The #1 Reason Many Kaizen Events Are A Total Waste.

The #1 Reason Many Kaizen Events Are A Total Waste.

An educated person is  not the one with the most knowledge, an educated person is the one who is willing to reflect, evaluate and modify his most cherished beliefs when a new idea comes along . ~ Christian Simpson

Here it is: The focus is on the process instead of the people.

Sure, I hear it all the time, "Lean is all about the people." Blah, blah, blah..... companies throw that line out to all their team members and their visitors. And, that's what all of the Lean books teach too. I agree Lean IS all about the people. I don't just say it. I live it. But, most organizations and most Lean books, don't focus primarily on the people. They focus primarily on the process.

Many Lean companies say one thing, "Lean is all about the people." But, they do another thing. They make it "all about the process." Don't believe me? Start asking any company that's "doing" Lean:

• What kind of Leadership program do you have?
• Does it include everyone from the top to the bottom?
• What is the ratio of time and dollars spent on people development vs. process improvement?
• How many Lean events have been conducted in the last 12 months?
• How many Leadership training sessions have been conducted in the last 12 months?
• What's the cumulative hours spent on Lean?
• What's the cumulative hours spent developing people?
• How many have received Lean training?
• How many have received Leadership training?
• How much is in the budget for improving the processes?
• How much is in the budget for developing people?
• How many are trained to effectively implement Lean?
• How many are trained to effectively lead people?

The "real" Lean companies already know what I'm writing about here. Those that just want to "be" Lean don't have a clue.

People development is about leadership principles.

Process improvement is about Lean principles.

Most organizations, Lean or not, have no formal leadership component to develop all people at all levels in a way that increases their influence 360° from where ever they are. Most organizations care far more about profit than they do about people. Here's a tip for those organizations and their leaders: the people are responsible for the profits.

Without real leadership, the people don't buy-in to the leader or the leader's vision, in this case Lean.

The result: In this situation, it is extremely difficult at best or impossible at worst to sustain the gain relative to Lean improvements. Sustaining the gain is the biggest challenge faced by organizations that are attempting to use Lean Manufacturing principles to improve their processes. Anyone with money can bring in a consultant like myself that can "actually lead" a team and make significant improvements in one week. But, they will slowly fade away.

Why? Because the team bought into the leader (the outside expert/leader) that lead the team/event, they pitched in an achieved amazing results (I've witnessed it hundreds of times personally), but when the consultant is gone, so is the leadership ability that made it possible. The problem is not in the people onsite. The problem is with the leadership onsite.

The Two Pillars of Lean

Those that are familiar with Lean should also be familiar with those famous two pillars of lean:

• Respect for the People (truly people development/leadership)
• Continuous Improvement (truly process improvement)

The majority of organizations that call themselves Lean are focused only on "Continuous Improvement" and have little or nothing intentionally underway when it comes to "Respect for the People." If you buy-in to the two pillar theory, they are only working on 50% of what makes Lean effective. They are focused on one pillar. One pillar won't hold up the roof when two are needed.

As I've grown and developed a deep understanding of Lean and Leadership throughout my 20+ years in manufacturing, I have become keenly aware of a flaw in teaching the "two pillar" concept. They appear equal. They are not equal. Short term, low-level leaders of people (what leaders call managers) quickly and easily choose the continuous improvement pillar to attach. It has the quickest impact on the bottom line, but it won't last unless the people make it last.

After many years of leading hundreds of successful kaizen events in different locations, with different people, in different organizations, I no longer teach and train others that there are two pillars of Lean. I think there's a better more effective way to teach it. I firmly believe there are two components, and they are the same ones I listed above.

The Two Layers of Lean

However, they are not pillars. And most importantly, they are not equally important. These two components are unequal layers of a foundation.

To illustrate what I'm going to share about the two layers of Lean, I want to share a leadership principle that I learned about while helping John C. Maxwell train over 20,000 Guatemalan leader as part of the "Transformation Begins With Me" cultural transformation initiative across the entire nation.

The foundational principle that John asked us to train the Guatemalan leaders was based on research studies he was familiar with from Harvard and Stanford. The study basically revealed, "87% of our results/influence come from our character (who we are) and 13% of our results/influence come from our competency (what we know). This is powerful insight when it comes to a Lean transformation and the ability to effectively sustain the gains beyond the short term.

An effective Lean initiative is based on Leadership/Respect for the People/People Development, whatever you want to call it. I now call it Leadership. If it's based on Continuous Improvement/Process Improvement, it isn't nearly as effective.

I use the 87/13 principle when I talk about and teach about the "two layers" of Lean. The first and most important layer that makes up 87% of an effective Lean foundation is Leadership, people development. It's where leaders are grown and developed. Leaders that can influence by building trust, motivating, and inspiring all the people for the right reasons.

Most people can see right through the manipulative tactics and mumbo jumbo that low level, weak leaders (managers of people) throw at them in the name of Lean and all of the talk of it being "all about the people." These leaders are two-faced. They know it, and the people know. They are not about the people. They are about the profits. (again, people are responsible for the profits).

Eventually, if there isn't deep integrity and fundamental character strength, the challenges of life will cause true motives to surface and human relationship failure will replace short-term success. ~ Dr. Stephen R. Covey

Which people will help produce more profits? Motivated people or manipulated people? What's common sense isn't always common practice.

The second layer that makes up 13% of an effective Lean foundation is Continuous Improvement, process improvement. Effective utilization of all of the popular Lean tools. The ones that most companies are quick to adopt long before they've even thought about or considered a full blown Leadership development program to prepare the people to lead the cultural change that takes place when moving from traditional batch & queue to a Lean process with flow.

The definition of Leadership is influence. Nothing more. Nothing less. The key to Lean is influence, not control. It's why I can walk into a company I've never been in as an outsider without knowing the people or the process and achieve amazing results when those insiders that know the process, know the people, and know how to use the Lean tools, can't seem to accomplish anything much less make it stick.

Unless people buy-in to the leader(s), they will not buy-in to the vision being cast by those leaders. The first thing I do on my events is connect with the people on the event as people, not a means to a profit or a good report at the end of the week. The second thing I do is teach and train them some very basic but important leadership principles. Then, once they see and feel I value them and after having literally added value to them, I begin adding the Continuous Improvement principles on top of the foundation that I've already created.

I take the time it takes, so it takes less time.

Next, we begin to synergize and achieve unbelievable results by the end of the week. But far too often, long term, it's for nothing. Why? It's not because of me. And, it's not because of the team or the people involved in the process. It's because of the lack of leadership onsite to sustain the gains. The organization can't rise beyond the lid on the organization. (Click here for a great blog on this topic.)

I can assure you. If there's a problem with the people at the bottom, it can be traced back to the leader at the top.

Because of what I've learned about the impact of Leadership on Lean, I now have a career as a Leadership Development Professional (training/speaking/coaching) focused on the people across all industries instead of simply being a Lean Manufacturing Consultant focused on the processes in the manufacturing industry. Although the blue-collar, manufacturing world is still my passion, the focus of many low level manufacturing leaders on processes instead of people has led me to other industries and leaders that do value the people because they know they are responsible for the processes.

I have a passion for growing and developing those that lead Lean to become true Lean Leaders. If you need help creating real momentum, sustaining the gains, and truly want to make Lean "all about the people," it would be a privilege for me to serve you and your team. I love leading transformation and cultural change and developing the people who will not only lead the change, but sustain the change.

FREE downloads available:

Click here to access Chapter 11 “Get Out of the Way and Lead” from my book, Defining Influence.

Click here to access the first 5 chapters of “Blue-Collar Leadership: Leading from the Front Lines.”

Note: I encourage you to be a river, not a reservoir. Please share my blogs with others if you find value in them. I believe in abundance and write them to help others become more effective, successful, and significant.

Make an impact!

Mack Story

My passion is to help you live with abundance, achieve success, choose significance, and leave a legacy. In other words, I want to help you make a High Impact!

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Mack’s story is an amazing journey of personal and professional growth. He began his career in manufacturing on the front lines of a machine shop. He grew himself into upper management and found his niche in lean manufacturing and along with it, developed his passion for leadership. He understands that everything rises and falls on leadership.

Mack is the author of Blue-Collar Leadership Series, Defining Influence, & 10 Values of High Impact Leaders. He's an inspiration for people everywhere as an example of achievement, growth, and personal development. His passion inspires people all over the world! Order signed copies here.

Mack’s experience as a John Maxwell Certified Leadership Coach, Trainer, and Speaker includes an international training event in Guatemala with John as part of the Cultural Transformation in Guatemala where more than 20,000 Guatemalan leaders were trained.

Contact Mack at 334-728-4143 or [email protected] for Keynote Speaking, Corporate Training, Professional Leadership Development, Cultural Enhancement/Transformation, and Process Improvement.