Just a few days after the global financial crisis of 2007-08 started showing its signs everywhere, I was about to start a lean manufacturing - then also known as "competitive" manufacturing - programme of workplace improvement in a medium-sized manufacturing company in Auckland.
"What is your vision for your business for the next five years?", I asked (being a rather naïve coach then I must say). In the earlier 18 years of being a direct production or operations manager, I had myself watched this question being asked by many to many at many levels of a typical hierarchy evoking many answers all being different. But this experience was going to be unique for me.
"Survive", said the owner!
I must admit. It was a revelation. Yet a golden moment in my coaching career too.
A similar experience that I recall that reinforced this perspective was when I was a part of the audience a few years later. The speaker enthusiastically and almost heroically mentioned, "With this model of excellence and the intensive training and performance we expect, we know that sixty percent of our existing team leaders will not make it. They will need to be replaced." Someone from the audience politely but aptly asked, "In New Zealand recruitment market, when replacing one experienced team leader by a competent team leader normally takes more than 3-4 months, how would you replace sixty percent of your team leaders for excellence?"
"Don't worry about it yet! We are working with a 3 to 5 year long vision and not a short term!", was the response. When I look back, I find that, a little comically now, most of the team leaders are in their roles still while the leader who made this announcement finished their role there - soon - in the near short term!
It is best not to underestimate the brutality of reality while using any theory!
One of the best quotes on reality - quite different from most of the other popular quotes - is by Philip K. Dick the American science-fiction writer. I find that quote quite pertinent here.
Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.
- Philip K. Dick
When I look back and list the models and frameworks that became popular almost to the point of them being considered a silver bullet by many, I find one and only one unifying reason for all not actually proving to be so. Constraints of any theory. Simple - theories are broad sets of guidelines. They are generic and do not necessarily apply precisely to real-life situations. While this may look like overstating the obvious, in reality, practitioners often forget this.
When I joined automotive industry in late 1980s as an apprentice, the, soon to be proven ephemeral, buzzword then was 'quality circles'. A great concept. In reality, it soon went out of vogue, simply because, the circles formed generally never received the management support they were meant to receive. The priority for their function was almost always overridden by the mainstream business priorities.
There is a plethora of such examples. Think of organizations that started following Toyota principles, but reached nowhere near the levels of excellence that Toyota has. Try to think of some company that became "another Toyota" by just following the Toyota principles and you may find none. Think of ISO9000 systems that were, when implemented consistently, meant to yield consistent world-class performance. Think of 6-sigma teams that truly achieved levels of process capability truly reflecting a 6-sigma performance. All valuable toolkits and theories - yet not silver bullets - not panacea. They are all excellent frameworks - with some constraints to be judiciously managed when dovetailed into one's reality on hand. They are maps, not vehicles. Toyota principles immensely benefit the organization that follows the footsteps, not dream of being another Toyota!
Not all organizations can commit to a long-term vision all the time.
Not everywhere are skilled people available in abundance.
Not always can a customer depend upon a single trusted and best supplier through open book accounting.
Not always can all the workforce be trained for using complicated Kanban systems linked to ERPs while half of the workforce is consisting of temporary labour changing every week.
Not always can everything be communicated through "communicate - communicate - communicate" policy.
Not always is the customer first - more often than not the business owners and shareholders are.
Each theory has its own constraints that the business scenarios build around it from time to time. Yet the theory can be gracefully adapted and applied in the interest of the business. How?
My take is as follows. A few things I have always preferred to practice.
1) Anything important must be a real business
Almost every time any theory is embraced by any organization as a "side-hustle" and placed in a me-too posture to subordinate the mainstream business, it loses its lustre at least partly. A statement such as, "We are doing it just for cultural improvement. There is no business interest in this. This is not for costs or profits." is not only outright misleading but also reflecting confusion in the minds of those who say so honestly. Businesses enthusiastically initiating a non-business activity is an oxymoronic concept to say the least.
2) Accept the reality as is - do not deny because it feels bad
It is best to map the current state "as is". This requires introspection. This also requires one to take a position consciously: "We perhaps don't know - furthermore we perhaps don't know what we don't know." Easier said than done.
A classic quote by David Richo explains it all.
Humility means accepting reality with no attempt to outsmart it.
- David Richo
3) Be creative to develop new solutions
Often just emulating others in the name of "standardised solution" or "best practice" is a mistake some organizations make. Though the phrase "best practice" is popular, organizations unknowingly are in search of the "best fit". If the most important measurement is and has to be confidential because of some sensitivity, it cannot be made visual. If the work in a confined space is so specialised that embracing the principle Genchi Genbutsu (Go-See) is not feasible for all in the group, there is nothing wrong in adapting such principles to suit the situation. Creative means such as remote participation through video-sharing, or carefully adjusting visual systems to do justice to the confidentiality requirements are perfectly justified and effective too.
4) Experiment
Iterative lifecycles and experimentation to support them helps in ensuring that the theories or frameworks that are excellent generic aids to excel are effectively put into practice. The visual systems which are absolutely essential for lean business principles are best developed through continuous improvement of the elements of visual system! Six sigma or statistical process control is best used by coaching the audience on the statistical aspects ranging from simple concepts such as central tendency or variability to more complicated distributions and analyses only by experimenting with the audience to check who has how much appetite for statistical skills.
5) Share honestly - collaborate where and when necessary
It is best to admit limitations. It is also best to acknowledge practicality. In describing the two sides of Level 5 leadership, Jim Collins, in his famous book Good To Great backed up by extensive research, highlights Professional Will and Personal Humility going hand-in-hand. It is best to acknowledge that the theory, model or framework that the organization is embracing may have limitations, may not be a silver bullet - and may call for suitable adjustments that the organization would be expressly willing to make. A stand that looks simple and obvious, yet often not experienced in initiatives undertaken by ambitious business enterprises.
6) Strive to achieve the impossible
Yet - in spite of all the practicality and rationality - or with the help of those, it is worth striving to achieve the seemingly impossible feat. That only ensures that ultimately the team exceeds the expectations. As James Russell Lowell said,
Not failure but low aim is crime.
- James Russell Lowell
After all, these theories are meant to be different from the practice and perfect so that the practice is continuously improved but for the milestones and not that elusive destination of perfection.
- Nilesh Pandit
February 23, 2023