?? Transforming from "Fake Lean" to "Real Lean" in Your Organisation! ??

In exploring Bob Emiliani's crucial insights on Lean practices, it's essential to distinguish between superficial Lean tool adoption ("Fake Lean") and genuine, transformative Lean implementation ("Real Lean"). Here's a quick guide on identifying which type of Lean your organization practices, and how you can steer towards authenticity and effectiveness.

How to Identify Your Lean Practice:

1. Continuous Improvement vs. Tool Use Only

• Real Lean: Integrates Lean principles deeply into both daily operations and strategic planning.

Real Lean, Lean principles permeate all operations. There is a dedication to continuous improvement (Kaizen) involving everyone, leading to ongoing process and outcome enhancements.

• Fake Lean: Focuses mainly on superficial tool usage without fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

Sporadically using tools like 5S or launching improvement projects for industry trends or superficial audits rather than ongoing process improvement, results in little impact on efficiency or effectiveness.

2. Respect for People vs. Ignoring Human Elements

• Real Lean: Centers around employee involvement, empowerment, and development.

Real transformations include a deep respect for people, actively involving employees in decision-making processes and ensuring their development and empowerment through Lean training programs. This approach not only improves processes but also builds a strong, engaged workforce.

• Fake Lean: Neglects the human element, using Lean as a cost-cutting tool that may compromise employee morale and job security.

Implementing Lean tools with the primary aim of cost-cutting, often results in layoffs and reduced employee morale. In these cases, Lean is used to justify short-term gains at the expense of long-term employee engagement and organisational health.

3. Value Creation vs. Cost Reduction

• Real Lean: Strives to create value for customers through enhanced quality and service.

Using Lean to significantly improve product quality and customer service by redesigning processes to reduce waste and enhance product quality, leads to higher customer satisfaction and increased sales.

• Fake Lean: Prioritises cost efficiency, sometimes at the expense of overall quality and customer satisfaction.

Focusing exclusively on Lean as a means to reduce operational costs often compromise on essential aspects like quality checks and customer service, leading to poorer product quality and ultimately damage the brand’s reputation and customer loyalty.

4. Leadership Involvement vs. Delegation

• Real Lean: Sees active, committed participation from leadership at all levels.

Engaged leaders are deeply involved in the Lean process. They participate in Gemba walks and Lean training, ensuring that Lean principles are understood and practiced across all levels of the organisation.

• Fake Lean: Often lacks genuine leadership involvement, with Lean initiatives delegated without adequate support.

Senior executives delegate Lean implementation to lower-level managers or consultants without proper oversight or integration into the business strategy. This often results in disjointed improvement projects that lack coherence and fail to harness the full benefits of Lean.

Action Plan to Transition to Real Lean:

1. Secure Leadership Commitment: Ensure top management understands and is dedicated to genuine Lean transformation.
2. Invest in Education and Training: Go beyond tools; educate on Lean philosophy focusing on respect and continuous improvement.
3. Cultural Transformation: Build a culture that prizes learning, openness, and empowerment.
4. Process Reevaluation: Involve all employees in re-evaluating processes to maximize customer value.
5. Measure and Adjust: Develop metrics that reflect customer satisfaction and quality improvement, and adjust strategies based on these insights.

Suggested Reading to Guide Your Journey:

• "Lean Thinking" by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones
• "The Toyota Way" by Jeffrey K. Liker
• "Better Thinking, Better Results" by Bob Emiliani
• "Gemba Kaizen" by Masaaki Imai

Embracing Real Lean involves more than adopting tools and executing improvement projects; it's about transforming your organisational culture and processes to foster continuous improvement and respect for people. It often requires radical transformation of how leader behaviour and how they approach problem solving. Let's move beyond "Fake Lean" and make "Real Lean" the standard.

?? What elements of Fake lean do you see in your organisation and how are you addressing these? ?

Visual inspired by Roberto Ferraro

#LeanManagement #OrganisationalTransformation #ContinuousImprovement #Leadership #CorporateCulture