At the beginning of November, Bill Artzberger published a new book entitled Powering the Lean Enterprise: How to Streamline Operations, Improve Quality, and Gain Customer Loyalty, which introduces basic Lean rules and principles in a variety of simulated case studies drawn from the author’s professional experiences as a Lean coach, trainer, and manager.
When I spoke with Bill this month, I asked him: “What are the biggest obstacles to an effective and sustained Lean initiative?” Here is his response:
While there are many things that can constitute an obstacle, here are three big ones to be wary of:
1. Rules before Tools!
Lean tools are powerful aids to improvement. However, you must first understand Lean thinking and learn the key Lean principles before using the tools. This is the only way you will be able to select the correct tool (of the hundreds available) for your application and know how to correctly use the tool in your environment. Lean is not a tool or collection of tools, it is not a tactic or simple cost-reduction program; it is a way of thinking and acting for an entire organization.
You must create an enterprise-wide customer-focused learning organization to be successful in creating a long-term, sustainable Lean organization. You don’t get “Lean” or get “Leaned out.” Lean is not a destination – Lean is a journey. The learning process is the key to process improvement and the key to Lean. This is the one thing you must know to be successful in your Lean journey. If you do not figure out how to do your job better, then your competitors will.
2. Intention/Action Disparity
Key systems or people can sometimes provide roadblocks to the success of the Lean program in an organization. Typically, this boils down to interpersonal issues.
One example of this would be an organization where a handful of departments have adopted Lean methodology, but other areas have not. This can stymie the progress the Lean-oriented departments are striving towards. Another example of this might be an organization with political or leadership issues. If a leader at an organization acts in opposition to the Lean strategies or behaves in a way that builds roadblocks to the progress of those strategies, the Lean program will fail.
The key to avoiding this obstacle is to ensure that all members of the organization are invested in the success of the Lean methods being implemented. This includes the organization’s leadership.
3. Sustaining Lean Methodologies
Even when organizations overcome the first two obstacles, it is very difficult to implement and sustain a culture change that spans the entirety of the organization. This obstacle might not be immediately evident, especially because many of the systems and processes might be running well.
This obstacle most often affects organizations that decide to identify and train a few subject matter experts rather than investing in the whole organization to sustain the Lean culture. When a subject matter expert turns over, Lean systems start to break down. When organization leaders do not take the time to invest in developing the organization’s desire to improve, the Lean journey will start to lose momentum.
This can be a constant battle for companies who make it to this point. It often leads to ebbs and flows in work management and system sustainability.
The only way to avoid this pitfall is for every member of the organization to feel invested in the Lean journey. This means accepting the fact that the Lean journey is a continuous development and learning process and embracing the work that comes with it.
How long has your organization been involved in a Lean initiative? Is "Lean thinking" part of your workplace culture? Do you agree with Bill Artzberger's overview of the common barriers to success?
