Sometimes we believe that the improvement process is more of a black art, like voodoo, than a real definable process. Lean Thinking, popularized in the 80’s and beyond by such visionaries as James Womack, Art Byrne, Mike Rother and others is more of a hocus pocus routine that seems to work for some but not for others. Their slight-of-hand approach is still considered by many to be snake oil salesmanship at its best.
Not so. Lean and Lean Thinking are simple, repeatable, and universal – though the application will look different in different environments. Lean Thinking can be applied to purely service-oriented work, traditional widget-making, high-mix low-volume production, and even to complex mixed-model environments. Still a skeptic, eh? Allow me to explain.
Lean Thinking is at its root a paradigm shift; a change in the reality we perceive. Lean Thinking comes about when we learn to see the waste and difficulties that already exist around us. Before we make the shift, we simply accept the issues dragging us down without question. We’ve subliminally surrendered to it. Lean Thinking is where we start to see the issues and say “enough!”
Entire books have been written on Lean Thinking, so I promise that I can’t explain it fully in a few short paragraphs. However, the basic thrust is this: Lean Thinking is the process by which we see a problem and devise successive experiments to explore and resolve these issues until they no longer hold us captive. Lean Thinking is simply the steps by which we use the scientific method over and over again to unravel the knots we’re inadvertently tangled up in.
Most of us are well familiar with the scientific method. It brings out the natural cynic in us all. Question everything. It’s ok. You know you want to. Start with an observation. Ask why this particular step is difficult, slow, painful, wasteful, or whatever. You’ve just formed an hypothesis that can be tested. Next, devise a simple experiment that might shed some light on the factors that drive this annoying issue. Take something away. Add something new. Change up the order of operations. Be creative on how to do your personal experiment.
Now perform this experiment. It’s ok if you fail. Like Thomas Edison said, “now you know one way NOT to do it.”
With the valuable knowledge you gained above, you can examine your hypothesis and refine it, confirm it, or even throw it out and start over. These little experiments are rarely silver bullet eureka moments, so keep your expectations low. Your skill and knowledge will slowly grow with experience.
As you get better and better over time (this is where you might be inclined to tune out. No “life-hacks” here) you’ll find a satisfying routine develops. If you’ve ever heard of Kata, you may already be seeing the application here. Kata is a systematic and structured framework for your experimentation. It’s fabulous but it requires discipline. Kata is Lean Thinking taken up several notches but boy, is it powerful.
As we solve small problems we gradually chip away at the issues that hold us back. Freedom comes in little wins over time. These are the battles that help us win the war. We loss weight one pound at time. Business is just the same. We can make big mistakes, but the gains come little by little. Don’t lose hope and press on!
Lean In and Lean On.