Too busy to improve?

Oct 15, 2016

We work with a diverse range of clients in a variety of sectors. To consistently achieve a double digit return on investment (greater than 10 times cost) we need to have deep experience in lean principles and the approach to implementing transformative change.

There is no sector that I have found that cannot improve through experienced application of the lean principles and techniques. Coaching from principles and sharing experiences from different environments enables teams to collaborate and make breakthrough change. With prolonged experience we have faith in our own techniques to enable the delivery of those typical returns.

Does that mean that lean can work everywhere? No! There are environments where lean transformation cannot work. These environments are those where leaders are “too busy” to lead the improvement. I am often desperate to ask – How many other programmes do you have that will deliver 20-30% improvement in your business performance???

Creating an improvement team and telling them to go do it is not good enough for that level of change. Without a joint leadership approach or vision for change the team are destined to trudge their way through internal politics and competing priorities. All of which slow down the rate of change and the size of the gains. Those teams are often fully aware of this problem and are frustrated by it.

Leaders have their role to play cannot delegate these responsibilities.

  1. Providing the team with a clear improvement vision?
  2. Setting the business priorities to focus effort where it is needed
  3. Ensuring the team are sufficiently trained (and influential enough) to deliver the change?
  4. Setting aside the time to actively and routinely involved and supporting that team?
  5. Managing our resilience to enable us to sustain the level of returns we need?

As a leader these are critical elements in making your change programme succeed in delivering breakthrough levels of change. Those that have made the leap will tell you they can’t believe they ever said they were “too busy” to get involved.