by Lee Fried, on 07 May 2007 12:30 pm
The Journey
A Different Level of Thinking
Last Thursday and Friday I had the pleasure of leading a group of the top fifty leaders of our health plan through two days of Lean training and discovery. It was an exciting two days with excellent dialogue and many colorful debates. The first day was spent discussing the three management systems of Lean and the WIIFM (whats in it for me) for any leadership team that decides to embark on a Lean journey. The second day we taught the lean concepts of waste, quality, steady flow, and leveling. We concluded by talking about Lean leadership and implementation approaches.
As a Lean consultant I have led several leadership teams through training in the past, but this one was very different for several reasons. First, the entire Model Line leadership team was there and co-lead each of the agenda items. This meant that the training was peer to peer, which is far more powerful then listening to a consultant. It also meant that discussion wasrich with stories that brought a lot of credibility to Lean and took away the ”that’s fine in manufacturing, but healthcare is different” thinking.
Second, it was very evident by the sophistication of the discussions that in just two years the organization has come a long way in it’s Lean journey. Of the fifty leaders in the audience almost all of them had in some way participated in a Lean event. Nobody was asking for 101 clarification. In addition, nobody seemed to question the value of Lean, but instead asked questions about “how far, how fast.”
Finally, the level of honesty and openness of the group was refreshing. People spoke their minds, were open about problems and did not hesitate to challenge each other. There was no selling of Lean and no sugar coating what it will take us as an organization to make the type of changes that would be demanded if we continue on our journey. Overall, it was evident that Lean has taken the organization to a different level of thinking.