Replicating a mind-set
Why is Lean Thinking so hard to embed in an organisation?
There are multiple things at play but I believe that, at the core of it (the root cause) is the fact that it is the mind-sets of the organisation's people that need to change, which is far more challenging than changing an IT system, operating model or machinery.
Like a lot of Lean practitioners, I have taken tours of Toyota plants and the sites of other World Class organisations and, what is not immediately obvious, and takes several years to fully appreciate, is that what you see, the tangible manifestations of Lean Thinking, are not what makes them World class.
The Daily Management, Problem Solving and Hoshin Kanri boards that you will observe, as well as the examples of Kaizen, 5S, Kanban systems, etc. can be replicated relatively easily but are not what will make your organisation a Lean Thinking one but are rather what a Lean Thinking organisation has and does.
It is the way of thinking of the team members and the Leadership of the organisation that actually make the organisation Operationally Excellent and this is something that is much harder to replicate in an organisation and takes a lot longer to deliver.
This is why many organisations fail to successfully attain Operational Excellence, as they focus on implementing and replicating a sub-set of the features and tools that they see in their benchmark companies and assuming that this will make them Lean. This is, metaphorically speaking, like buying the Golf Clubs of their favourite Professional Golfer and assuming that it will allow them to play as well as them.
They will usually observe some short-term improvement in performance, as the implementation of the tools and the training of their people will provide a boost, as will the management attention.
However, all too soon will they find that the tools begin to lose interest amongst their people as they become 'too busy' to use them consistently and entropy sets in.
Just as we wouldn't expect to become excellent at a Sport or playing an Instrument without taking a holistic approach and submerging ourselves into the vocation, neither should we expect to become Operationally Excellent without the thorough, disciplined deployment of Lean Thinking across our Organisation over multiple years and as a total system.
This will require us to train and develop our people across every level and function and to invest in our Leadership's behaviours, with the long-term objective of creating a new culture of performance based upon respect for our people.
Replicating a mind-set is not an easy thing to achieve and is the key reason why so many Lean Transformations fail to deliver the results that the organisation's leadership desires.
Feel free to visit my Website and Blog at: lean-master.com and my other LinkedIn posts may be found at this link.
My upcoming book "Leading with Lean" will be published in both English and Dutch in October/November 2016, available as both printed and e-Book versions.
The Dutch version is available for pre-order at the following booksellers: Bol.com, vakmedianet.nl, AKO.nl
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I am a Lean Leader with over 25 years of Business Experience and a track record of Lean Transformation within a Global Blue Chip Organisation. I am passionate about delivering Operational Excellence through Lean Thinking and enjoy sharing and discussing my experiences with others.
There are many Lean Leadership Books out there but I have reviewed those that I think are of most use on my Book Recommendations page.
Completely agree with you, in one trainings it was mentioned that there is always a struggle between cortex and amygdala and this influences the behaviour because of which replicating a mind set becomes very difficult
What I've learned the past years as a Lean professional is that a lot of organizations let themselves be hyped up about Lean without committing to Lean. Exactly as you described hyped by a benchmark an try to replicate it. Most of the times management only 'demands' a Lean mindset of the shopfloor but from middle management and upwards there's no commitment in being a Lean leader. Can't wait for your book, glad it's available in e-book as well.
In my point of view, its due to the mind programming and value, belief system which we build already. Our subconscious mind accepts the fact when its repeatedly impressed by the benefits of lean system and that's the secret for long term sustainable results. So, we need to know the methodology of subconscious mind reprogramming :-)
I think tackling the social side of Lean is the challenging part, however it is the key to long term Sustainability... Look forward to reading this book and thanks for sharing!