Creative Problem Solving and Lean Thinking

There has long been a debate in the Lean community about creativity. Clearly, a Lean organization thrives on standard work, and it is easy to assume that following standard work means that creativity must be curtailed. In her new book, Creatively Lean: How to Get Out of Your Own Way and Drive Innovation throughout Your Organization, Bella Englebach argues that creative thinking is fundamental to Lean thinking, and that using tools and approaches from the adjacent field of Creative Problem Solving makes for better Lean thinking, and better Lean thinkers. Recently, I asked her: "What is Creative Problem Solving and how it can be applied to Lean thinking?" Here is what she explained:

Deeper Thinking

In my book, I tell a story that many of us in Lean have heard, or even experienced. A Lean learner proudly presents their countermeasure to their coach or sensei, only to be told, “Go back. Think deeper.” That can be very frustrating. What does it mean to think deeper?

Creativity Has a Natural Rhythm

I believe “thinking deeper” means to take advantage of the natural rhythm of creativity, which requires developing skills in both thinking broadly (divergent thinking) as well as thinking convergently, which is to select and strengthen ideas.

Creative Problem Solving

Creative Problem Solving (CPS) is a proven method for approaching a problem or challenge in an imaginative and innovative way, and it explicitly teaches convergent and divergent thinking. Like Lean, the CPS approach has distinct steps for solving a problem. Each CPS step deliberately uses divergent and convergent thinking. In my work I have found that paying attention to the divergent thinking/convergent thinking creative rhythm and using CPS tools with Lean approaches like the A3 and the improvement kata drives deeper thinking, and more innovative countermeasures.  And who doesn’t need more innovation?

What have been your experiences with creativity and Lean? When you need an innovative improvement, what approaches, and tools have you used?

How Do Service Organizations Translate Lean Principles into Sustainable Practices?

In January, Karyn Ross published  a new and very important book entitled How to Coach for Creativity and Service Excellence: A Lean Coaching Workbook -- It is a self-contained workbook, in which the reader completes twenty-one days of practical exercises and activities focused on creativity, Lean, and coaching (one set per day). These exercises enable readers to develop their capability and confidence to be creative, adapt Lean principles, practices and tools to their unique service organization, and coach others to do the same.

I had a chance to meet and discuss the book with Karyn during the recent KataCon5 conference in Savannah, Georgia. One of the questions I asked her was: “Why do service organizations struggle to translate Lean principles into sustainable practices?” Here is her complete and enlightening answer:

Michael, that’s a great question. And, as a Lean coach, consultant and practitioner who has only worked in services, I could give you any of the traditional answers you might expect:

•             Lean is for manufacturing.

•             Senior leadership doesn’t really support it.

•             Lean is just another "flavor of the month."

But while all these may be contributing factors, over the years, I’ve come to understand that the real reason people in service organizations struggle to turn Lean principles into sustainable practices is the same reason people in manufacturing organizations struggle: They aren’t able to overcome what I call the long list of "I can’ts" -- those underlying assumptions that each of us has about what is and what isn’t possible. Possible for our organization, our team, and for each of us as individuals:

• “We can’t possibly customize our service for every customer. There are too many of them!”
• “I can’t ask my team for 100% accuracy. It’s demotivating and they can’t do it.
• “I can’t work more efficiently. I know the way I do this is the best way.”

As a Lean community, we’ve spent a lot of time focused on tools and some time on principles. But, we haven’t spent any time at all helping people learn how to use their innate creativity. That’s why this book, written as a workbook, focuses so heavily on two factors: 

1. Coaching people to use my simple, disciplined, practical approach to PDCA so that anyone, at any level of the organization, can generate creative ideas to overcome those “I can’ts."
2. How to then turn those creative ideas into more effective and efficient ways to work by adapting Lean principles such as flow, leveling, and standard work in services.   

These factors ensure that customers are satisfied – now and for the long-term -- and the organization will be able to fulfill its purpose. And, whether you’re in services – or manufacturing – that’s exactly what sustainable Lean practices are all about!

Do any readers work for service or transactional organizations that are applying Lean principles to achieve excellence? What do you think of Karyn's perspective?