Organizations with a lean thinking mindset are characterized by a strong meaningful purpose and vision that binds them all together to achieve the larger objective and also a set of important values that set them apart from other organization apart from other important corporate values.
- Respect for all stake-holders (Employee, Customer , Suppliers & Community)
- Growth Mindset
- Bias for action
- Excellence & Quality – Daily improvement ( Incremental as well as Radical)
Lean is just not only about process innovation or a set of tools defined that one can implement in the various organizational systems and processes to achieve lasting value. Toyota production system (TPS) also known as the alternative management system is a holistic system that enables organization transform all organizational systems to meet the requirements of clients. The organizational system and governance structure promotes a culture of collaboration and capability building , all the employees are developed and involved into day to day management and improvement of how work is delivered to the clients by a set a problem solving tools . These tools are ingrained in the fabric of the organization and are in a way routine habits developed by the individuals due to daily practice and for a new employee by seeing and observing how others deliver the day-to –day work in an organization.
I have personal observed this practice while working in Kashiwazaki Japan for a large automotive organization. Frontline workmen had changed the process of a manufacturing operation process, speciation sheet and standard operating procedure for operating exactly similar process with the same machine was completely different than what we used to run in India. Since they were our technology collaborators , I asked them why are they running the processes with different parameters while they have specified something different to us. Supervisor in the shift informed me that they were running with the same processes 4 months back and due to continuous kaizens by workmen they have modified the Standard operating procedures three times since thereby showcasing the speed with which the organization makes changes to continuously improve processes.
The organization with this mindset continuously works to learn and adopt to new processes and controls for running the shopfloor focus on transforming the work done to improve the process and product performance and have a problem solving culture to achieve improved results for their customers (Internal as well as external).
Impact : High customer experience and satisfaction resulting into customer loyalty, repeat business, and positive word-of-mouth referrals. Higher revenue and profitability.
Some key thoughts to embed the lean thinking mindset are as follows :
Purpose : These organizations have a greater sense of purpose for what they stand for e.g. the Toyota’s vision and larger purpose is “to contribute to making the earth a better place to live, enrich lifestyles, and promote a compassionate society “, the long term purpose is important since it binds the employees for this larger purpose and the employees (Top to Bottom ) understand where they
want to take the company. It is important for Top management to explain to their employees how their contribution is going to enable the organization to achieve the larger purpose.
Connecting strategy goals and meaningful purpose : by establishing strategic plans, KPIs & targets based on critical success factors, Linkage of strategic plans to strategic goals for various departments, Plans for execution, Reward & Recognition.
Customer centric mindset : these organizations are prioritizing the needs, wants, and experiences of customers in all aspects of business strategy and decision-making. They have a clearly defined customer strategy and clarity about what does value realization mean from a customer perspective This approach recognizes that customers are the lifeblood of any business and that meeting their
needs is essential for long-term success and sustainability. Companies must go beyond just providing quality products and services. They must actively listen to customer feedback, anticipate their needs, and innovate to exceed their expectations. This requires a customer-centric culture and a commitment to ongoing improvement and adaptation.
Delivering Customer Value : Organizations that are having the flexibility to respond to changing market demands and deliver what customers value as efficiently as possible. Ability to focus on value creation for the customers By streamlining processes and through Eliminate waste in processes, Reduce variability in processes.
Empowering employees : Organizations whose employees are contributing to their Maximum potential. They are the ones where everyone from the front line to the CEO knows how to see problems, solve them, and push the organization to improve. Defined Kaizen Goals , Structure and Team to Implement Ideas, Kaizen Board Meetings , Systematic process improvement and waste reduction .
Discovering better ways of working : Visualization, Visual controls, Logical set up of the working areas, Visualize performance.
Establishing flow : continuous and streamlined flow with high transparency, shorter lead time no resistance , no waste.
Systematic prevention of errors : learning from errors, repeated errors are not tolerated, Mistake proofing (Pokayoke and process control).
Standardization : documentation of simple tasks, 5S, Order and neatness.