by Lee Fried, on 08 Dec 2006 06:01 am
The Journey
A Good Problem to Have
We have a good problem. A year ago as a Lean consultant it was extremely hard to find a line-manager in the organization that was willing to work with us. Very few people in the organization knew what Lean was and those that did were skeptical. When we found leaders that were willing to sponsor a project it was typically small in scope, delegated down to the frontlines and non-transformational. When it came to contracting we had very little leverage, because demand was non-existent, thus we often were forced to deal with messy people issues that were way out of role.
So what is the problem? The problem is now demand. We are being asked by almost every department in the organization to come and support them. We are currently responsible for the execution of many of the business strategies in the organization. We need to figure out how to continue to properly support teams, develop new Lean consultants, sustain results and change the culture. This is a lot better problem then the one we faced last year.
So what happened in the last year to change this situation? Well, a lot of different forces have led to the change. Leaders like Ted have become Lean zealots and have championed our work at every opportunity at great risk to themselves. We have quickly grown our infrastructure meaning we have been able to demystify Lean, now more then 8% of our total employees have participated in a Lean event (approx 800). We have shown some great results in terms of productivity, quality and staff engagement. Finally, the business climate has changed and there is suddenly a burning platform for change.
Tomorrow I am meeting with a group of our senior leaders and Lean champions to figure out how to solve our problem. We know that we will need to focus. We know we need to say no. It will take discipline and great organization. It will not be easy to fix, but at least this problem is one we can be proud of!
3 Responses to “A Good Problem to Have”
on 09 Dec 2006 at 9:37 am 1.Mark Graban said …
Congratulations! A hospital I’m working with is starting to make the transition from lean being a department project to now being a strategic initiative for the whole organization. It’s not quite to the point of different departments fighting for lean, but that’s a great goal. I’m very happy to hear about your progress.
One thing you say concerns me, and maybe I’m misunderstanding. When you say “We are currently responsible for the execution of many of the business strategies in the organization” — as lean consultants (internal or external), you can’t really truly be responsible for the execution. The line managers who own the departments (or the whole organization) have to be responsible. You can’t outsource leadership or responsibility or accountability. Your lean consultants can help you, but it can’t all fall on your shoulders.
Can you shed some more light on that dynamic in your hospital?
on 09 Dec 2006 at 9:10 pm 2.Lee Fried said …
Hi Mark,
Your comments are right on. I often find myself in a position of over functioning to over compensate for line-managers that are unwilling or incapable of managing change. Regaurdless you are correct when stating the Lean team should not be responsible.
Our organization currently has three large improvement strategies underway with many smaller workstreams under each. Many of these work streams are using Lean tools and principles to plan and execute. So in this case the “we” is really the Executive VPs that oversee each work steam and the associated business line.
Thanks for clarifying,
Lee
on 16 Dec 2006 at 8:45 am 3.Ted Eytan said …
Lee/Mark,
I might add a slightly different perspective about “the managers” and that’s something I heard at a LEAN presentation from another organization.
It was that LEAN transformations can be very confusing to managers. While staff local to customers are empowered, and senior leaders see the benefits in terms of execution and cost, mixed messages can be sent.
I agree with this premise rather than one that suggests unwillingness or incapability. I and think it’s as much the accountability of the LEAN guide to not over function as it is for senior leaders and managers to have the information and knowledge needed to make the organization successful.
On that note, I’m going to offer a quote of the week .