Sustaining Excellence Requires Daily Commitment to Experimentation

In Paul Borawski’s monthly ASQ post he asks the bloggers about how to sustain excellence.

Simply, sustainability is about lasting change. Sustainability is discussed often and one of the great issues in management.  We have all seen facts related to the low rates of sustaining change or seen news about a company who lost its way. Unfortunately, we see all too often those companies who finally reach #1 to only lose their way.

Complacency can and will compromise the performance of your organization. Everyone can become complacent in their particular environment, and there are different levels of complacency. At higher management positions, complacency may be more latent. At the line personnel “trigger pullers” level, however, complacency can have catastrophic results.

When it comes to complacency with regard to Lean it is often the result of a “We are Lean” mindset. This leads to a reduction in awareness/focus and leads to a false sense of security. For Lean to work effectively, the organization must be constantly focused on continuous improvement and best practice procedures for providing value. What sets an effective Lean system apart from simply reducing waste is ingraining continuous improvement thinking into daily practice. Lean is not about a destination but rather journey.

Charles Darwin said "It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones who are most responsive to change" which holds true for culture change.

Below are ten factors that will help any organization make the change they make lasting.

Capability – Management must employ the time and resources necessary for change.

Intention – Determination and drive for the cause is required.  You must insist we make the change and be determined to keep it up.

Success – People feel happier and perform better when there is a feeling of success and vice versa.  Attitude drives performance so managers must project confidence.

Hard Work – It is hard to keep it going.  This is entropy.  Without it, the system runs down.

Emphasis on the team not the individual – In the US we love heroes, but actually teams are more fundamental for long-term survival.  Teams need to be mentored and developed.

Many small wins, rather than the occasional big win – Small wins keep up the enthusiasm, and certainly add up.  Management needs to continually recognize small wins.

Attitude toward failure – Everyone fails from time to time, but what is crucial is the attitude toward failure: do you punish or do you treat it as part of learning?

Motivation – Sustainability requires interest and involvement of all employees.  Ask "What gets rewarded around here?  Build a culture to support improvement.

Discipline – Make it a habit.  Without good disciple the system will not be maintained.  Management must teach discipline and correct lapses with respect for people as they occur.

Performance measures – It is true you get what you measure, drive good behavior.  Performance measures need to be aligned with what you want to achieve.  Think long term.

There is no such thing as self-sustainability, it requires ongoing effort. Sustainable behavior change is not something that occurs as a result of doing a 30 or 90-day program, nor is it something that you master after doing it for a year. Change takes a daily commitment to put in the time and energy, knowing that the return on that investment is great.

Lean (excellence) is a journey that never ends. There will always be a gap between where you are (current state) and where you would like to be (True North). Since there will always be a gap, there will always be an opportunity to improve. Walking the path on a Lean journey can be an overwhelming experience.

Lean grew out of years of practice and experimentation at Toyota. No matter how much better they are than their competition, they continue to find more and more opportunities to improve each and every year. Lean involves the creation and implementation of continuous experiments to improve your strategies over time. This means experimenting with every process every day to get it right. We learn problem solving through hands-on improvement experiments. In Toyota and in lean thinking, the idea is to repeat cycles of improvement experiments forever.

A Lean journey is full of steps not all of which are forward. Failure will occur. Its ok, the purpose is learning, and we learn through experimentation. Trying new approaches, exploring new methods and testing new ideas for improving the various processes is exercise for the mind.

So leaders must create a culture that puts failure in its proper place: a useful tool for learning, and a natural part of iterative experimentation. Management must avoid the temptation to harshly judge unsuccessful ideas. A leader who allows for experimentation sends a clear signal that personnel are encouraged to find better methods and products.

Organizations embarking on a Lean journey should follow a disciplined process of systematic exploration and controlled experimentation. Kaizen is the process which determines whether processes resulted in improvements. It refers to an on-going activity by all people (including managers) to relentlessly and incrementally change and improve practices in small experiments.

The road to continual improvement is a rocky one with many ups and downs. Value the incremental improvement approach to continuous improvement. Through simple, common-sense, and low cost experimentation a great deal of process improvements can be made. Experimentation is the exercise of a healthy Lean journey. Understanding this allows one the opportunity to stay on the path along the journey.

I’m part of the ASQ Influential Voices program. While I receive an honorarium from ASQ for my commitment, the thoughts and opinions expressed on my blog are my own. 

Lean Quote: Being Managed Versus Being Led

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.

"People cannot be "managed." They can be led. Products and processes can be managed." — Karen Martin

While the terms "management" and "leadership" overlap a little, they are not the same thing—although you can't have one without the other. Management is tough enough on its own and, frankly, most people never learn to lead.

Why do we use the word manager?  It does not seem to identify well what a person is meant to do when given a team of individuals to work with.  A manager controls, handles and directs.  That sounds pretty hard when what we are referring to being managed is people.  The word “manager” is great when referring to the management of processes, procedures, technique, communications, relationships, etc.  When referring to an individual who is made accountable for a group of people, the word “leader” seems more appropriate.  People do not like to be managed, they would rather be led: given goals to achieve, techniques to learn from and follow, and review to let them know how they are doing.

Leading by example is a great way to start.  Why would anyone follow a procedure if their leader does not?  If you want your team to say something during the ordering process then you too should be saying it every time!  If you want your team to take a specific action while performing a task, then you should be taking that same action every time. You cannot just tell your team what to do if you want them to continue to do it even when you are not watching.  You have to show them that it needs to be done, even if you have to do it yourself.  Your team will take notice and they will respect you for expecting no less from yourself than you expect from them.  They will then have no reason not to do what you are asking, no excuses.

When a person is given the title of manager, they should keep in mind that they have been given the authority to manage processes and procedures.  They have also been given the opportunity to lead a team of people to do something better than they ever did before!

Do you like to be managed or led? You're not alone. Very few people want to work for a manager. Most of us would much rather be led by a leader. To manage is to control, handle, or manipulate. To lead is to guide, influence, or persuade. You manage things — systems, processes, and technology. You lead people. The roots of the rampant morale, energy, and performance problems found in many organizations are technomanagers who treat people as "human resources" to be managed. If you want to manage someone, manage yourself. Once you master that, you'll be a much more effective leader of others. 

 

Daily Lean Tips Edition #53

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 #781 - Follow Through– Don’t Stop at the Vision.

Casting the vision is not enough.  Starting out is always the most difficult part, but do not let the vision fall flat.  Revisit, reinvent, and restrategize until the flow becomes natural.  Get advice by networking with other Lean companies, and do not give up.

Lean Tip #782 - Be Flexible, but Committed.

This is absolutely a must.  The very nature of change is enough to generate discord and frustration.  It instantly pushes some people out.  Although those voices are sometimes the loudest, they are almost never the majority.  Be flexible in implementation, but committed to the goal.  Those who remain typically show higher productivity, and a stronger commitment to the company and to the vision.

Lean Tip #783 - Foster Excitement, Motivation, and Engagement Around The Vision By Articulating The WIFM (What’s In It For Me) Factor.

Let your employees know how they will benefit from embracing the vision. Explain and reinforce the financial rewards when the goals of the vision have been achieved, such as bonuses, recognition, and career development. Share the vision frequently through staff meetings, outings, newsletters, emails, posters and employee campaigns. Develop visuals, such as tables, charts and photos, which highlight milestone accomplishments of the vision.

Create and align company goals with the vision, and align individual and team goals with company goals.

Lean Tip #784 - Create A Workplace Culture That Values Real People Relationships.

For many employees, workgroup relationships and relationships between managers and workers drive engagement and loyalty more effectively than foosball machines, logo T-shirts, and Thirsty Thursday gatherings.

Lean Tip #785 - Model The Behaviors You Seek From Employees.

Just as the principle at the high school did, accept your responsibility as a leader and act with engagement, commitment and responsibility. Do this every day.

Each of us possesses skills, strengths, talents and flaws. Each of us seeks to belong, to be engaged, to relate to those around us. Loyalty is built on relationships, shared understanding and trust. Engagement and commitment require loyalty, shared goals and fair treatment. Don’t take loyalty and engagement for granted – create a remarkable culture where there are possible and rewarding outcomes of the workplace.

We are only human after all – Every one of us. Every leader. Every brand. Every workplace. Every person.

Lean Tip #786 – Create A Good Climate For Problem Solving

The success of a company can depend to a large extent on the ability of its staff to solve problems effectively, both in their day-to-day work and through innovation. This applies not only to senior management, but at all levels in an organization.

It's not enough simply to teach effective problem solving techniques. The working environment has a very powerful influence on the individual's ability to solve problems effectively and it needs to be supportive and stimulating.

To be truly effective in your work and to contribute to the success of your organization, you need to be aware of the influence of the working environment on problem solving.

Lean Tip #787 - Effective Problem Solving Requires a Controlled Mixture of Analytical and Creative Thinking.

Problem solving requires two distinct types of mental skill, analytical and creative.

Analytical or logical thinking includes skills such as ordering, comparing, contrasting, evaluating and selecting. It provides a logical framework for problem solving and helps to select the best alternative from those available by narrowing down the range of possibilities (a convergent process).

           

Creative thinking is a divergent process, using the imagination to create a large range of ideas for solutions. It requires us to look beyond the obvious, creating ideas which may, at first, seem unrealistic or have no logical connection with the problem.

Effective problem solving requires a controlled mixture of analytical and creative thinking.

Lean Tip #788 – The Way or Style of Management Within an Organization Has a Very Big Effect on the Ability of People to Effectively Solve Problems. 

Often managers are not even aware that their actions and behaviors are contributing to the problem. People who have responsibility for and control over the work feel a greater commitment to ensuring that they work efficiently. Staff should be given the freedom to make decisions and to tackle problems without constantly having to get agreement from their manager. Some managers feel that this lessens their control over staff and their work. In fact, because people are more committed to their work, there is less need for control.

Lean Tip #789 - Planning and Preparation is the Key to Successful Implementation.

The more important the problem, or the more complex the actions required to solve it, the more thorough your planning and preparation needs to be to ensure success.

These questions highlight the main features of planning and preparation, which involve:

• constructing a plan of action
• the actions required
• scheduling the actions
• the resources required
• measures to counter adverse consequences
• management of the action
• reviewing the plan
• selecting, briefing and training those involved.

Action must be monitored to ensure that it is being carried out effectively and having the desired effects; if not, corrective action must be taken. Once the action is completed, the outcome must be measured to check that it has provided an effective solution; if not, further action may be required.

Lean Tip #790 - Company Policies and Procedures Effect on Problem Solving

Possessing good problem solving skills does not make people automatically use them to the benefit of the organization. They need encouragement, support and guidance in applying them to the organization’s problems. This can be achieved through:

• Commitment to Innovation
• Systems and procedures
• Reward
• Good communications

The most effective system is where all staff are informed of specific problems which the company faces in reaching its business objectives, and are notified of the results of evaluation of the ideas that have been submitted.

Lean Tip #791 - Make Sure Everyone Understands the Need for Change.

There are no mind readers in the enterprise - make sure you communicate why you need to change. So when you’re responsible for making process improvement happen make sure that before you even begin that you’ve clearly communicated to others about the need for change: what is the situation we’re facing? why is it serious or important? what do we believe we need to do to start addressing the situation?

Finally, don’t forget to listen to others' interpretations – they may be able to see something that you can’t.

Lean Tip #792 - Ensure Your Approach is Suited to the Problem You Face.

Just because you’ve got a hammer, doesn’t mean every problem’s a nail!

We’re often tempted to apply the tools that we know in order to solve the problems that are in front of us. But just because you’ve got a tool doesn’t mean it’s the most appropriate one to use. Always ask, is this the most appropriate method to tackle this problem? Would a more simple “Just Do It” approach be adequate or do we require more robust data analysis in order to get to the heart of the issue? A pragmatic approach is better than one that attempts to pigeon-hole everything into the same approach. 

Lean Tip #793 - Get Your Senior Managers Out of Their Offices.

The more senior you are in an organization, the more that problems - and even customers for that matter - can appear like just a series of numbers on a spreadsheet in a management report. It’s easy to theorize about numbers as they appear abstract.

The Lean management principle of going to where work gets done ("going to the gemba") is critical to ensure that managers really understand what’s going on. Get your senior staff out of their office and to see what's really going on. Even better than “management by walking around” is “management by doing and understanding.” Get your CEO manning the phones in the “customer contact center” for a few hours a couple of times a year or on frontline service. The amount they’ll learn in those few hours will beat any amount of staring at spreadsheets trying to solve the company’s problems.

Lean Tip #794 - The Best Way to Build Commitment is by Involving People.

Outside help is legitimate if you are to build the skills and behaviors you don’t currently have. But outside consultants can never be the change agents. The teams themselves and the leadership must own their own projects, from choosing what to work on, through to implementation, as well as enjoying the credit for outcomes.

The best way to build commitment is by involving people. This way they will have a sense of ownership. By involving your frontline teams in selecting the project that they believe will make a difference, you’ll build ownership, engagement, and have their commitment.

Lean Tip #795 - Communicate 'Why Are We Doing What We Are Doing'

Do not launch an improvement program without a purpose. Bereft of a purpose there is no framework for establishing priorities, aligning efforts or judging success. Many improvement processes fail because the effort is squandered in improving unimportant processes.

MFG Day Dispels Common Manufacturing Misconceptions

The second annual MFG Day event, is just around the corner.  Scheduled for October 4, 2013, the event aims to address common misconceptions about manufacturing through coordinated open houses across the United States. MFG Day is designed to address the skilled labor shortage and connect with future generations while simultaneously improving the public image of manufacturing.

Recent global surveys reflect the widespread industry challenge. A 2012 McKinsey & Company report revealed that while most of the young people surveyed (70 percent), admitted that they believe vocational schools are more helpful in getting a job than an academic track, two-thirds also said that vocational education is “less valued” in society than other academic paths. And only 30 percent of parents encourage their children to consider manufacturing careers.

MFG Day is an important part of efforts to support the future of manufacturing here in the US. As manufacturers today, we know that negative, untrue stereotypes plague our sector and drive young people away.  We know that we have to overcome the perception that manufacturing jobs are dirty, dangerous dead ends.  We know that we must spread the word that manufacturing has gone high tech, with modern, clean facilities, computers, robot, and automation.  We know that counteracting outdated, negative images with current, positive ones is the best way to fight problems like the skills gap that threaten the American manufacturing sector's recent boom.

And MFG Day is just the way to do what we know we must. MFG Day gives manufacturers around the country the opportunity to open their doors to local school kids, parents, community college students,  job seekers and members of the media so that they can see firsthand the safe, high-tech and innovative work environments that await the best and brightest who pursue careers in manufacturing.

To learn more about how you can get involved, visit the Manufacturing Day website.

Lean Quote: The Only Cure for Inactivity is Action

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.

"Regret for wasted time is more wasted time." — Mason Cooley, O Magazine, April 2004

Often managers spot a chance to do something valuable for their company, but for some reason, they cannot get started. Even if they begin the project, they give up when they see the first big hurdle. The inability to take purposeful action seems to be pervasive across companies. Managers tend to ignore or postpone dealing with crucial issues which require reflection, systematic planning, creative thinking, and above all, time.

If you do nothing, nothing changes. Things at rest have a tendency to remain at rest. Be aware of items that stall your action. It's better to have a 50-percent improvement right away than it is to take no action and hope for a 100-percent improvement sometime in the future.

The above quote comes from aphorist Mason Cooley, who reminds us that the only cure for inactivity is action. That’s why the first step in creating a successful culture of execution is creating a bias toward action. People who make things happen need to be praised and rewarded. People who don’t should be coached to change, or weeded out. Failure cannot be unduly punished. Unless people feel free to make mistakes, they will not feel free to take bold actions.

A key to creating a bias for action is to encourage relentless experimentation. Rather than analyze a new product or service to death, look for ways to test it at relatively low cost. Learn from your tries.

 

What is Culture and Why Is It Important?

Corporate culture, safety culture, quality culture, lean culture, … We talk about culture all the time but what is it?

Culture is the environment in which you work all of the time. Culture is a powerful element that shapes your work enjoyment, your work relationships, and your work processes. But, culture is something that you cannot actually see, except through its physical manifestations in your work place.

Culture is like personality. In a person, the personality is made up of the values, beliefs, underlying assumptions, interests, experiences, upbringing, and habits that create a person's behavior.

Culture is made up of the values, beliefs, underlying assumptions, attitudes, and behaviors shared by a group of people. Culture is the behavior that results when a group arrives at a set of - generally unspoken and unwritten - rules for working together.

In a healthy business culture, what's good for the company and for customers comes together and becomes the driving force behind what everyone does. Culture determines what is acceptable or unacceptable, important or unimportant, right or wrong, workable or unworkable. It encompasses all learned and shared, explicit or tacit, assumptions, beliefs, knowledge, norms, and values, as well as attitudes, behavior, dress, and language.

An organizations culture shown in

(1) the ways the organization conducts its business, treats its employees, customers, and the wider community,

(2) the extent to which freedom is allowed in decision making, developing new ideas, and personal expression,

(3) how power and information flow through its hierarchy, and

(4) how committed employees are towards collective objectives.

Company culture is important because it can make or break your company. Companies with an adaptive culture that is aligned to their business goals routinely outperform their competitors.

It affects the organization's productivity and performance, and provides guidelines on customer care and service, product quality and safety, attendance and punctuality, and concern for the environment. It also extends to production-methods, marketing and advertising practices, and to new product creation. Organizational culture is unique for every organization and one of the hardest things to change.

No two organizations can have the same work culture. It is the culture of an organization which makes it distinct from others. The work culture goes a long way in creating the brand image of the organization. The work culture gives an identity to the organization. In other words, an organization is known by its culture.

Teamwork Breeds Successful Improvement

We all have roles in our organizations but it is the power of teamwork that makes our endeavors successful. It takes everyone working together on a common goal to be successful in Lean.

A team of people can achieve far more than the sum of the total of the individuals skills alone. In business teams can achieve:

They can generate a wider range of ideas and innovation than individuals;

They are able to motivate themselves;

They can bounce ideas off each team member;

They often take more risks than individuals;

They have a range of personalities such as workers, thinkers, leaders who contribute the right balance of skills necessary to achieve high performance;

They support each other and are not just task-orientated;

They can be a support mechanism which provide mentoring and allow others to grow in self-confidence.

Teamwork is important to the success of an organization, but as the saying goes: “it’s like getting rich or falling in love, you cannot simply will it to happen.” Teamwork is a practice. Teamwork is an outcome. And teamwork leverages the individual skills of every team member.

To create effective teamwork across your organization, you need to break down any departmental barriers to collaboration so that you can draw on the best people. You need to set clear objectives and define working relationships so that members can work as a cohesive team, and you must provide tools that support efficient collaboration.

Most people respond well to being a valued member of a team by putting forth their best efforts. Human beings are hard wired to work cooperatively with one another to achieve common goals, so remember that not all performance rewards need to go to individuals. Incentives can be provided to the team as a whole for working efficiently together to reach goals.

Collaboration and team work create an environment that allows the collective knowledge, resources and skills of each team member to flourish. When people work together they can complete tasks faster by dividing the work to people of different abilities and knowledge. Teamwork can lead to better decisions, products, or services.

Do you agree that teamwork breed successful improvement?