by Lee Fried, on 10 Jul 2007 09:42 am
The Journey
It All About the People
This might sound simple and maybe show my inexperience, but I wanted to confess a big learning of mine from the last year: Lean is not about process! Wow, there, I said it. Lean is all about people. It is about teaching people how to think differently about their work, and then, eventually to get them to behave differently so that others will follow their lead. We may organize and teach around the process, but it is the people that we really need to change if we want to show long-term sustainable improvement. This is exactly why every organization that treats Lean as a process improvement methodology or a set of tools fails in their efforts.
So why this confession now one might ask? Over the last couple months we have had to slow down the pace of change significantly in the Model Line area, because we often got overly focused on the process and lost sight of the people. This in neither bad nor good, it just is.
Let me explain. When we first started laying out our plans for 2007 we had done all of our due diligence. We had value stream mapped the production and support areas. We had an aggressive project plan that included multiple RPIWs (Rapid Process Improvement Workshops) all sequenced correctly and staffed appropriately with consultants. We had a change management strategy with supporting HR resources. Luckily, we also have put in place a PDCA process with a heavy emphasis on the adjustment.
So why have we had to adjust so often? Mainly, because people cannot change their thinking and their behavior as quickly as consultants can change the process on them. This is evident when looks at our challenges thus far in sustaining the improvements we have made during RPIWs and other Kaizen events. Managers and staff throughout the Division have embraced this work and have been incredible to work with, but you can only ask so much of them over a short-period of time. This is not to say that we have not made considerable progress. We have raised the competency and knowledge of over 700 people in a short-time and the improvements to the process will most definitely follow.
As a consultant I have learned a lot. For example, I know now that in the early stages of Lean transformation improvement should not be measured by project charts or number of improvement events. The foundational work of changing the way people think and behave needs to be done first, done correctly and done at the rate it can be absorbed by those that are doing the work in the first place.
on 10 Jul 2007 at 4:00 pm 1.Dave M. said …
Lee,
Nicely said. This reminds me of a fundamental lesson I learned from my mentor years ago. In essence, “You cannot lead people to where you want to go, even if you are right. You can only lead them to where they want to go.”
Am really enjoying the ‘blog…
on 12 Jul 2007 at 2:28 pm 2.Mark Graban said …
Lee, thanks for sharing your experiences and insights. I’d suggest maybe the right statement is “Lean is not ONLY about process.”
I think you have to focus on people AND process. There’s a tough balance between, as the consulting, thinking “I see all of the waste, here are some obvious things we could do” and “I’ll bring people along so they’ll see the waste themselves and initiate change because we’ve developed people and a lean culture.”
An organization might not have the luxury of the slower approach of guiding people to the answer. But, an organization might not survive the long term of a consultant telling them what to fix and how to fix it.
It really is a tough balance. I really try to avoid giving clients answers…. believe me, this frustrates them at times. This approach goes slower, and it can be frustrating to me, but I’m convinced it’s the right approach in the long run.
We always try to strive for long-term thinking and not giving people answers. But what if there’s a bad situation that’s hurting people right NOW? There’s an obligation to fix it (to “put the fire out”) and then step back to talk prevention and train people in good fire prevention practices, right?
No easy answers here… thought provoking post.
on 13 Jul 2007 at 5:24 am 3.Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog » Respect for People - Understanding Psychology said …
[...] of people. Therefore management needs to reflect that reality. -Lee Fried discusses these ideas in It is All About the People: We may organize and teach around the process, but it is the people that we really need to change [...]
on 20 Oct 2008 at 8:37 pm 4.Tweedie.us » Blog Archive » Business Philosphy said …
[...] of people. Therefore management needs to reflect that reality. -Lee Fried discusses these ideas in It is All About the People:We may organize and teach around the process, but it is the people that we really need to change if [...]