What is Gemba Management?

A Client once asked me why he needed to leave his office to go to the workplace to carry out this ‘Gemba thing’. After a little persuasion, the client, (Who was quite new to his role as a senior Manager at one of the major banks) reluctantly went and spent a half day in amongst his teams in the ‘Gemba’. When he returned, he requested we have a short debriefing session and he was nothing short of enthused about how much he’d been able to learn about his operation, it’s strengths and weaknesses and the people who worked for him. My favourite quote was “I’ve learned more in the last 3½ hours about this operation than in the previous 4 weeks so called ‘Management Meetings’.

‘Gemba’ management is a style of management based on high visibility at the Gemba (the place where value is added), and the active promotion and use of Lean Six Sigma tools and techniques in day to day tasks.

An Organisation is a shadow of it’s leader

If you demonstrate belief in the new working methodologies, those you lead will see this as an acceptable behaviour and attempt to emulate this behaviour. However, if you simply pay ‘Lip service’ to the change initiative – Guess what those who work for you will do?

Your staff may not always do as you ask, but they will Always attempt to do as you do!

What kind of shadow will you cast?





If you enjoy reading my blogs, please take a look at my many other on-line resources,

Website, http://www.beyondlean6sigma.com/

Blog, http://leansixsigmauk.blogspot.co.uk/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/leansixsigmacert

Follow me on twitter, https://twitter.com/DrLeanSigma

I have also recently launched a new range of Lean Six Sigma on-line training courses which you can read about here, http://www.beyondlean6sigma.com/programmes/



#leansixsigma, #beyondlean, #leansixsigmacertification, #leansixsigmatraining lean six sigma, lean six sigma training, lean six sigma certification, lean six sigma

Change The Culture And You’ll Change The Organisation!

Many of my clients and colleagues are forever asking the question “How do we assure sustainability for a Lean Six Sigma Project”. This is by far the most difficult part to achieve and it is all about the people.

Based on my personal scars and experience, any improvement activity is 20% about the tools and 80% about the people and it is people that determine the sustainability so, what determines whether change ‘Sticks’ or not ?

The beliefs, behaviour and actions of individuals all form part of the make up of the ‘Culture’ of an organisation and it is this ‘Culture’ that determines the sustainability of your Lean Six Sigma project, programme or Transformation.

In order for anything to remain in place, it has to be accepted as ‘The norm’ or the ‘Modus Operandi’, or put quite simply, ‘It’s the way we do things around here’.

The change must become part of the culture of the organisation. If it doesn’t, it will always be ‘The stuff we have to do as well as our day job’ and will be dropped at the earliest opportunity.

So, what exactly do we mean by ‘Culture’?

Associated words and phrases….

 Way of life, customs, traditions

 Society, background, ethnicity

 Conduct, behaviour, habits, manner

Definitions……

 ‘…relating to the cultivation of the mind or manners especially through artistic or intellectual activity…’

 ‘… the norms and values that people live by…’

 ‘...unwritten rules that define what is expected of people and how they should behave…’

 ‘…the way we do things around here…’

And that leads us to our next question, what do we need to change the culture?

Firstly, we must begin to change the behaviour, values and beliefs of the leadership. To do this successfully requires skill in building rapport, influencing and sales, as the first step in any change of ANY kind is, DESIRE !

Then we need to find Change agents within an organisation who exhibit a ‘pioneering spirit’. We need to define a ‘picture’ and ‘feel’ of the desired future and plan a strategy and roadmap to make it happen.

Involve as many people as possible who will define it, create a plan and take the actions necessary for it to be realised.

And finally, Effort, skill and patience.


How do we go about creating the desire, which will in turn allow us to begin to change the behaviour, values and beliefs of the leadership? Firstly, answer the following questions:

• Who has a need that I/we can & must satisfy? – either a business or a specific person

• Who do you know who is respected by the people you need to influence?

• Who do you know that you suspect might be respected by the people you need to influence?

• If you don’t know anyone then what research will you need to do to find out?

• What chains or links between people can you create?

• What value could you create for the person/people in the chain?

Ok, so we’ve covered what we need to do to make Change stick but to be honest, that’s the easy bit.

Now we get into HOW we go about changing the beliefs, behaviours and actions of the key people connected to the change programme. This can only be achieved by influencing, negotiating, demonstrating the benefits and getting the stakeholders to WANT to do things differently – Creating the DESIRE !

Some say these are the ‘Soft skills’ or the ‘Fluffy stuff’ or ‘People skills’ and that some people have these as a natural ability but they can’t really be taught to people who don’t ‘Have it’.

That’s absolute garbage! This is an exact science, as exact a science as physics. It’s common name is – SALES

Or, how we use these exact techniques to build solid relationships with high degrees of rapport and trust in order to get our stakeholders to actively want to exhibit the desired behaviours and actions that will in turn, shape the culture into one which embraces the changes introduced, as the new ‘Norm’.

This is too big a section to be covered extensively in this blog post but is covered in our black belt syllabus at www.beyondlean6sigma.com

Or, to really become an expert in this field, we run a 5 day consultancy masterclass, which covers the ‘People’ side of Lean Six Sigma in great depth.




If you enjoy reading my blogs, please take a look at my many other on-line resources,

Website, http://www.beyondlean6sigma.com/

Blog, http://leansixsigmauk.blogspot.co.uk/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/leansixsigmacert

Follow me on twitter, https://twitter.com/DrLeanSigma

I have also recently launched a new range of Lean Six Sigma on-line training courses which you can read about here, http://www.beyondlean6sigma.com/programmes/




#leansixsigma, #beyondlean, #leansixsigmacertification, #leansixsigmatraining lean six sigma, lean six sigma training, lean six sigma certification, lean six sigma

Reading People – Don’t be fooled by what they say !

One of the clients I’ve been coaching recently asked me how I seem to know how certain people will behave and react to certain things before they even happen? There is no magic here, we aren’t talking about the so called ‘soft skills’. This is a science, rather than an art form, as some people seem to think. It’s basically about being able to read people effectively and then being able to influence them based on personality type and their personal drivers. Here we’ll take a look at the first part in terms of effective stakeholder management.

Effectively managing stakeholders is one of the most skilled and difficult parts of any improvement project and this subject is absolutely massive and only covered in our Master Black Belt Course however, I think it is so important, I decided to pull out some of the key aspects, hints and tips that I think you can put to use straight away. Almost always, the degree that you master this skill is the defining factor in whether any project is a success or a failure and here is the first useful thing to watch out for in your stakeholders – the different behavioural modes:

There are two types of Behavioural Mode:

• Default – This is the one you may have to look hard to see. The Default Mode contains all deep seated beliefs and prejudices, goals and drivers of the person and basic intentions, be they good or evil. The way to assess and spot the Default Behavioural Mode, or DBM of a person is not by listening to what they say but by analysis of how they say it and the behaviour that they exhibit. Once you know what you’re looking for, you will be able to spot a person’s DBM, which is the key to knowing exactly how to deal with them

• Assumed – This is the mode that the person wants you to believe is their ‘Default’ mode and quite often hides the intentions, beliefs and goals that they don’t want you to see. The old saying “Take people as you find them”, isn’t always the best to follow. Of course, some people are completely open and only ever display their default mode but you need to be able to know the difference. The Assumed Behavioural Mode, or ABM tends to be used by people adjusting to their ‘audience’ or prior to trust being firmly established. (This is the one shown to you by ‘Two faced’ people prior to stabbing you in the back!)

Always remember, the eyes ARE the window to the soul.

This initial question got me thinking about the skills that aren’t part of the standard Lean Six Sigma toolbox but that every consultant needs to know and that’s why I’ll be running a series of classroom based masterclasses for my current clients around Stakeholder Analysis and Management, Scoping, Coaching as a Consultant & Consultancy skills and behaviours to ensure they are fit and capable to continue the good work once I move on to another client.



If you enjoy reading my blogs, please take a look at my many other on-line resources,

Website, http://www.beyondlean6sigma.com/

Blog, http://leansixsigmauk.blogspot.co.uk/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/leansixsigmacert

Follow me on twitter, https://twitter.com/DrLeanSigma

I have also recently launched a new range of Lean Six Sigma on-line training courses which you can read about here, http://www.beyondlean6sigma.com/programmes/




#leansixsigma, #beyondlean, #leansixsigmacertification, #leansixsigmatraining lean six sigma, lean six sigma training, lean six sigma certification, lean six sigma

Put the Lean Six Sigma Toolbox away – start with your Mind

MUCH has been written about Lean Six Sigma.  Practical information on how to implement Lean Six

Sigma, especially in a small business is hard to come by. Tapping into the expertise of those who have walked this path is a great way to discover the secrets and pitfalls, mistakes to avoid when considering Lean Six Sigma for your business/organization.

Start by asking yourself what the current readiness and knowledge levels regarding Lean Six Sigma would be? Close to most of us (almost 100%) have heard about Lean Six Sigma at some point in time, we are just not sure even how much or little we really know until you start getting into it!

For some lean six sigma thinking comes naturally, for others a little more rigor and discipline is required to effect and impact business processes and ensuing success.

Are you doing something currently (like Lean Six Sigma) to cut down on waste, scrap or unnecessary costs? Typically less than 50% of companies will still be in the running here.

Do you consider your Lean Six Sigma processes a roaring success? Less than 5-10% will respond with affirmation and agreement here!

There is always room for improvement in any business. Lean Six Sigma provides us with the tools and means, channels and connections to plan, execute and sustain these changes to benefit our profit and bottom line.

Always remember that…

You can not do everything yourself, or quickly necessarily. You need the combined efforts, buy-in, support and infrastructure to get things done and it may take longer than expected initially or overall, BUT STICK WITH IT!

Lean Six Sigma is an on-going journey and NOT a ‘quick-fix’ for business woes! Although some of the tools and applications will start providing you with immediate reward and benefit that is measurably making a difference.

It is not successful as a project here and there or uncoordinated strategy, shooting from the hip, when we feel like it type of approach.

Dedicated time and resources, focused and targeted effort will benefit your Lean Six Sigma initiative tremendously. SHIFT YOUR FOCUS MORE LONG-TERM and step out of the day-to-day fire-fighting and reduced focus we so typically have in our organizations, dealing with one problem at a time, as they come up and not following a very effective strategy overall or at all.

Lean Six Sigma is about more than tools, counterintuitive thinking and application to manufacturing and transactional processes! It is about the people involved in, touched by, working with and through these processes and outcomes, to IMPROVE and SUSTAIN business success and growth.

Put the toolbox down – until you’ve thought about which tool you actually need.






If you enjoy reading my blogs, please take a look at my many other on-line resources,
Website, http://www.beyondlean6sigma.com/
Blog, http://leansixsigmauk.blogspot.co.uk/
Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/leansixsigmacert
Follow me on twitter, https://twitter.com/DrLeanSigma
I have also recently launched a new range of Lean Six Sigma on-line training courses which you can read about here, http://www.beyondlean6sigma.com/programmes/


#leansixsigma, #beyondlean, #leansixsigmacertification, #leansixsigmatraining lean six sigma, lean six sigma training, lean six sigma certification, lean six sigma

TEN tips to enable Lean Six Sigma deployment in your organization

1. KEEP THE CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION OPEN

• Talk and inform often
• Educate and empower, knowledge, skill, practice and competence, on-going mastery and teaching others
• Trust, honesty and information = transparency
• Give everyone a head start, a common language, goal and purpose and unleash the power of Lean Six Sigma on your organization. 

2. GIVE OPPORTUNITY FOR EVERYONE FOR INPUT AND FEEDBACK

• Get everyone engaged, excited and hands-on, involved and aboard with your Lean Six Sigma initiative and plans
• Introduce feedback and coaching, establishing communication channels where before there might have been none

3. CREATE AND CULTIVATE THE RIGHT WORKING CONTEXT AND ENVIRONEMENT WHERE HONESTY IS ALWAYS THE BEST POLICY!

• Set communication and information sharing, learning and openness (transparency) as an organizational priority
• Less people will feel threatened and insecure about speaking up, hiding errors for fear of embarrassment or consequences (like being held accountable or losing their jobs or face in front of others)
• Treat each other with respect and share ideas, issues openly, always keeping in mind the overall benefit (or detriment) for all if closer attention are paid to certain issues or challenges at hand. 

4. TAKE NOTICE, REWARD, ENCOURAGE AND CELEBRATE!

• Select examples of great achievements within Lean Six Sigma, samples, project studies, specifics, general, share and celebrate them all-round. Give credit and recognition to the team where it is due, even for accomplishments that made a great difference for the company, a specific area or problem that was solved. It is highly motivational and quite an incentive for many to keep trying and even do more! 

5. Implement a system and metrics and monitor process BUT ALSO PROGRESS!!

• Formalized record and tracking is essential for these Lean Six Sigma processes and initiative to WORK and LAST! Ensure they are streamlines and purposeful, organized and regularly occur. 

6. STICK TO THE BASICS and KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID!

• It sounds easy enough, but believe me, we get sidetracked so easily in the intricacies of calculations, metrics and spreadsheets, that we often forget the pleasantries and clarity that simplicity brings. 
• Making things easy to follow and stick to, will help that they do exactly that! 

7. STAY POSITIVE AND KEEP AT IT!

8. ACHIEVE and TAP INTO YOUR RESOURCES

• Be always focusing on needs, wants, desires and motivations, to mobilize and sustain momentum and change.  
• Make the stake and reward personal for participating and applying the principles of Lean Six Sigma. 
• Make it the way that you do business – WITHOUT COMPROMISE! 
• Set the bar and standards high, keeping on reaching higher.

9. DISCIPLINED PRACTICE

• Consistent, persistent, determined, dedicated to make things work better and last! Low cost, no waste, effective and efficient! 

10. A CONTINUING JOURNEY (not only a destination)

• Ongoing Learning is essential and learning from our mistakes, oversights, challenges and achievements are important. 
• Always ask what we learned, what went well, what did not work and how can we make it all better next time round,  should be part of normal conversation and routine. 

You will discover more secrets and revelations, unearth more truths about Lean Six Sigma as you go along. Be sure to pass on the wisdom to others.

Always remember, despite what you read or hear from consultants, there is NO ONE-SIZE FITS ALL Lean Six Sigma deployment that works and fits for everyone. It depends on the organization, leadership, process etc.






If you enjoy reading my blogs, please take a look at my many other on-line resources,
Website, http://www.beyondlean6sigma.com/
Blog, http://leansixsigmauk.blogspot.co.uk/
Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/leansixsigmacert
Follow me on twitter, https://twitter.com/DrLeanSigma
I have also recently launched a new range of Lean Six Sigma on-line training courses which you can read about here, http://www.beyondlean6sigma.com/programmes/


#leansixsigma, #beyondlean, #leansixsigmacertification, #leansixsigmatraining lean six sigma, lean six sigma training, lean six sigma certification, lean six sigma

Harnessing the 8th AND 9th Waste of Lean Sigma

Yes, you heard me right, there is a 9th Waste ! We all know the 8th waste is the under-utilisation of

our people but what about the 9th waste; the under-utilisation of our customers.

An underestimated factor in all Lean SixSigma deployments is the underutilized talents of our collective and collaborative potential and this isn’t just talking about our staff, as in the 8th waste of lean. We often get so busy with what each of us are doing individually, that we lose sight of how much more powerful we could be, if we combined our efforts!

In our opinion, here-in lies the secret of Lean Six Sigma …

WE HAVE TO GIVE EVERYONE (Including our customers) THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTAKE AND PARTICIPATE, SHARE IN THE EXPERIENCE FOR MAXIMUM RESULTS!

Ask yourself how you can make the most of people’s time and investment in CI or Lean Six Sigma practices and how it will/could affect/benefit your business? Your resources, employees and customers are important assets – how are you using and utilizing them all in this process of becoming a more agile and cost-effective organization/business/operation ?

Always, start by asking what can I do? This personal hands-on approach can truly make a difference in any business.

Ways to avoid your Lean Six Sigma initiatives becoming frustrating, failing or coming up short:

 Pay special and close attention to what the business culture really is! It could be totally out of alignment with the principles and fundamentals of Lean Six Sigma and cause some stress, tensions, or even resistance within and throughout the organization.

 Ask and answer yourself/your team, your business, partners and customer honestly what the existing climate is that would support (hinder/help) Lean Six Sigma working methods and how it will benefit all stakeholders?

 Here is another useful question: Is our organization hierarchical, rigid and autocratic and not a people centered company?

 Learning what not to do from the mistakes and discoveries, shared learnings and insights from others is critical. This is especially crucial from our customers, listen to their complaints, survey them regularly to ascertain what current products they would like more of, or variants of and what additional products that we don’t currently offer would they like to see in our catalogue? They are the people who pay all our wages and without whom, the business would not exist!

 Be aware that not everyone will necessarily share your enthusiasm for Lean Six Sigma. Some might dread what it does to their work load and world. Some initial resistance to any change is normal. Showing the value or the WIIFM (what is in it for me) is a very important part of the whole Lean Six Sigma initiative.






If you enjoy reading my blogs, please take a look at my many other on-line resources,
Website, http://www.beyondlean6sigma.com/
Blog, http://leansixsigmauk.blogspot.co.uk/
Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/leansixsigmacert
Follow me on twitter, https://twitter.com/DrLeanSigma
I have also recently launched a new range of Lean Six Sigma on-line training courses which you can read about here, http://www.beyondlean6sigma.com/programmes/


#leansixsigma, #beyondlean, #leansixsigmacertification, #leansixsigmatraining lean six sigma, lean six sigma training, lean six sigma certification, lean six sigma

Focus on the ‘Vital Few’ For Your Customers Sake

Lean Six Sigma is NOT only about PROJECTS! It is about so much more than that.

It goes deeper and beyond. It is and will become the way that you do business.

Everything we undertake in our businesses have to start with the customer, who they are, what they want and how we can get it to them quickly, correctly, in working order, what they asked for exactly and to specification, on demand, at an affordable price, delivered and guaranteed.  Sound like a tall order? Well, increasingly research shows informed, empowered customers know and get what they want and to stay viable, let alone be profitable and thrive, we need to have our businesses in line with delivering to all of the above in a cost-effective and streamlined, efficient way.

A good plan of action, the right culture and voila you are all set to start your deployment of Lean Six Sigma and unleash its power and reward on your business, profits and customers!
Now that we have determined that Lean Six Sigma can actually help you eliminate waste, variation, time, effort and material, is customer oriented and just-in-time delivery of what they want, reducing costs while improving quality, we can briefly switch gear and look at areas of the business where Lean Six Sigma can help you and your customers.

Areas where Lean Six Sigma can help:

Making the most of quality and time, speeding up processes that actually matter. It does make a difference. Wait times, cycle times from start to finish all impact business success. Lean Six Sigma is not just for manufacturing processes. It is for ALL PROCESSES.

Knowing where to focus your efforts are also important. The 80/20 rule, or Pareto principle in Lean Six Sigma is a handy tool to help you prioritize and focus on what needs to get done right away, first, eventually, over time. 80% of the problems/potential is in 20% of the process or area. It is up to us to find it and do something about it!

The Pareto principle (also known as the 80–20 rule, the law of the vital few, and the principle of factor sparsity) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. Management consultant Joseph M. Juran suggested the principle and named it after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who, while at the University of Lausanne in 1896, published his first paper "Cours d'économie politique." Essentially, Pareto showed that approximately 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population; Pareto developed the principle by observing that 20% of the pea pods in his garden contained 80% of the peas.
It is a common rule of thumb in business; e.g., "80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients."






If you enjoy reading my blogs, please take a look at my many other on-line resources,
Website, http://www.beyondlean6sigma.com/
Blog, http://leansixsigmauk.blogspot.co.uk/
Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/leansixsigmacert
Follow me on twitter, https://twitter.com/DrLeanSigma
I have also recently launched a new range of Lean Six Sigma on-line training courses which you can read about here, http://www.beyondlean6sigma.com/programmes/



#leansixsigma, #beyondlean, #leansixsigmacertification, #leansixsigmatraining
lean six sigma, lean six sigma training, lean six sigma certification, lean six sigma