Lean Leadership and Culture Archives - Page 2 of 3

Respect for People: Lean’s Forgotten Third Pillar?

We often speak about the two pillars of the Toyota or Lean system, and when doing so we think of the two well-known pillars of just-in-time (JIT) and built-in quality (jidoka). JIT thereby focuses on manufacturing only the necessary products, at the necessary time, in the necessary quantity by deploying pull flow (kanban), one piece flow and leveling. Jidoka, built-in quality, or autonomation focuses on quality control by stopping the process when abnormalities are detected based upon elements such as standardized work and visual control. But is this correct? Where is “Respect for People” in all of this?
(more…)

Using Rubrics to Assess Your Lean Progress

Hoshin kanri involves the identification and deployment of various initiatives (or countermeasures) to eliminate major obstacles to reach the organization’s goal and to further improve the organization’s performance. Typically, organizations subsequently track their performance to see whether they are actually improving. In hoshin kanri these performance indicators are called “control items”. But what organizations track less is whether they are actually deploying what they set out to deploy. These so called “check items” are often missing. And exactly this is one of the key aspects in which hoshin kanri differs from traditional management-by-objectives or MBO. (more…)

Sorry, but Lean is about Cost Reduction

It seems to be popular these last years and more recently to explicitly state that Lean is not (only) about cost reduction or cost cutting. See the recent posts by Mark Graban or Matt Hrivnak. So let me be somewhat controversial in this post (which I think is allowed to spark the discussion) and drop a bombshell: I think Lean is about cost reduction.

Now I can’t of course argue with the interpretations that people may have when they read about cost reductions, and surely, generally it will have negative connotations. But it is interesting, still, to contrast these thoughts with the original ideas about what now is called Lean, by going back to what Toyota, Taiichi Ohno and Shigeo Shingo said and wrote about this topic in the period when the world first started learning about the Toyota Production System. Then when going back to the origins and the intent of the TPS, there clearly is strong focus on cost reduction. So how does this match up, one might wonder. A post trying to close the gap between cost reduction how it is often practiced, and understanding cost reduction as intended in Lean. (more…)

Don’t Become a “Three-Finger” Manager

As most will know and acknowledge, a key aspect of a truly Lean organization is its continuous drive towards better. Problems are seen as opportunities to learn how work really works and to distill improvements from the analysis of the problem and its underlying cause system. It is through this continuous problem detection and rigorous, structured problem solving that organizations close in on their ambitions. But it implies that we see problems as the so called “voice of the process”; as if the process is trying to tell us that there’s something wrong with it. And it implies that we see problems as the seeds of improvement waiting to be harvested.

But what happens when managers start pointing the accusatory finger, begin a blame game and make people, departments or suppliers into scapegoats? How would you feel in such a situation? It probably would be the last time that you would put a problem on the table or that you would be a constructive team member in investigating a process in which you or your department plays a role, right? (more…)

Discipline and the Broken Windows Theory

Over the last few years a lot has been written about Lean leadership. For instance about what the differences would be between Lean and traditional leadership. And what the characteristics are of a Lean leader. One of the aspects often missing, I feel, is “discipline”. I have always told my managers that they weren’t paid more because they would supposedly be more intelligent or because they studied for a longer period of time, but because I expected them to be the most disciplined in respecting standards. As without the manager’s respect – also interestingly described in the “broken windows” theory – the organization as a whole will flout its own rules. (more…)

Rid Yourself of the Trade-Off

Not so long ago I came across a few pictures that were posted on LinkedIn that aroused my attention. They touched upon a theme that has been slumbering in my mind for quite a while, namely that off the always returning phenomenon of the trade-off. The pictures that gad around the Internet were about good quality not being possible in combination with speedy service and a very competitive price; you can’t have it all, so it seems. A trade-off indicates an optimization problem; making the best choice considering multiple variables and their interdependence. But unfortunately, optimization assumes certain dependencies instead of challenging the thinking behind these presumed interdependencies. It’s time to get rid of the trade-off! (more…)

Problem Attitude: Having Any Problems?

Throughout the years I have had the opportunity to work for and with many organizations and teams. And all of them had their own way of dealing with problems. Some were not aware of their problems, and also saw no need to change this; others did see their problems, but — like some kind of Pavlov reaction — declared these as just being part of doing business and swept their problems under the carpet. Other organizations certainly are aware of their problems and some see these even as opportunities to improve their business. Finally, in certain organizations, even the absence of problems is seen as a problem. In what kind of organization are you working? (more…)

The 3D Lean Temple: What, How and How Well

Companies don’t really distinguish themselves as far as it concerns the objectives for their operations. Providing quality, on time, in a speedy way, against low cost, and on a safe, healthy, pleasant and environment-friendly way is something everyone aspires. An operational competitive advantage, however, will only emerge when the way in which the organization executes her processes, is smarter and better than the way in which her competitors does. But nowadays, every self-respecting company seemingly is also pursuing “Lean”. Have we finished competing through our operations? A post about “what”, “how” and “how well”. (more…)

Lean Culture: Inseparable of what Lean ís!

Culture is often indicated as one of the most important aspects of the Lean journey towards perfection. At the same time, culture seems to be one of the most elusive aspects. Norms, values, convictions, morals, attitude, behavior, habits and leadership are examples of themes that are discussed when we talk about culture. Some posts and articles also discuss the importance of national or local culture, and question whether Lean is not too much interconnected with Japanese culture to become a success outside of Japan. Already in 1983, a Dutch article about kanban by Wortmann and Durlinger concluded that it would not be possible to fully implement kanban in the Netherlands due to cultural differences related to moral, employee involvement and team awareness. Still, it is my own experience that organizations that are seriously following the Lean road create such strong cultures of their own, that in the end these organizational cultures transcend national or local cultures. (more…)

Worthless Discussions and the Socratic Method

One of the most difficult aspects of accompanying organizational transformations like when a company starts off on their Lean journey, is restraining your zeal. And this is particularly the case when statements are made and opinions are ventilated that run counter to the principles and ideas of the (internal) consultant or coach or even the Lean principles for that matter. The Socratic method of motivation, however, presumes interaction without any presuppositions, without any value judgment. It stresses non-value-based, or one could say “worthless”, interaction. It isn’t about the values and norms of the coach, but about the ball being in the organization’s court. It is an important approach in creating an autonomous Lean organization, but in some situations also not the only one. (more…)