Use Planning Tools to Set Strategy and Direction Practitioners: tactical, integrative, and strategic The dictionary definition of planning is an important starting point to better understand what using planning tools to set strategy and direction is encouraging from us.  Planning – the act or process of making a plan (that…

Use processes like Hoshin Kanri and tools like A-3 to ensure alignment and track progress regularly. Practitioners: tactical, integrative, and strategic The key to this idea is found in understanding the purpose and relationship between processes and tools.  Whether the objective is strategy deployment or managing a project, we have…

Define stability and standardization expectations. Practitioners: tactical, integrative, and strategic When I read define stability and standardization expectations, I immediately think about a conversation I had with an executive vice president.  He had sent me out to assess his plant performance.  As I moved from plant to plant exploring SQDP…

Create learning environments by developing others through delegation and “letting go” to stretch and grow protégés. Practitioners: tactical, integrative, and strategic One of the most destructive behaviors a sponsor can undertake is to hold onto the ownership of the work of their teams.  Whew!  I’m gonna get some push back…

Respect decision-making processes and understanding the importance of driving consensus. Practitioners: tactical, integrative, and strategic Everything we do is the result of a process. One of the key ideas in operational excellence is that everything we do is the result of a process, including making decisions.  How we make decisions is…

Create processes that will continue to thrive despite changes in leadership. Practitioners: tactical, integrative, and strategic The concepts that reside within the scope of responsibility at the strategic level should always be considered from the enterprise level.  I have also modified the statement slightly. It initially read ‘create a process’…

Practice problem-solving activities. Practitioners: tactical, integrative, and strategic This might seem like another obvious idea, but how many of our teams have had any training or guidance on root cause problem solving.  How often do we practice problem solving when we want to teach our team something about their processes?…

Recognize and reward appropriate efforts and behaviors. Practitioners: tactical, integrative, and strategic This seems obvious but challenging the way it is presented.  Obvious because acknowledging appropriate effort and behavior should come naturally.  We must learn to recognize and reward the right behaviors. I will often lead this concept with a…

Apply basic lean tools such as 5S and kanban in transactional and administrative processes. Practitioners: tactical, integrative, and strategic My own lean journey exploded when I stepped into number 120.  I had many years of practice with basic lean tools in the production environment, and many people still believe today…

Sustainability Needs a System Embrace, support, and promote effective environmental and safety systems. Practitioners: tactical, integrative, and strategic Sustainability has become a buzz word today.  Unfortunately, from my perspective, it has also lost its meaning and importance.  Protecting our environment means avoiding contamination that could injure or harm ourselves or…