Lean Quote: Culture Changes When the Organization is Transformed

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.

"Culture does not change because we desire to change it. Culture changes when the organization is transformed; the culture reflects the realities of people working together every day." — Frances Hesselbein

Corporate culture, safety culture, quality culture, lean culture …What is the culture of your organization? Is it one that reflects the values of your business and is supported by the behaviors of all those that work there?

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.

An organization’s culture is 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.

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.

The culture of an organization is learnt over time. It can be taught to new employees through formal training programs but is more generally absorbed through stories, myths, rituals, and shared behaviors within teams. 

Company culture is important because it can make or break your company. Organizational culture will impact positively or negatively on everything you try to do whether you want it to or not. Companies with an adaptive culture that is aligned to their business goals routinely outperform their competitors.

Lean Tips Edition #121 (1816-1830)

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 #1816 – When it Comes to Improvement Think Small

Many companies today are only looking for the, “BIG WINS” when it comes to improvements. While big wins are always nice, they really aren’t going to be able to happen very often. A company that identifies small areas of improvement and implements them frequently is going to make much more progress over time than one that ignores the small things and only focuses on bigger issues.

Lean Tip #1817 - Empower Employees

Good managers are an invaluable part of having a facility that engages in continuous improvement. This is because good managers know that it is often going to be the employees who come up with the next great improvement idea. Employees perform their jobs all day everyday so it is no surprise that they will be the ones to find problems and hopefully the solutions to them.

Empowering employees to take steps toward improvement can be very helpful. Having a process by which they go through the PDCA cycle with as little interference from management as possible can be very helpful. Of course, for some changes manager involvement and approval will be necessary, but putting as few obstacles in the way as possible will result in much more improvement.

Lean Tip #1818 - Engage the Full Team to Find Improvement Opportunities

Continuous improvement in a facility is almost never going to be made by a single person. This is why you need to have the entire team involved. This starts with the CEO and leadership team and goes all the way to the front line employees. By creating a teamwork environment where everyone is working together to ensure ongoing improvement you will be much more successful in the long run.

Even when employees propose an unrealistic idea it should still be seen as a positive step. Taking all ideas seriously and trying to find ways to implement them if practical can allow employees to have the confidence in the management team that they need to want to bring new ideas up to the team.

Lean Tip #1819 - Put Yourself in Your Customer’s Shoes.

To be a success, your kaizen must improve things from the point of view of the customer. Many people make the mistake of improving a process from their own point of view from within their own organizational silo.  If your kaizen doesn’t improve things from the perspective of the customer then any improvement is an illusion.  In fact a good kaizen may result in the work of an individual team getting harder rather than easier.  This is fine as long as the value stream of the whole process is improved and the value flows better and in more efficient ways to the customer from a whole of business perspective.

Lean Tip #1820 - Kaizen What’s Important, Not What’s Easy

Don’t just target the low hanging fruit.  You want to make sure that your kaizen is important to the business.  Doing something important means that you will have no problem motivating people to be involved and do a good job.  We find work teams are easily tempted to do something easy so that they can be surer of a result.

If the Kaizen didn’t deliver a result that made a real difference, people will wonder what was the point.  Of course if you are lucky enough to have something that is both important and easy to work on then go for it.

Lean Tip #1821 - Focus on Collaboration & Working Together

Collaboration is one of the most important things for businesses to focus on improving, as it can help to improve ideas, cut down on wasted time and — yes — improve employee engagement. It may seem like a lofty goal if your employees tend to stick to themselves, but it doesn't have to be at all.

Lean Tip #1822 - Let Your Employees Focus on What They Do Best

Employees want to know that the work they're doing is being appreciated and meaningful ... and if they do, they will be engaged.

They also want to be given the opportunity to shine, which means they have to have the ability to do what they do best as often as possible. The biggest mistake that a manager can make is assigning tasks to those who work under them that simply don't match their skills ... which is something that can not only lead to poor performance, but will no doubt have a negative impact on employee engagement.

If you want your employees to stay as engaged as possible, you have to allow them to focus on their skills.

Lean Tip #1823 - Allow Time During the Day for Personal Enrichment & Development

The workday can be long at times, and it can be difficult for some employees to get the time they need to work on personal enrichment.

Most people want to learn something! So give them time to learn it and better themselves.

The weekend is only so long, and many people are exhausted at the end of the workday. If you want to improve engagement levels, you may want to allow time throughout the day for people explore something new.

Each day, allow your employees to take a half hour or so to work on something they're passionate about, even if it isn't work-related. It may seem as if you're losing time doing this, but in the end, you'll actually be making the environment more comfortable for you employees, which will lead to a more engaged staff.

Lean Tip #1824 – Recognize and Encourage Innovation

You might have heard some pretty inspiring ideas around the office. What about that project that came together so well and had some amazing improvements that no one initially thought of? Find out who came up with that idea. Give them a friendly “Good job!” or recognize them publicly for going the extra mile.

Lean Tip #1825 - Connect Employees to the Greater Good.

When employees feel connected to the company mission or like their work is contributing to a goal that is greater than profits, they feel like their work has purpose.  A sense of meaning is priceless and costs nothing for an employer to cultivate.

Lean Tip #1826 - Be Clear on the Metrics for Success.

Success should not be fuzzy. When your people understand the size of the prize and how their contributions matter, they are more motivated to achieve the desired results. Everyone should be visualizing the same thing, and they should be in lockstep on how to achieve it. You should regularly report on organizational progress toward the defined targets. It’s also critical to make those targets clear during the rollout of the changes and new strategy.

Lean Tip #1827 - Celebrate Early Wins.

As the change takes hold, you will have some successes you’ll want to replicate quickly (both at an organizational and individual level). To do that, capture those successes and communicate them broadly. Convert the early wins, no matter how small, into success stories people can understand. These stories let people know what you want more of in the organization and allow others to reflect on whether they could do anything similar. These stories also reinforce that small contributions really do matter.

Lean Tip #1828 - Focus on Managers During the Transformation

Managers are critical to keeping employees engaged and productive and can be instrumental in helping leaders manage change. Managers are also, unfortunately, the most overlooked group in an organization when it comes to developing the skills that make the difference between change failure and success. These include communicating, interpersonal skills, team building and coaching. If managers can’t operationalize the desired changes, then the total investment and effort will be sub-optimized. Managers must understand the strategy and then translate it in a way that is relevant for each employee.

Lean Tip #1829 - Keep a Positive Attitude.

Your attitude as a manager or supervisor will be a major factor in determining what type of climate is exhibited by your employees. Your attitude is the one thing that keeps you in control. Change can be stressful and confusing. Try to remain upbeat, positive, and enthusiastic. Foster motivation in others. During times of transition and change, try to compensate your employees for their extra effort. Last, try to instill organizational change as a personal challenge that everyone can meet…with success!

Lean Tip #1830 - Develop a Common “Change” Language and Tools

When everyone knows the process for how change is communicated and implemented in your organization, they won’t see change as so disruptive. People want to know what’s being changed, how it impacts them, what they need to do, what to expect overall, and who to turn to with questions. By using a common change language and process across the organization (such as Six Sigma), you reduce anxiety and make change more “normal.”

Sustaining With Layered Audits

One of the most common questions I hear with 5S (and Lean for that matter) is how do you sustain. Sustaining 5S can be very difficult without the use of 5S standard. A layered audit program is essential to ensure that your company’s 5S efforts continue.

Layered Audits are tied directly into the fifth S – Sustain – and they are the means used in Lean Improvement Systems to avoid “backsliding” into old habits, creating sustainable culture change.

Originating in the automotive industry, the concepts behind the Layered Process Audit are not new. They find their origin in the well-known Plan-Do-Check-Act continuous improvement cycle.

Layered Process Audits require that multiple operational levels within an organization review the same key operational controls to ensure sustainability. Simply stated, they are an ongoing chain of simple verification checks, which through observation, evaluation and conversations on the line; assure that the process is being properly performed.


The key is everyone is an “auditor”. To paraphrase E. Edwards Deming, no one goes to work with the intention of doing a bad job. Therefore, everyone wants to know that he or she is doing a good job. If people need to know that they are doing a good job, they need to have metrics regarding their job. This starts with the operator personally checking their process for compliance. Then the first line supervisor checks key processes, where feedback is immediate as are any agreed-upon corrective actions. The next level supervisor would then make the same checks, and so forth, up the chain of command in the organization.

The essential part of the Layered Audit is the creation of a standard checklist You must identify and ask the right questions on the checklist. This is where Standard work at all levels of the organization is critical. Layered Audits is a formalization of “management by walking the Gemba”.

Layered Process Audits can be compared to a preflight checklist. Is my operation ready for take-off? Am I confident that everything is in place to build and ship conforming product to my customer? When the flight, or day, goes smoothly, management and operators can use the time saved to work on improvements.

The Layered Audit approach is especially effective in sustaining process improvements and institutionalizing key process steps because all levels of the organization participate. Managers often can learn much about the manufacturing processes from operators, and operators can learn much about what is important to customers from managers.

Lean Quote: Aligning Your KPIs Keeps You Focused

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.

"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted." — Albert Einstein

We’ve all heard the saying, “What gets measured gets done.” It means regular measurement and reporting keeps you focused — because you use that information to make decisions to improve your results. Your most critical measurements are called Key Performance Indicators.

It’s important to make sure that your KPI’s are aligned with each other to avoid unintended consequences later.

1. Ensure your team understands KPI’s. You’ll be an expert once you read the information linked below in “Now It’s Your Turn.”

2. Determine what indicators are important. What are those vital few indicators that tell you things are working as intended?

3. Assess which data elements can be collected easily. If it’s too difficult, you will lose interest and stop.

4. Express the KPI as a formula (e.g. cost/searches=cost per search) and make sure you calculate it the same way every time.

5. Create a simple “dashboard” — a place to track the data on your internal website or on a shared Excel document.

6. Discuss the results every month with your team and make changes to your KPI’s until you are satisfied they are correct.

7. Dig down to analyze the KPI’s for your planning efforts.

KPI’s are one measurement technique in your arsenal. They can be a quick and useful tool to let you diagnose strengths and weaknesses in your process, make strategic decisions, and ensure you are heading in the right direction. Don’t forget: the real value is in the discussion of results with your team, not the numbers themselves.

7 Must Have Tools for Lean Factory

There are lots of tools in the tool box of continuous improvement for sure. Out problem solving can be improved by basic application of simple tools. Perhaps there are several simple tools that everyone should have at their disposal. In my experience these tools can help with many Lean efforts including visual management or 5S, value stream and process mapping, daily management and standardization:

Camera. A camera is a great tool document the process. You can use it to share best practices like in single point lessons, create visual standards, or even communicate defects and discrepancy. A picture is worth a 1000 words. Pictures are very effective at visually highlighting the improved appearance and order in the workplace.

Laminator. Customize your own visuals with a laminating machine. The use of visuals helps to ensure that the new standards remain clearly visible, readily understood, and consistently adhered to by all employees long after the Lean or rapid improvement event is over.

Label Maker. The right printing system can be an essential tool for creating an orderly and visually instructive workplace, allowing you to make signs, labels, tags, and more on demand.

Vinyl Chart Tape. Chart tape can be used in charting, plotting, and sectioning off various cells and diagrams. Using magnets as cell markers or placeholders along with a vinyl tape-created chart can turn any magnetic surface, whiteboard or not, into a sleek, low-maintenance chart.

Magnetic Adhesive Tape. Magnetic self adhesive tape is a perfect solution for a variety of signage projects. It is extremely easy to use, just cut, peel and stick. This is perfect for adhering labels, signs, and other visuals to boards and equipment, allowing you to move & reuse them.

Double Sided Tape. Double-sided tape is a versatile tool that comes in handy for many uses including mounting, sealing, and installing. Peel-and-stick adhesive tape can secure materials to a wide range of surfaces, including paper, cardboard, wood, plastic, and metal.

Post-it-notes. Post-it-notes have become a symbol of process mapping especially value stream mapping. Where ever there is a vertical surface you can create a map. They can also be used to identify waste in a cell like a red tag card for a 5S activity. I have even used post-it-notes to do a work balance table by cutting slips to represent the process times of various steps. They are great for daily action item tracking, too.  Post-it-notes are a versatile tool with lots of potential for the creative.

There is no one right tool for every job, but these can be used together to come with many effective improvement solutions. There are low cost, simple to use, and easy to store.  I believe everyone should have these tools in their toolbox.

What items do you find indispensable to your continuous improvement efforts? 

Lean Quote: Olympic Lessons for Success

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.

"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well." — Pierre de Coubertin, father of the modern Olympic Games

Like millions of others from around the globe I have been glued to the TV watching the winter Olympics from Sochi. Once again the eyes of the world are on its best and brightest athletes as they attempt to push the human body to new limits, and remind us that our best human qualities — determination, perseverance, innovation, sacrifice, and camaraderie – know no bounds.

As much as the Olympics represent the pinnacle of the sporting world, they are also the source of a number of inspiring stories that showcase both the human spirit and what we can accomplish when we strive to be our best.

To that end, I’d like to share some important lessons for leaders on how to guide their organization to succeed and thrive, regardless of the challenges that stand before them.

Lesson 1: Olympians know no goal is impossible with the right mindset. If you want to succeed, don’t lose sight of your goals. Stay unwaveringly motivated. Your focus determines your results. Focus on the right things.

Lesson 2: When Olympians suffer an inevitable setback, they don’t let themselves succumb to doubts. You can’t compete at the highest levels without inner-confidence. And when you do get a taste of success, don’t rest on your laurels. You have to pivot, hone in on the strengths that have carried you so far, and overcome adversity with perseverance.

Lesson 3: There’s no substitute for surrounding yourself with the best possible team. With the right players, there’s no limit to what you can accomplish. Don’t compromise on talent, and hold yourself to the lofty expectations people will place on you.

Lesson 4: Olympians break through excuses. Many businesses will face immense challenges on the road to success. They will also be presented with opportunities to overcome these challenges. Don’t squander your potential with self-imposed limitations. Don’t make excuses for why you cannot engage more fully. Capitalizing on your chances is a matter of being dedicated and sacrificing for the greater good of the business.

Lesson 5: Olympians never stop learning from mistakes. In business you need to measure everything so you can analyze how to be more effective, more productive, and more profitable in the future. What gets measured gets improved. You never settle for good. You always strive to be great. It’s an attitude of constant improvement.

Lesson 6: Olympians give 100% commitment to their goals. You have to give 100% commitment to what it is you want to achieve. Without a doubt those that are competing have committed themselves 100%. They don’t expect it to be easy and are ready and willing to do what it takes.


To achieve success businesses and leaders within them need to take a long term view. The reality is there is no shortcut to success. These lessons above show how we should approach our leadership and guiding the people we lead towards achieving our shared goals.