Guesswork – continued

 In the 21^st century, ambidexterity wins. We must both protect the core business with Lean/OpEx and ignite new Growth using Digital methods. Here is the fourth in a series on the battles we have to win.

Dangerous corporate animals

Ignorance, Fear, Scatter, Guesswork and Space - these are our blockers. Today I’ll talk continue talking about Guesswork. The remedies I discuss apply to both protecting the core business with Lean/OpEx and to igniting new Growth.

Guesswork

Guesswork entails jumping to conclusions in the absence of data or expertise. Direct causes include a lack of data, and cultural or leader arrogance. Last time I talked about how to fill the data void with YODA. Today, I’ll talk about cultural or leader arrogance.

HIPPO & ZEBRA Management

I’m the highest paid person in the room. What I say goes, and everybody knows it. That’s the HIPPO’s mindset. Data, who needs it? Facts, eye-witness accounts, I don’t care. World War I generals like Douglas Haig, John French, and Luigi Cadorna are among history’s most infamous HIPPOs. Each has a room in the Military Hall of Shame, and each valued their self-image more than the lives of their troops. Do their descendants not afflict us still?

I have zero expertise but I’m really adamant (or arrogant). That’s the ZEBRA’s mindset. Some company cultures value brashness and aggression. Oligopolies and other protected sectors are immune to the consequences of disastrous decision-making, not unlike WWI generals.

Fake it till you make it has become a cultural meme. The idea is that if you act confident and competent in a situation, even when you don't feel that way, you will eventually develop the actual desired skills and qualities. Such a mindset that can help you push past self-doubt and help you grow. But at some point, it becomes outright dishonesty. And left unchecked, ‘fake it till you make it’ creates a Guess work culture - phony, superficial, and prone to disaster.

There are other dangerous animals in the corporate menagerie including Seagulls, WOLFs, YAKs, and RHINOs, but you get the picture.

Building Your Culture’s Immune System

‘No bozos, ever’ was a Steve Jobs mantra. I’ve been lucky enough to work with some uniquely successful executives, and their common refrain is ‘You have to get the right people on the bus.’ That’s a polite rephrasing of Jobs’ mantra, no? A company’s Human Resources team and system has two essential & related roles: 1) to hire, engage, develop, reward, and retain good people, and 2) to identify & remove HIPPOs, ZEBRAs, and other dangerous corporate animals.

Company culture is the responsibility of senior leaders and the Board. Radical transparency means we leave our rank at the door. Facts trump opinion and hearsay. No facts? Sit down, and do not come here unprepared again. Working in a great organization is like playing hockey in the NHL. If you can’t skate, pass, and shoot, you won’t be on the ice. But if you’re humble, tenacious, and love the game, great companies will help you grow and succeed.

In my next article, I’ll address the fifth deadly blocker: Space.

Best wishes,

Pascal Dennis         E: pascal.dennis@leansystems.org

In case you missed earlier blogs... please feel free to have another look….

Transformation - the Battles We Have to Win - Guesswork

Transformation - the Battles We Have to Win - Scatter
Transformation - the Battles We Have to Win - Fear

Guesswork – Battles We Have to Win, Part 4

 In the 21^st century, ambidexterity wins. We must both protect the core business with Lean/OpEx and ignite new Growth using Digital methods. Here is the fourth in a series on the battles we have to win.

'Keep pressing buttons – something’s bound to happen."

Ignorance, Fear, Scatter, Guesswork and Space - these are our blockers. Today I’ll talk about Guesswork. The remedies I discuss apply to both protecting the core business with Lean/OpEx and to igniting new Growth.

Guesswork

Guesswork entails jumping to conclusions in the absence of data or expertise. Direct causes include a lack of data, and cultural or leader arrogance.

Filling the Data Void with YODA

How do we gather complete, end-to-end, and high-quality data in large complex organizations? YODA - we have to learn how to generate ‘your own data.’ Our management system is the key. Elite Lean organizations derive YODA from the daily, weekly, and monthly routines of Team Leaders, Group Leaders in operations roles, supplemented by capable support staff in Logistics, Finance, Quality and HR. The daily standard work (or ‘operating rhythm’) of a front-line Team Leader in a top-shelf Lean site will include regular walks around the zone with a checksheet generating the day’s Safety, Quality, Delivery and Cost data. This information flow animates the entire management system, including the senior level Obeya (‘Control Tower’), and is a thing of beauty.

Useful data is also available through connections with key support groups. For example, in a hospital critical infection rate data is obtainable from the Laboratories. (What’s frequency of these infections in the sample we send you each day? What other insights do they provide?’ Can you provide us with a regular report?). Similarly, in a complex logistics system, product damage can be tracked at critical loading and unloading locations. (Here’s our box damage checksheet. We’ll train your operators in how to use them, and what to look for). Technology such as sensors, drones, data analytics, and AI will augment our ability to develop YODA.

In the world of innovation and smart growth, we must learn how to develop YODA around our core customer journeys. Rapid, inexpensive experiments are the key, both digital (landing pages, ads, explainer videos) and analogue (e.g. Discover & Validation interviews, mashups mash-ups, pop-up stores).

A common failure mode is depending on a centralized, expensive, complex data system. (If we’re lucky we get some data at month-end). Is such data complete, high quality, and end-to-end? I don’t want to be misunderstood – such systems can be valuable, provided the IT & Operation teams work closely to confirm the data satisfies the user’s needs (what data, how often, to what users, through what user interface and so on). But can centralized data systems match the quality, insight, and timeliness or data gathered by people in the Gemba observing action in real time?

In my next article, I’ll address another key cause of Guesswork – cultural and leadership arrogance.

Best wishes,

Pascal Dennis         E: pascal.dennis@leansystems.org

In case you missed earlier blogs... please feel free to have another look….

Transformation - the Battles We Have to Win - Scatter
Transformation - the Battles We Have to Win - Fear
Transformation - the Battles We Have to Win - Ignorance

Battles We Have to Win, part 3: Scatter

 We live in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world. Deadly risks abound including ceaseless turbulence, obsolescence, and Black Swans. Here is the third in a series on the battles we have to win to survive and prosper.

What are the proverbial transformation ‘battles’ we have to win? Ignorance, Fear, Scatter, Guesswork and Space. Today I’ll talk about how to dispel Scatter. The remedies I discuss apply to both protecting the core business with Lean/OpEx and to igniting new Growth using Digital methods.

Scatter

Scatter means we are literally ‘all over the place’.  We cannot focus on what’s important and cannot trim unnecessary activity.  The Pareto principle is often cited but how well is it practiced? There is something in human nature that likes to push buttons, especially when doing so triggers the highly addictive dopamine cycle. Scatter has reached epidemic proportions in our screen-addled worlds, as documented by social scientists like Jonathan Haidt. Scatter is the deadly enemy of deep learning & genuine achievement.

Equating ‘busyness’ with effectiveness and/or importance is a modern disease.  In some cultures, “I had to work all weekend” is a badge of honor. The hyper-stressed professional who rarely sees her children, and the high-powered executive who is on his fourth marriage are modern cliches.

Is the root cause is a lack of self-awareness, combined with a lack clarity about the core questions of life and work? Who are we?  What do we believe in?  Where are we going? How will we get there?

Countermeasures to Scatter

Leadership: What you do is what you get

Disciplined leadership is the key remedy.  What you do as a leader – is what you get. People reflect the leader’s behavior.  If you are clear, focused, considerate & professional – that’s what you’ll get.  If your foggy, jumpy, and continually distracted by shiny objects (‘crow management’) – ditto.

Less is More – Pareto Thinking

Leaders at all levels must therefore practice a ‘Less is More’ mindset. ‘What are your top three problems and what are you doing about them?’ The marvelous phrase ‘Target, actual, please explain’ helps reduce the ‘blah-blah-blah’. Weave this into your tiered management system.  Repeat the phrase a few times & pretty soon your team members show up prepared.

Visual Management & Connected Checking

Your management system should comprise:

·       Clearly articulated Aspiration and Winning Logic – at each level

·       Concise stand-up meetings connecting the senior level ‘control tower’ (Obeya) with front line team boards.

·       Focused improvement work at each level aligned with Aspiration & Winning Logic

·       Clear, effective visual management so that you can see at a glance:

o   What should be happening?

o   What is actually happening?

o   What are the biggest problems?

o   What are we doing about them?

 

Daily Management Walks & System Audits

These requirements can easily be translated into a leader’s Daily Walk checklist. If each senior leader shares what they observe (say, on a shared board in the Senior Team Obeya), pretty soon you understand your company’s current condition. And if in your walks you reinforce the focusing principles & activities like those described above, you'll see less scatter, and more focused improvement.

Tenacity

Stick with it - Scatter is at epidemic proportions. It’ll take a few years to fully absorb & apply this stuff. Don’t get too high or too low - just stay the course you'll soon feel the power of alignment.

Best wishes,

Pascal Dennis         E: pascal.dennis@leansystems.org

In case you missed earlier blogs... please feel free to have another look….

Transformation - the Battles We Have to Win - Fear
Transformation - the Battles We Have to Win - Ignorance
Transformation - the Battles We Have to Win

The Battles We Have to Win: Fear

Here is the third in a series on the transformation battles we have to win. 

Doing nothing is the riskiest option. 

When the ocean is in furious flux, alertness, agility and speed are of the essence. Doing nothing is the riskiest option. In business the clearest expression of these qualities is ambidexterity – the ability to both protect the core business with Lean/OpEx, and also, to ignite new Growth using Digital methods.

What are the proverbial transformation ‘battles’ we have to win? Ignorance, Fear, Scatter, and Guesswork, and Space.

Today I’ll talk about Fear.

Fear

Transformation fatigue is a state of exhaustion, resistance & fear that employees experience when subjected to continuous change. Symptoms include a diminished capacity to cope with change, heightened stress and anxiety, and a general sense of apathy or numbness. 

When I launched our advisory service (in 2000) the Toyota Production System was all the rage. TPS was the ‘machine that changed the world’, and companies around the world were anxious to learn its secrets. The past decade plus, ‘Digital’ has supplanted TPS as the ‘killer app’. Indeed, I’ve spent this period learning & applying Digital methods in innovation hot spots. And now of course, AI has exploded into our world in much the same way as TPS and ‘Digital’ did. No wonder people are afraid!

How do we overcome Fear in our organizations? Here are some measures I’ve found to be helpful – both for protecting the core business and igniting new growth with Digital methods. Note: in the paragraphs below, I’ve focused on the ‘Igniting New Growth’ ‘swim lane’. The same activities & principles apply for ‘Protect the Core’, but the content is of course, different.

Countermeasures to Fear:

Senior Leaders:

Small Group Mentorship:

• Short focused lessons, practical activity, followed by applied homework
• Leaders learn by doing – in a safe environment

Executive ‘Forums’

·       Ecosystem meetups with Tech orgs and peers facing similar challenges.

·       Tech ‘deep dive’ workshops that provide Executives with a practical understanding of key innovation methods, thinking & technology.

·       Learning expeditions - explore prominent Tech ecosystems in innovation hot spots

·       Innovation projects (‘Showcases’): focused innovation projects that showcase new ways or working, and lead to effective commercial pilots.

Middle & Front-Line Leaders:

Practical Learning Academies

These entail boot camps wherein practitioners learn innovation fundamentals by doing. Design Thinking, Growth Hacking and Lean Experimentation are core curriculum elements. Key features:

• ·       'Centre of Excellence’: small team of practitioners who manage curriculum & network
• ·       Focused curriculum based on key learning gaps, and
• ·       Growing network of practitioners who share learning, problems and innovations
• ·       Multiple communication channels including regular meetups, study groups, and intranet

The Light Touch

The light touch is a friendly, relaxed, and funny way to doing things. Senior leaders set the tone & change is much easier when their language, affect & aura say, “It’s going to be alright. We’ll get through this together, and we’ll succeed beyond any possibility of doubt.”

I’ve been lucky enough to know such leaders & don’t wish to embarrass them by extolling their virtues.  Suffice to say, such cheerfulness is a necessary (though not sufficient) antidote to fear. You see such leaders at Boot Camps, Hackathons, kaizen events, new product launches, and the like. They tirelessly reinforce our core Values, Aspirations and Winning Logic. They exude, ‘everything is going to be alright.’

Best wishes,

Pascal Dennis         E: pascal.dennis@leansystems.org

In case you missed earlier blogs... please feel free to have another look….

Transformation - the Battles We Have to Win - Ignorance
Transformation - the Battles We Have to Win
Daily Management Walks - a Primer