Mike Rother: Keeping Your Lean Transformation Focused By Mike Rother, Author of Toyota Kata and co-author of Learning to See - Last updated: Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - Save & Share - Leave a comment

Question:  How do we ensure constant focus and momentum in our Lean transformation?

This may be one of the most discussed questions in the Lean community these days. Over the last 15 years there have been a lot of improvements, but lots of stagnation and slipping back too.

In your question you mention you’ve been focusing on training people in visualizing, analyzing and solving problems. Interestingly, depending on what you mean that can be part of the issue. We find that reacting to abnormalities alone isn’t a sufficient and sustainable approach to improvement. Better… What’s the process team’s next target condition, how does it tie into an overall challenge, and by what means and mindset should the team work toward the target condition? That’s ‘focused aspiration’ (Meryl Runion’s words) or ‘purpose-driven behavior’ (my words), which can be highly motivating.

The following brief SlideShare proposes what managers should perhaps concentrate on for their organization to achieve continuous improvement and sustained competitiveness. (click on the link or icon) It’s easy to lose focus!

Mike

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