Lean Stratergy

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I agree that the “Shock and Awe” approach might seem very overwhelming at the beginning but it does prove to the leadership that it can work wonders for efficiency in all aspects of the organization. It is true that there have been mishaps while following the Shock and Awe path too but as pointed out by an employee of one such firm, the reason lean transformation failed for them because the employees were being led by outsiders brought in as the company’s attempt to jump the lean bandwagon. The only way for lean to work is if the leadership are Lean zealots.

Moving to lean processes is no small feat, it takes a tremendous amount of grit from the executive level to see it through, in spite of changing everything from day one, there will be a lot of challenges going into uncharted territory, it requires abundant support from the leadership. This is achieved through holding multiple kaizens (japanese term for “change for the better”) in which the employees or the executives, sometimes a combination of both try to identify and eliminate any roadblocks that are on the path to maximum efficiency therefore generating more value for consumers. All of this creates a strong sense of community and inspires innovation as leaders and employees work together to identify and solve any problems they face thus boosting morale.

Dan’s approach of building a stronger foundation as opposed to diving into it headfirst might work with the guidance of the a patient and persistent leadership willing to take the time to drill it through the employee workforce. Both approaches however will fall short and fail miserably without the blessing and perseverance of the business leaders.

Slow and grow and Shock and Awe both have their pros and cons but in either completing transforming to lean is a slow process. There is no one approach suits all policy, each firm is different and the sensibilities of the employees are drastically diverse, some organisations might actually flourish in a slow and grow approach while some might only attain a successful lean conversion on a shock and awe path.

For example while learning swimming some might figure it out when pushed into the water while some learn through practice. I strongly believe most people do their best work in the face of a challenge as compared to training them to move to a different practice, if you teach them everything there is a chance they might go by the book and not think out of the box which is exactly the attitude lean needs.

Toyota figured it out before there was even anything to learn from. Lean practices need more problem solvers than gurus. People can only shine when they are facing a challenge, this way they are not spending their time learning, which is really just an additional step, which is what lean is all about eliminating, but they are learning while working, which I strongly think is the best way to learn anything new.

REFERENCES

- Orest Fiume, “Yes, Lean is a Strategy”, published 10 AUG 2017, downloaded 18 AUG 2017 from lean.org

- Markovitz and Byrne, “Lean Transformation: "Shock and Awe" vs. "Slow and Grow", published 3 AUG 2017, downloaded 18 AUG 2017 from lean.org

- Collins, David, March 2016, Lean Strategy, from the Harvard Business Review March 2016 issue, https://hbr.org/2016/03/lean-strategy

- Riley,Dan , June 8, 2016, The story of a lean transformation failure, from planet-lean.com http://planet-lean.com/the-story-of-a-lean-transformation-failure