Use Performance Measures To Drive Lean Behavior

Changing organization culture is a key approach to overcoming barriers to performance improvement. But how do you change culture? One key element is performance measurement. “What gets measured, gets done!” And if we want to get Lean, we need to use performance measures that promote Lean behavior.

So if measurement motivates, we need to measure the things we want to change. In a traditional “push” plant, we measured output and efficiency by department and machine. The goal was to keep people and machines busy and these measures made that the focus. In retrospect, it’s not surprising that we built up piles of inventory between departments, and extended our total production leadtime, i.e., the time from first operation to last operation.

In a Lean plant we want value to flow. We want leadtimes to be as short as possible. How can we drive that change? Measure leadtimes and show the results to those who can make it happen. Similarly, if changeover times need to be reduced, measure them and feed back the results on a team information board.

“Feedback is the Breakfast of Champions!”

If we want to succeed on our Lean journey, the feedback must support the change. Therefore, discard old measures that encourage sub-optimizing behavior, and replace them with good Lean measures that drive the flow of value to the customer.

Measure

Everything

That

Results

In

Customer

Satisfaction

“No one retires at night with deep satisfaction, unless they have measured their achievements against standards they hold credible.” 

Lean Quote: Become a Man of Value

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.

"Try Not to Become a Man of Success. Rather Become a Man of Value." — Albert Einstein

Success is something that can be judged based upon achievement of goals. However someone who is successful does not necessarily have to give anything valuable to the world.

Value is something that can be measured based upon what an individual has contributed to the world.

Examples of success:

A politician that is elected to a high level of office can be considered successful politician.

A business man that makes a lot of money in the stock market is considered a successful stock broker.

An athlete that wins a gold medal in the Olympics is considered a successful athlete.

Albert Einstein achieved many great accomplishments in physics during his lifetime, and is therefore considered a successful physicist.

Examples of value:

Einstein invented the wheel, and the wheel is used by nearly all human beings living on the planet; therefore he has contributed something of extraordinary value to society, and is hence a valuable person.

Einstein synthesized the polio vaccine, which has been used to rid much humanity of a horrible disease, hence he is a person of value to society.

Through his theory of general relativity Albert Einstein fundamentally changed our view of gravity, and it's mechanics, clarifying many previously misunderstood concepts, and natural phenomena; hence he has been of great value to humanity, and more specifically to the field of physics.

Throughout history, the people who change the way we think, and live, and the people who influence our lives most have been men of value rather than men of success. Though it should be noted that most people of value can also be considered successful, due to the value of their contributions to the world.

There's nothing wrong with success, but oftentimes it's easy to lose sight of who you are when you're successful. If you keep your eyes on your own values, you'll end up both successful and a good person, which is a pretty good combination.

Einstein's quote does not preclude becoming successful (after all, he himself was both), but exhorts value creation as being a higher priority.

It also subtly calls for those who have success but have not yet used it to help other people to pitch in, under the guise of leaving a much longer-lasting legacy.

What do you think about this quote?

 

Lean Quote: Gratitude is the Greatest Virtue

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.

"Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others." — Roman Philosopher Cicero

I think he is absolutely right.  An ungrateful person focuses on what they don’t have and is unhappy, discontent, impatient, unkind, proud (thinks he deserves better), and reluctant to help others.  But a grateful person is happy and content. From that gratitude flows patience, kindness, humility, generosity, and love.

Being thankful for what we already have is probably the most powerful tool of positive thinking. The ability to notice what we already have and to consider ourselves blessed with it truly unlocks the door to abundance and to feeling good.

I wanted to take this time to thank all of you for reading, following, and supporting A Lean Journey Blog. You make sharing my thoughts more rewarding than I would have imagined.

Thankfulness is something we have to practice. It is like learning how to play the piano. Just as anyone who wishes to play piano well has to practice scales over and over again, thanksgiving must be practiced continually.

As we gather to celebrate Thanksgiving in the US, may we vow to live not just this day but every day with a grateful heart and to use our blessings to bless others.

 

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm Thankful for You

I'm Thankful for You

Thanksgiving is the appointed time

for focusing on the good in our lives.

In each of our days,

we can find small blessings,

but too often we overlook them,

choosing instead to spend our time

paying attention to problems.

We give our energy

to those who cause us trouble

instead of those who bring peace.

Starting now,

let's be on the lookout

for the bits of pleasure in each hour,

and appreciate the people who

bring love and light to everyone

who is blessed to know them.

You are one of those people.

On Thanksgiving,

I'm thankful for you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

By Joanna Fuchs

Poemsource.com

Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving Day, is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November by federal legislation in 1941, has been an annual tradition in the United States by presidential proclamation since 1863 and by state legislation since the Founding Fathers of the United States. Historically, Thanksgiving began as a tradition of celebrating the harvest of the year.  

Thanksgiving Day has evolved over the years as an important holiday. It is not just about feasting and merrymaking. The tradition of Thanksgiving dinner teaches us to appreciate the finer things in life. It is about showing one's gratitude for the blessings that we are showered with. In all the hustle and bustle of getting ready for Thanksgiving, take a moment to focus on what being thankful is all about. 

I am thankful for you, the readers of A Lean Journey Blog. You make sharing my thoughts rewarding in so many ways. I wanted to take this time to resound my appreciation for your interest, dialogue, and support of me and A Lean Journey Blog. 

Putting the Thanks in Thanksgiving

As many Americans will be celebrating the century old tradition that is ‘Thanksgiving’ this week, it provides the perfect opportunity for employers to reflect on how often they offer thanks and praise to their employees. Your employees work hard for you all year, and what better season to show your appreciation and gratitude than now, as we celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends.

Whilst Thanksgiving may have evolved into a turkey eating, football supporting, Macy’s parade watching event, the original tradition stems from when the Pilgrims and Indians joined over a feast to give thanks to each other and god for getting through a difficult harvest. The gratitude shown to each other is something which many employers forget to embrace in the workplace, yet a little recognition and praise can have a significant impact on employee engagement and productivity.

Consider these three ways to thank and celebrate your employees:

1. Take the time to talk to, and get to know, your employees. The most significant way to thank your employees is to get to know them. Take them to lunch or schedule time to ask about their values, hobbies, and interests. Understand your employees. Use what you now know about them to build a customized skills-improvement performance plan. Spend time with, and become interested in, each of your employees. 

2. Ask employees what they think. The best way to feel appreciated is to be included – to feel that your perspectives matter. In a Lean environment, we need input from all of our employees to be successful. Including employees in company issues, challenges, and opportunities empowers them, engages them, and connects them to strategy and vision of the company.

3. Say thank you, and mean it. Most managers actually do thank employees who do great work. Employees work for more than money. They work for the praise and acknowledgement of their managers. A sincere thank you, said at the time of a specific event that warrants the applause, is one of the most effective ways to appreciate employees. Remember the phrase, “What gets rewarded, gets repeated.” Start to say “thank you” or “I appreciate what you do” when it is deserved and it will inspire the behaviors to continue. Make it personal and sincere. Catch employees doing great things and respond. It empowers them, appreciates them, and celebrates their performance.

Regardless of your style and how you do it, connecting with employees and taking the opportunity to thank them, when ever you can, pays dividends for everyone. Appreciating and thanking your employees isn’t hard or costly. So take the time to make a difference in your employee’s life. You will be pleasantly rewarded by them making a difference in yours.

Lean Quote: You Cannot Create Experience, You Must Undergo It

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.

"You Cannot Create Experience, You Must Undergo It." — Albert Camus

One way to enhance learning is by doing. If you want to learn how to drive, you have to drive. Humans are natural learners. They learn from everything they do. When they watch television, they learn about the day's events. When they take a trip, they learn about how to get where they are going and what it is like to be there. This constant learning also takes place as one works.

If you do something often enough, you get better at it -- simple and obvious. When people really care about what they are doing, they may even learn how to do their jobs better than anyone had hoped. They themselves wonder how to improve their own performance. They innovate.

Since mistakes are often quite jarring to someone who cares about what they are doing, people naturally work hard to avoid them. No one likes to fail. It is basic to human nature to try to do better and this means attempting to explain one's failures well enough so that they can be remedied. This self-correcting behavior can only take place when one has been made aware of one's mistakes and when one cares enough to improve. If an employee understands and believes that an error has been made, he will work hard to correct it, and will want to be trained to do better, if proper rewards are in place for a job well done.

Human beings can definitely learn by hearing, reading, watching, seeing, and analyzing…but when it comes to getting results you simply cannot learn better than to learn by DOING. The best way to learn about continuous improvement is to simply try to make things better and learn from our mistakes.

 

Daily Lean Tips Edition #56

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 #826 - Connect Business Objectives And Individual Metrics

Performance metrics should have one goal – to help an organization contribute to overall company success. But too often at the working level, metrics are random and disconnected from strategic imperatives.

Lean Tip #827 - Implement Discipline And A Meaningful Quality Program

Develop a quality program that promotes organizational and individual accountability to drive improvements. Reliable metrics will take out the guesswork and allow for management based on facts – not assumptions. Use the program to establish reward systems and corrective actions to proactively address issues, fine tune training and ensure that the customer remains number one.

Lean Tip #828 – Make Metrics More Actionable

Metrics at the lowest layer of an initiative or organization have the highest actionability. A focus on the most actionable metrics is essential for ‘moving the needle’ of big-picture metrics.

Lean Tip #829 – Too Many Metrics Leads To Too Little Action

It may seem a little obvious, but a large number of companies go to the trouble of designing metrics and buying expensive tools, and then do not actually do very much with the results. Usually it is because too many metrics have been set. So keep it manageable – it is better to have five meaningful metrics that the organization will use than 50 that it won’t.

Lean Tip #830 - Do Not Forget The “Continual” Part Of Improvement

When implementing metrics, don’t forget that the organization will need to revise its metrics from time to time. The process is needed because businesses evolve and changes will surface as time goes by. Make sure the metrics still measure what they intended to measure. After all, if the metrics are out of date, then what is the purpose of retaining them?

The aim of a setting metrics is to improve the business, so set targets that challenge the company. It will provide more value than focusing on something that is easily achievable or is already being achieved and remember, what you can’t measure, you can’t control.

Lean Tip #831 - Point Employees in the Right Direction.

Help your employees understand how their roles play into the company’s ability to succeed. Remind workers that—like members of a football team, for example—each player must focus on doing their best on the on activities within their reach that effectively push the ball closer to the end zone. Again, ensure that workers know where to focus so that they are always contributing effectively on corporate strategies.

Lean Tip # 832 - Don’t Forget to Course-Correct.

Everyone can relate to times when coworkers were heads down on a project that had no real purpose. But in rough economic times, no organization can afford to squander resources on busywork. Every effort expended by your workforce should be purposeful and tied to corporate goals. Prioritize only those activities that are strategically pertinent, and ensure that non-strategic activities don’t creep into the picture. If employees do become sidetracked, refer to cascading goals to pinpoint the problem, and refocus efforts toward tasks that are higher in priority.

Lean Tip #833 - Keep Goals on Track.

No strategy is set in stone, which makes the goal setting process a dynamic endeavor. Consider yourself a coach on the sidelines, continuously referring to playbooks and constantly re-evaluating strategies and players or making adjustments at halftime. Set goals, and execute on them—but be sure to evaluate those goals year-round, not solely during performance reviews. The more you monitor individual objectives, the greater the likelihood that they will be on target and fulfilled.

Lean Tip #834 - Focus Action-Planning on Daily Activities.

Increasingly heard at major corporations is the need to "just show them what to do". Remember that simplicity can quickly alleviate confusion surrounding what employees are now expected to do. There are powerful best practices already in place inside the company—sharing them broadly in employees' own words will go far.

Lean Tip #835 - Communicate Clearly and Collaborate on Goals and Objectives

In too many cases, goals and objectives are finalized by executives without speaking to anyone working in the trenches.  Opening the lines of communication between the c-suite and the ground floor will help to highlight issues and concerns.  It will also give employees a better understanding of the company’s overall strategy and how they fit in.

Lean Tip #836 – The First Step To Improvement Is To Recognize The Problem

Continuous Improvement is the ongoing effort of engaged employees and improvement teams to improve information, materials, products, services or processes.

The first step in establishing a continuous improvement mind set is to recognize the problem. That is, recognize the fact that your organization does not have or could do quite better exhibiting a continuous improvement mind set.

Lean Tip #837 – Establish An Enduring Culture

Adaptability and an action oriented leadership team are inherent components of a continuous improvement culture. Resistance to change exists in all organizations to a degree and it must be recognized for what it is, an impediment to improvement.

Lean Tip #838 – Think Kaizen and Cross the Chasm

Many people advocate Kaizen oriented thinking and behavior where continual small, incremental improvements provide tremendous benefits in performance and end results achieved over time. Others advocate a Crossing the Chasm mind set where drastic change is introduced completely replacing inefficient execution rather than slightly improving upon it. In a continuous improvement culture, there is room for both approaches.

Lean Tip #839 – Facilitate Process-Centric Thinking

Process-centric thinking does not have to be overly complex. Sometimes, all it takes is a thoughtful examination to uncover significant areas for improvement. Rather than tolerating mistakes and repeat errors, facilitate process-centric thinking to continually improve, correct, and overcome execution difficulties.

Lean Tip #840 - Educate The Workplace

Expect and overcome resistance to change with ongoing training, reinforcement of expected behaviors, and recognition of those who are learning and doing.