cycle efficiency, calculated as the value-added time divided by the total lead time, or Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) are relevant Lean-focused metrics for evaluating internal performance and resource utilization.

Learning and growth. Metrics in this category might focus on the total deliverables (in dollars saved) from continuous improvement projects, new product or service development times, improvement in employee perspective or quality culture, revenue or market share associated with new product, and so on.

Financial. Many suitable financial metrics are available and widely tracked, including revenue, profitability, market share, and so on. Cost of quality is also recommended.

Once chosen, the metrics must be communicated to the members of the organization. To be useful, the employees must be able to influence the metric through his or her performance, and it must be clear precisely how the employee’s performance influences the metric.

Regardless of the metrics you use or your method for tracking, make sure to educate your organization on how the metrics are derived, what they indicate, and how they will be used in addition to regularly communicating relevant metrics to your team members.

Lean Quote: Achieving the Goals

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.

"Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success." — Vincent van Gogh

Goals should be accompanied by a detailed plan of how each goal will be achieved. Goals without plans are little more than wishes. The plan will detail the steps that will be taken to reach the goal: who will be responsible for each step, resources that will be required, a timetable. The supervisor should assist the employees with the planning process, and should agree to the plan.

If the plan is carried out and the goals not reached, the problem is in the plan, not in the employee. Remember, Plan-Do-Check-Act is a process of continuous improvement.  If the plan doesn't achieve the result, improve the plan and try it again.  Since progress will be monitored on an ongoing basis, and the plan  will include a timetable, lack of progress should be evident well before the time the goal is to be accomplished, The lack of progress is a signal to revise the plan.

The responsibility of achieving the goals belongs to both the supervisor and the employee, as well as everyone on the staff. It’s a team effort. It’s a company wide effort. The supervisor should work with the employee and the staff to identify ways that the supervisor can assist them in meeting their goals. Progress toward the goals should be monitored constantly. 

 

10 Things Your Lean Leader Can Do Now To Make a Difference Culturally

The best leaders understand the present is nothing more than a platform for the envisioning of, and positioning for, the future. If you want to lead more effectively, shorten the distance between the future and present. Inspiring innovation and leading change call for more than process– they require the adoption of a cultural mindset.

Implementing Lean Thinking is a cultural change that requires leadership…because in the end it’s all about people. Here are 10 things your Lean leader can do right now to change the culture:

1. Challenge People to Think

If you are not thinking, you’re not learning new things. If you’re not learning, you’re not growing – and over time becoming irrelevant in your work.

The most successful leaders understand their colleagues’ mindsets, capabilities and areas for improvement. They use this knowledge/insight to challenge their teams to think and stretch them to reach for more.

2. Lead by Example

Leading by example sounds easy, but few leaders are consistent with this one. Successful leaders practice what they preach and are mindful of their actions. They know everyone is watching them and therefore are incredibly intuitive about detecting those who are observing their every move, waiting to detect a performance shortfall.

3. Take Lots of Leaps of Faith

Making a change requires a leap of faith. Taking that leap of faith is risky, and people will only take active steps toward the unknown if they genuinely believe – and perhaps more importantly, feel – that the risks of standing still are greater than those of moving forward in a new direction.  Making a change takes lots of leaps of faith.

4. Create an Environment Where it is Ok to Fail

Failure should be encouraged! That’s right. If you don’t try, you can’t grow; and if growth is what you seek, failing is inevitable. There must be encouragement to try and it’s ok if you try and it doesn’t work. An environment where you can’t fail creates fear.

5. Eliminate Concrete Heads

“Concrete Heads” is the Japanese term for someone who does not accept that the organization must be focused on the elimination of waste. People feel threatened by the changes brought about by lean. As waste and bureaucracy are eliminated, some will find that little of what they have been doing is adding value. The anxiety they feel is normal and expected. To counteract this, it is critical that people are shown how the concept of work needs to change.

6. Be a Great Teacher

Successful leaders take the time to mentor their colleagues and make the investment to sponsor those who have proven they are able and eager to advance. They never stop teaching because they are so self-motivated to learn themselves.

7. Show Respect to Everyone.

Everyone desires respect. Everyone. Regardless of your position or power, ensure you show everyone respect. Everyone wants to be treated fairly.

8. Motivate Your Followers

Transformational leaders provide inspirational motivation to encourage their followers to get into action. Of course, being inspirational isn't always easy. Some ideas for leadership inspiration include being genuinely passionate about ideas or goals, helping followers feel included in the process and offering recognition, praise and rewards for people's accomplishments.

9. Develop a True Team Environment

Create an environment where working as a team is valued and encouraged; where individuals work together to solve problems and help move the organization forward. Individuals who will challenge each other and support each other make teams more successful.

10. Encourage People to Make Contributions

Let the members of your team know that you welcome their ideas. Leaders who encourage involvement from group members has shown to lead to greater commitment, more creative problem-solving and improved productivity.

Constant change is a business reality and organizations must continually adapt to their environments to stay competitive or risk losing relevance and becoming obsolete. For each change, leaders must define it, create a vision of the post-change world, and mobilize their teams to make it.

Leaders who protect the status quo through control must surrender to change in order to secure the future for their organization. Don’t be the leader who rewards herd mentality, and me too thinking. Don’t be the leader who encourages people not to fail or not to take risks. Be the leader who both models and gives permission to do the exact opposite of the aforementioned – be a leader who leads.

Lean success requires a change in mindset and behavior among leadership, and then gradually throughout the organization. So it follows that success in Lean implies a change in what leaders reinforce—a change in leadership behaviors and practices. Change begins when leaders start acting differently. It’s that simple (but not that easy).