Recently, I was asked to guest post by fellow Lean blogger and Friend of TheKaiZone, Eric Raio, on his Factory Solutions blog.  Eric posed the following question to six of the world’s foremost Lean authors and thought leaders . . . and me, too:

What is one low-hanging fruit you can solve with kaizen?

You can find my thoughts below, and for the article in its entirety, be sure to check out Eric’s site at Factorysolutions.com.

Kaizen: Beware the Low-Hanging Fruit

Almost all new kaizen programs begin with the search for the proverbial low-hanging fruit, and understandably so.  It just makes sense that we start by reaping the biggest reward for the least amount of effort, doesn’t it?  Perhaps not.  While the low-hanging fruit might seem enticing, caution must be exercised not to become dependent on the high-reward, low-effort model of improvement.  Allow me to explain.

In the early days of a Lean journey, life is good.  The low-hanging fruit has been ripening on the vines for years, if not longer, just waiting to be plucked.  To answer the original question of what low-hanging fruit can be solved with kaizen, we often start by 5S-ing a store room so we can get rid of the extra stuff we bought the last six times we couldn’t find what we needed.  We “do SMED” to remove a few bothersome activities from a changeover.  We “poka-yoke” a machine to reduce defects (and because it’s fun to say that we poke-yoked something).  And we see some initial results.

In a short while, we learn to thrive off of the low-hanging fruit, exerting minimal effort for a sizable reward.  The low-hanging fruit is seemingly everywhere . . . until one day, it’s not.  Slowly yet suddenly, we look around to find that the lower branches have been laid bare.   It is at this time that we arrive at a crossroads: learn to pick the produce that hangs out of reach, or continue to depend on the low-hanging fruit only to starve while the produce above rots.

Unfortunately, data on the topic suggests that the vast majority of companies fail to make the transition away from low-hanging fruit to sustainable, long-term improvement.  In a 2014 study of 67 factories across 19 countries, the authors concluded:

“There are indeed low-hanging fruits that give a few quick pay-offs, but the real benefits of lean are first realized when the majority of the factory and its supply chain operates according to the principles.  Managers . . . erroneously terminate the lean implementation before they reach the harvest periods in later stages.”

So, what are we to do to avoid the trap of the low-hanging fruit?  The answer comes from reframing the original question.  Not, what low-hanging fruit can you solve with kaizen, but rather what do you need to solve for kaizen to move beyond the low-hanging fruit?

To fully answer this question requires more than just a single blog post, but there is much to be gained from going back to basics.   In the seminal text on the topic, Kaizen, Masaaki Imai defines kaizen very simply and very powerfully as:

Kaizen: Continuous improvement involving everyone.

It may be leadership setting a vision to provide direction to our improvement efforts, or management providing the time and resources to make improvement, or front-line staff deepening their understanding of the work they perform and how it connects to their customers.  For kaizen to be successful, we must realize that every single person in our organizations has a role to play, and that the true value of kaizen comes from developing our people in these roles.

And so, while you and I alone may be able to pick a few pieces, it’s only by standing upon each other’s shoulders that we have the opportunity to reach beyond the low-hanging fruit and reap the real harvest.

Winner of TheKaiZone Free Book Giveaway

The Toyota Way to Service Excellence

Congratulations to KaiZone reader Jen for winning the Giving Thanks by Giving Back with Lean book giveaway.  For her entry, Jen will receive a free copy of The Toyota Way to Service Excellence autographed by co-author Karyn Ross.

Come Meet Me in Philadelphia!

Speaking of Karyn Ross, together we will be co-chairing the 10^th Lean, Six Sigma and Kaizen Life Science Summit in Philadelphia, PA on April 3^rd & 4^th, 2017.  There is truly no greater joy for me than meeting and interacting with members of TheKaiZone community.  I hope to see you there.  And as a special gift to my readers, use promo code C867SPK when you register to save 15% off the standard conference cost.

Do you have an example of a low-hanging fruit that you were able to solve using kaizen?  Share your story using the comments section below!

The post What Six Lean Experts – and Me – Have to Say About Kaizen appeared first on The KaiZone.

Recommended Reading is brought to you by The Lean Book Shop.  For the learner, not the critic, Recommended Reading provides a concise summary of the key themes, concepts and learning points that will add the greatest value to your Lean journey.  Featured books will include new and significant texts from the world of Lean thinking, as well as other hand-selected pieces that will drive the continuous improvement . . . of you.  

This month’s recommended reading from The Lean Book Shop:

The Lean CEO by Jacob Stoller

The Lean CEO

The Value-Add of The Lean CEO

Disclosure:  I was provided with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. 

It’s well-established in the Lean community that most new Lean initiatives rarely meet expectations, and the natural response is to ask why?  Do so, and you’re likely to discover that one theme is cited above the rest:

“Company leaders lack the total commitment to, and understanding of, TPS, that are essential to its adoption, and are unwilling to be involved in its day-to-day implementation and application.“

“Corporate leaders either do not understand its value or do not have the patience and control to implement it.“

“Senior management is not committed to and/or doesn’t understand the real impact of Lean. “

When it comes to why Lean fails – ironically – the “experts” are quick to point the finger at one person:  the chief executive.

And whether you argue that the CEO takes the lion’s share of the blame for Lean’s sub-par success rate, or you believe that the CEO has become a scapegoat for Lean’s woes, there is near-universal agreement on two points when it comes to executive involvement in Lean: 1.) the role of the chief executive is critical in the ultimate success or failure of any Lean initiative, and 2.) there is much room for improvement in the C-suite.

It is on these two points that The Lean CEO by Jacob Stoller adds a tremendous amount of value to the Lean literature.  An in-depth, firsthand study into the Lean success stories of 28 chief executives, Stoller advances our vision of the Lean CEO from standard definition into high def.  Capturing what is perhaps the most detailed and complete picture of the chief executive’s role in a successful Lean transformation, Stoller casts into sharp relief the current state of executive performance as a basis for improvement.

“The Key Three” Learning Points

1. Clarity on the role of the Lean CEO.  The Lean CEO was not the first to note that Lean success requires active and visible sponsorship from the top; however, special note should be made of the extent of the involvement of the 28 Lean CEOs in the book.  Take the example of Art Byrne who personally conducted Lean training and led the first kaizen session after each of Wiremold’s 21 acquisitions, on the very first day.   Over the first 13 chapters, the Lean CEOs are characterized by a remarkable level of direct involvement, personally driving both the physical and cultural transformations.  The final chapter ties the many examples together into a clear and complete target condition for executive improvement.
2. Out of Crisis Comes Opportunity.  28 successful Lean organizations – 29 if we include Toyota – and all featured a common starting point for their Lean turnaround:  a “crisis”.  It is no coincidence that economic volatility, poor productivity and unsatisfied customers provided the impetus for the Lean CEOs to seek a better way.  Universally, Lean was the answer to a very dire need.  And when faced with all of the resistance, the conflict and the uncertainty that comes with Lean, it was these basic needs that fueled the burning platform for change.  Taiichi Ohno noted the key to progress in improvement is to let people “feel the need”.  If you’re struggling to achieve Toyota-like success, consider the need that your Lean efforts are serving.
3. What Lean is Really About.  For everything the book covers, it should be noted what The Lean CEO does not.   Stoller dedicates very little page space to technical discussion of the tools and techniques of Lean, and for good reason.  Lean trainers and consultants would have us believe that Lean is a collection of tools, and that success requires knowing which tool to grab from our toolbox.  However, with more than half of the book’s chapters dedicated to the required social and cultural transformation, Stoller reminds us that Lean is about people.  Leaders, by definition, need people to follow.  It is the ability of the Lean CEO to engage and guide the organization’s people that ultimately determines the success of the Lean initiative.

Have you read The Lean CEO?  If so, please share your thoughts using the comments section below.  And for more great reviews, please check out Recommended Reading from The Lean Book Shop.

P.S. It’s Never Too Late to Give Thanks

It’s not too late to enter to win a FREE copy of The Toyota Way to Service Excellence signed by co-author Karyn Ross!  Entries are being taken now through December 31st, 2016.  Please see the post, Giving Thanks by Giving Back with Lean (+ Free Book Giveaway) for how to enter.

The post Recommended Reading: Review of The Lean CEO by Jacob Stoller appeared first on The KaiZone.

This Thursday, November 24^th marks the Thanksgiving holiday in the US.  I’d like to wish The KaiZone Community a very Happy Thanksgiving!  And a belated Happy Thanksgiving to all of my friends in the Great White North!

How will YOU give thanks?

We all have much for which we can be thankful.  For faith, family and friends.  For health and happiness.  And for the truly fortunate, for wealth and prosperity.  The Thanksgiving season provides us with an opportunity to reflect on all of the things for which we are grateful.  But how many of us take the time to express that gratitude to others?  After all, shouldn’t a holiday named Thanksgiving be about actually giving thanks?

This Thanksgiving – instead of mulling over that third helping of mashed potatoes or who is going to win the big game – find time to add real value to your holiday.  Commit to show your gratitude in the year ahead for all that you have by giving back to those who are in need.

And what better way to give back to others than through Lean?

Lean in Service to the Greater Good

In today’s world, the challenges faced by charitable organizations have never been greater.  As needs continue to rise and costs continue to climb, relying on donations and fund-raising alone to bridge the gap becomes ever more difficult.  Sadly, stories of financial hardship in the nonprofit sector have become all too common.

In every challenge lies the opportunity for us to rise up and meet that challenge.  However, challenges are not overcome with money alone, but with our human abilities to create, to solve problems and to innovate.  That is why organizations in need are seeking to leverage the knowledge, skills and abilities of expert volunteers to improve their capacity to meet their most pressing challenges.

Developing capacity of people to continuously improve in the pursuit of an ideal.  Does this sound familiar? It’s not just the essence of the Skills-Based Volunteering movement, but also the central mission of the Lean organization.  That is why I truly believe that there is no single group that is better prepared to bring significant, meaningful change to the charitable sector than the Lean Community.

Inspiration from the Lean Community

Want a proof of concept?  Need some inspiration?  There are already many examples that demonstrate Lean’s potential for doing good.

• The Toyota Production System Support Center (TSSC) partnered with the Food Bank for New York City to cut wait times for food from 90 minutes down to an average of 18 minutes for the 1.5 million hungry customers that the food bank serves each year.

• Friend of The KaiZone Mike Grogan partnered with the nonprofit Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation in Tanzania (CCBRT) organization to improve infant and maternal mortality rates during childbirth through the application of Lean principles.

• Far and away the most rewarding experience in my own career as a Lean professional has been the time I have spent volunteering at the Midland School for children with developmental disabilities. After working with the school faculty and staff to develop a better process for delivering students to their remote work locations, I still feel honored to have had the opportunity to support the budding careers of an amazing group of students.

A Call to Action

I believe that the principles of Lean give us the guidance to overcome our greatest challenges.  And I believe in the collective skills, abilities, and generosity of the Lean community to bring that guidance to those who need it the most.  That is why I am calling on each and every reader of this post to give thanks this year by giving back with Lean.  Together, we can do a lot of good in the world.  And isn’t that the ultimate show of Respect for People?

Free Book Giveaway!

The Toyota Way to Service Excellence

And if my plea doesn’t move you, perhaps I can provide some added motivation.  To inspire you in service to others – and as my way of saying thanks to The KaiZone Community – I’m giving away one FREE copy of The Toyota Way to Service Excellence signed by co-author Karyn Ross!

To enter, follow these two easy steps:

1. Subscribe to TheKaiZone.com by entering your email address at the top of the page. Already a subscriber?  Go to step 2.
2. Use the comments section below and tell us how you will commit to serving others through Lean in the year ahead.

Entries must be received by midnight EST on December 31^st, 2016.  One winner will be drawn at random and will be notified via the email address provided.

Please consider sharing this post to help others join the Lean volunteerism movement.  I – and many, many others – would be very grateful. 

The post Giving Thanks by Giving Back with Lean (+ Free Book Giveaway) appeared first on The KaiZone.

After nearly 2 years, Leanable Moments are back, taking you inside my personal and family life to show you how I apply Lean-inspired problem solving to take the waste out of life.  Today’s Leanable Moment takes a deep look at a topic that can be a source of stress and frustration for us all: home organization. 

A Scene from My Home

“It’s time to go,” I hear my wife gently call down the stairs.  I gasp.  In my home, no single phrase makes me cringe as much as this one.  That is, except, “What’s this empty tube of toothpaste doing in the kids’ room?”  But that’s a story for a different day.

“Joel, it’s time to go.”  There it is again, the calmness is her voice in direct contrast with my quickening pulse.  Those four simple words turn me into a panic-stricken dad version of Pavlov’s dog.  My heart races.  My palms get all clammy.  The corner of my left eye begins to twitch.  I try to ignore it, but the growing rumble of the eight frenzied little feet on the floor above says otherwise.  I snap out of my denial as reality hits me like a bucket of ice water.

“Hun, we have to leave in 15 minutes.  It’s really time to go.”  The countdown has begun.  I rise finally accepting my role as a required participant in the chaos.

As I ascend the stairs, I see the usual fallout from getting four small kids ready to leave the home.  This morning’s footie pajamas line the hallway and hang from the railing of the bannister, while yesterday’s garb piles up at the base of the hamper.  I think to myself, would it have been that much harder to open the lid and put the clothing inside?  No, but where is the fun in that?  And is the laundry hamper trying to talk to me ???  I’m rapidly losing my mind . . .

Out of the corner of my eye, I see a half-dressed toddler awkwardly stumble out from behind a dresser and dart into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.  What’s an 18 month-old doing in the bathroom all by himself?  Probably nothing good.  I try to intervene, but I am deterred by a sudden tug on the back of my shirt. I whip around 180 degrees to see a sad set of eyes staring up at me.

“Daddy, where are my shoes?  I putted them in closet last night, but now they dis-da-peared.”

“Did you check your sister’s shoes to see if she took yours again by accident?” I ask.  She bounds off down the hall heaving accusations in the general direction of her older sister.  Experience tells me that won’t end well.  But that’s a problem for later.  10 minutes until go-time.

Forgetting the toddler tornado that was inevitably tearing through the bathroom cabinet, I make my way through my bedroom and into the master bath.  There stands my wife in front of the mirror, brushing her hair with one hand, applying makeup with the other.  The Lean guy in me marvels at her ability to multitask, but the moment of admiration is short-lived.  “Have you seen our son?  He needs a diaper change before we go.”

That was a good question, actually.  I didn’t remember seeing him on my first pass through the fracas.    If I were a two year-old, where would I be?  And then it hits me.  I retrace my steps through the bedroom and into the hallway.  I can hear his muffled pleas as I approach.  I fling open the lid of the talking hamper . . . “Dada!!!”

Who did this?  I would ask, but’s it mostly a rhetorical question in my house.  Besides, there were more important things to worry about.  Only 5 minutes to go.

I race back to the bedroom, toddler in tow, to complete the standard work for diaper changing.  (I’m a Lean guy.  Of course I have standard work for changing a diaper.)    My wife, having corralled both daughters in the bathroom, was putting the finishing touches on their hair.  “Where did you put your blue-and-white-polka-dot bows?  I can’t find them in the bin.”

I knew at that moment that any hope that I had of meeting our deadline was lost.  The infamous bow bin contained no less than 12,000 bows (give-or-take a few thousand), and only the blue-and-white-polka-dot bows were a perfect match for the girls’ outfits.  Yet after 15 minutes of searching, neither blue-and-white-polka-dot bow could be found.   The other 11,998, however, lay strewn across the bathroom floor.  Time was up.

Settling for a pair of blue-and-yellow striped bows, my wife works her magic, putting the finishing touches on the girls as I scoop the boys up under my arms and sprint for the garage door like it’s the 4^th quarter of the Super Bowl.  That the house looks as if a Babies R’ Us had been detonated inside was of little concern.  As is usually the case, the cleanup will have to wait until we arrive back home.  With Mom and the four kids buckled safely into our vehicle and with sweat pouring down my forehead, it was time to go at last . . . only 10 minutes too late.  Not bad this time.

Now, where did I put my car keys?

What Would You Do to Get Three Years Back?

“Daddy, my shoes dis-da-peared!”

“Where is the blue-and-white polka dot bow?”

“Now where did I put my keys?”

“Have you seen our son?”

Does any of that sound familiar to you?  If so, you are not alone.  Big family, little family or the single life, it matters not.  Organizational problems negatively impact over 90% of us.  Although estimates differ, a recent study suggests that the average person spends about 55 minutes each day just looking for things.  That’s almost 3 years – THREE YEARS! – over the course of our lifetimes!  Yet, even more concerning than the amount of time we waste because of organizational problems is the effect on the quality of our lives.

A favorite earring gone missing.   An overflowing pantry.  Toys . . . everywhere.  What feelings do these situations bring about?  For most of us, words like anxiety, tension and frustration are the first to come to mind.   It’s no surprise that our challenges with home organization cause us stress, but the magnitude of the impact might just make you think twice about managing through a messy lifestyle.  According to a recent survey, home organization was found to be in the top 5 most common triggers of stress in our lives.  47% of people surveyed reported being stressed out within the previous month over “worrying my home isn’t cleaned or organized enough”.  To put that number into context, home organization is about as big of a stressor as “unexpected expenses”, “not having enough time for loved ones”  and “not being productive enough”.    And given that stress is a primary contributor to all 6 leading causes of death, we may want to take that cluttered drawer or messy medicine cabinet a bit more seriously.

Home Organization vs. Managing the Mess

If you’re like most people, you’re concept of home organization is limited to a place for everything and everything in its place.  As long as it’s out of sight, it’s out of mind, and everything is fine!  Right?  Not exactly.

There’s a big difference between true home organization and what I call managing the mess.  A cluttered closet reveals no secrets until it’s time to leave for that big night out, and you need of that one sweater that looks perfect with your outfit.   A kitchen junk drawer masks the muddle until you’ve got a houseful of guests and you really need those salad tongs.  A packed attic is an afterthought until it’s time to search for those holiday decorations (did I mention it’s FREEZING up there???).   And what do all of these spaces have in common?  If by some small miracle we manage to find that thing we’re looking for, we simply return the item back to where we found it when we’re, perpetuating the cycle all over again.

What’s more is that the better mess managers we become, the more likely we are to add to the chaos in the future.  It’s the paradox of organization and it’s why we just can’t seem to bear the stress, draining us of our time, money and energy.

The problem with the Benjamin Franklin approach is that it misses the mark entirely on the core value that being organized brings.  Conquering the clutter requires more than just creating a neat and tidy appearance.  True home organization creates a system that allows us to visualize the problems that create those messy conditions to begin with.  In contrast to managing the mess, the more home organization problems we solve, the more of those three missing years we can take back.

Seeing is Bow-lieving: A Real-Life Example

“Where is the blue-and-white polka dot bow?”

Actually, the bow problem from the opening of this post was a real problem in our home not too long ago.  Just ask my mother-in-law.  That’s right, my mother-in-law.  After arriving late to my in-laws house for dinner one too many times because of not being able to find the bows we needed from a big bin in a dark cabinet under the bathroom sink, my mother-in-law decided to give us all a Lesson in Lean.

She made these.  These simple, inexpensive bow hangers effectively solved our bow-finding problems by addressing the three major differences between mess management and true home organization.

1. Standards are defined. The length of the bow hangers was pre-defined to ensure that we have only the bows we really need and nothing more.  Because there is a standard quantity, there is no more buying and storing of more bows than what we really need, saving us money.

2. Problems are visible.  The bow hangers are stored on the back of the bathroom door, rather than in a dark cabinet under the sink.  By keeping the bow hangers visible, we save time in two different ways:

First, we can find the bows that we need faster, as my daughter Grace demonstrates in the video below.

Second, and more importantly, we can identify when a bow goes missing much, much, much faster.  Just ask my other daughter Anna.

3. Good behavior is reinforced. The bow hangers provide immediate feedback whether the bows are returned to their proper location.  And when they are not, they provide a real-time visual clue that we have some family problem solving to do.  We work with the kids to address the root causes of why the bows were not returned so that we don’t experience the same problem over and over again, saving us stress.

Apologies, but this Post Isn’t Really About Organization

I’ve got a confession to make.  This post wasn’t only about home organization.  In many ways, our organizational habits are a reflection of the way that we go about living our lives on a much broader scale.  Our problems with organization can be very similar to the problems we face in many other areas of our existence.  All too often, when a mess arises in our personal or family lives, we try to “manage” it rather than invest time and effort to develop the systems and the behaviors needed to solve the problems once and for all.

When the toys start to overflow, we simply get a bigger toy box.  When our waste lines expand, we punch an extra hole in our belts.  When the bills pile up, we just whip out the credit cards.  We deal with the problems only to the extent we need to in the short-term, effectively tossing it the problem into the junk drawer of our minds for another day.   Until we can’t anymore.

The problem with problems is that they have a tendency to grow over time.  Today’s nuisance becomes tomorrow’s catastrophe.  And that is how, be it literally or figuratively, we found ourselves here:

Next time you encounter a small problem in your life, whether it’s that pile of boxes stashed away in the basement or the pile of bills stuffed into the desk drawer, make your own version of the bow hanger.  Define your standards and crystallize your expectations for how things should be.  Make the problem visible so that you know when things go wrong before they blow up.  And start making the changes in your behavior needed to prevent the same problems from happening again.

And if you need some support, don’t stress.  My mother-in-law is always happy to help!

We want to hear from you!

Do you have a creative solution to one of life’s little problems?  If so, share it with The KaiZone community by telling us about it in the comments section below!

The post Leanable Moment #6: From Managing the Mess to Real Home Organizition appeared first on The KaiZone.

Want to know the best Lean books for beginners?  Before you read any further, I want you to answer a very simple question:  what is Lean to you?  Go ahead and take a minute.  Jot down your thoughts if it helps.

Did you struggle to answer the question clearly and concisely?

The Struggle to Learn

The single, most important concept for you to develop as a new Lean learner is a clear mental model that answers the question, what is Lean?   Unfortunately, this is an area in which our current methods of Lean education are failing . . . badly.

If you are like most most people, your initial exposure to Lean thinking probably came in the form of a death-by-Power-Point, classroom-based “training”.  Consequently, your mental model for what Lean is probably resembles a toolbox.  To be practiced individually, you likely relate gaining proficiency in Lean to learning how to pick-and-choose the right “tools” to meet the needs of your specific situations.

I hate to break it to you, but this thinking could not be further from reality.

The Lean toolbox mental model fails in two very important ways:

1. In Lean, there are no tools.  Lean is a comprehensive system of managing and operating an organization that originated from the Toyota Production System.   What we think of as “tools” are actually interdependent components of the Toyota Production System that work together – and only together, as a system – to achieve success.  Taken individually, or employed for the wrong application, and they will often produce more harm than good.
2. In the Lean system, people are paramount.  In the most successful Lean environments, the majority of the time and effort is not spent on the technical details of the system – the “tools” with Japanese names that have falsely become the hallmark of Lean.  Achieving Lean success requires a system in which the focus is on engaging everyone, everyday and at every level to solve problems and eliminate waste in pursuit of the organization’s goals.

Unfortunately, the current Lean literature does not do much to help change this view.  The library of Lean books are full of consultants attempting to sell mechanistic approaches to doing Lean, rather than teaching would-be learners how think and learn and grow to become Lean.  At best, these texts are misleading; at worst, they can completely sabotage your Lean efforts.  But the good news is that TheKaiZone is here to help!

We’ve taken the efforts of scouring through the annals of Lean to bring you only the best, most trusted sources for beginning your Lean learning journey.

The Best Lean Books for Beginners: the Basics

Everyone has to start somewhere.  These are the best Lean books for beginners looking to get a strong foundation on which to build their Lean understanding.

Best Books for Guided Lean Practice

Structured workbooks and action plans to guide your Lean learning and practice.

Best Reference Books for Lean Systems & Techniques

Think Lean textbooks. Not necessarily to be read cover-to-cover, these are the best Lean books for beginners in the form of complete, technical references on the tools, techniques, and vocabulary of Lean systems.

Best Books for Leading a Lean Transformation

The best Lean books for Leading the Lean transformation.

Best Books to Understand the History & Evolution of Lean

To become an expert Lean thinker, it helps to understand the genesis of Lean from it’s origin as the Toyota Production System.  These are the best Lean books for beginners to learn the history of Lean.  (and for some great references on the precursors of Lean, please see this post from Michel Baudin).

 More at The Lean Book Shop

Looking for more?  The Lean Book Shop at TheKaiZone.com features a selection of the best Lean books ever written on nearly any topic within the Lean universe.  Can’t find what you are looking for?  Simply leave a comment below or contact us.  We’d be happy to help!

The post The Best Lean Books for Beginners appeared first on The KaiZone.