How to launch a sustainable continuous improvement program?

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There is no doubt that every organization needs a structured continuous improvement program. Having spent two decades participating in improvement programs across industries, I can say that sustaining an improvement culture is exponentially more difficult than kicking off the program. Success is the ability to create an organization where individuals constantly learn and improve. This requires organizational maturity that promotes informed risk taking, transparent reflection of failures without retribution and the desire to do better. Selecting the right improvement vehicle for the organization becomes critical. 

Sounds simple in concept but if the ratio of success vs. failure when it comes to corporate improvement initiatives is any evidence, it’s not really that easy. Many smarter individuals with more experience than me have written bushel-loads on how to develop and implement a sustainable operational excellence model that delivers. I’d like to share my two-cents based on experiencing initiatives ranging from deploying Six Sigma back in GE’s heyday, to developing and launching lean programs in the Pharma industry. 

In the spirit of transparency it would only be fair to add a disclaimer here – these views in no way reflect the views of my present or past employers and my observations are not directed at any particular organization. 

The first step – having a clear view of “Why” you need an improvement program.

The first, and probably the most important question in the entire improvement journey is the “why?” Why does the organization need any kind of continuous improvement program? There isn’t necessarily one right answer to this question, but there are a number of wrong ones. Business leaders should understand the “opportunity cost” of deploying any improvement program. Many an organization has failed in deploying operational excellence by underestimating the commitment required to sustain a structured initiative. The willingness to commit resources is directly proportional to the “why”. 

If the organization sees a strong reason for deploying a lean six sigma program then the resources will follow. 

Unclear “Why” + Underestimating opportunity cost = Failed Improvement program

Timing is everything, being too pro-active about deploying an improvement program and you may lack any systemic burning platform that can bring the functions together as a team. Wait too long and your improvement program runs the risk of being relegated to fire-fighting and will lack the learning culture you need to sustain the effort.


So the first take away – be absolutely clear on the “why” and ensure key stakeholders in the organization are aligned, committed and clear on the timing of expected deliverables from a continuous improvement program.

What are the top organizational improvement priorities right now?

What are the critical issues that need to be addressed through this program? Based on where the business is in their operational journey; do they need to develop a culture of continuous improvement or is the organization looking for some quick wins that hit the bottom line? Is there one burning platform that goes across the entire organization? What parts of the organization will be included in the continuous improvement program, parts of the supply chain or the entire organization?

These are all questions that need to be considered before deciding on a path and more often than not the answer is “Yes”. In the highly competitive environment we find ourselves these days there is, at times, an unrealistic expectation that everything must be our top priority. There are those that would argue true leadership means being energetically optimistic and setting a high bar, where you expect everything can be delivered with the same level of urgency and priority. 

Is this a realistic expectation? Can an organization deliver step-change improvements on multiple fronts at the same time? 

The honest answer is no. Now, before the improvement gurus get their hackles up, let me add this - just because something isn’t an improvement priority you don’t ignore it. There may be a dozen priorities the team needs to deliver this year, but isn’t true leadership the ability to eliminate the noise and help the team focus on the 2-3 things that need to be covered by the improvement program now? Don’t ignore the rest, if it isn’t one of your top focus area’s then put your energy into maintaining performance, not making step-change improvements.

The second hurdle that organizations on an improvement journey stumble over is in being selective about their focused improvement area’s.  Expecting any lean program to deliver exponential benefits in every area of performance is a sure fire way to fail.

Choosing an aligned improvement vehicle to drive your organizations agenda.

By this point the organization knows why they want to drive a continuous improvement program, they’ve aligned the stakeholder expectations around what improvements need to be delivered and by when. Now its time to select the appropriate methodology and ensure it is aligned to the goals selected, aligned to the organizational culture, aligned to the expected deliverables.

The next piece involves understanding which of the many available vehicles the business will use to drive these improvements.  The “vehicle” analogy is a great one to help demystify improvement programs. Talk to any Lean Six Sigma expert and you will hear a slew of terms that sound really cool. Six Sigma, PDCA, Gemba, Kanban, A3, Value Stream Mapping, SMED, 5-Whys, 5W1H… the list goes on and on and I don’t propose to go through an analysis of these terms. 

At the risk of offending the Lean-Gods by oversimplifying things (again) - it really is like selecting a vehicle. The first step is identifying the destination and your goal’s for the journey. 

And yes, the destination and goal are two separate points. My destination may be the Grand Canyon, but my goal is to have fun along the way. Alternatively I could be planning a trip to the Grand Canyon, but I want to get there as quickly as possible. The first opportunity for error is when you’re vehicle isn’t aligned to the journey. Wouldn’t really make sense to take that Porsche 911 of yours on an off-road trip now would it? That Rolls Royce Cullinan wouldn’t be the best choice if you’re planning to take the entire 4th grade class out on a field trip. 

This is probably one of the most important decisions you will make on your continuous improvement journey and unfortunately the seeds you sow of a bad decision won’t blossom until much further along the journey, by which point it may be too late to change gears.
Bear with me as I take the vehicle analogy a little further. Think of the various improvement tools (VSM, SMED, Gemba, Kanban, FMEA, Pareto etc) as parts of your vehicle. Once again it’s all about alignment, ensuring your vehicle is aligned to the destination, ensuring the parts of your vehicle are appropriate for the type of vehicle you’re driving and the destination. 

After all, it wouldn’t make sense to put those off-road tires and heavy duty luggage rack on your Porsche 911 for a lazy Sunday wine tasting trip up route 1 to Mendocino county with your wife. 

For smooth improvement journey make sure you spend the time to select the right improvement methodology. Don’t get seduced by the latest buzz-word out there, and beware of deploying an “over-engineered” solution. There is no free lunch and eventually you’ll have to justify the cool sexy sports car you buy for those daily grocery runs.

Saving the best for last – it’s all about leadership, leadership, leadership

Of the many factors that have to be taken into account when developing and deploying a continuous improvement program I’ve listed just three. These aren’t necessarily the most important factors since that depends on where your organization is in the improvement journey and your short and long term priorities. 
However, there is one variable critical to the success of an improvement program, in ANY organization, no matter where they are in the operational excellence spectrum. 
Leadership. Leadership. Leadership.

I’ve said it three times - not for the sake of allegory, and not just to emphasize the importance of leadership in the success of continuous improvement, but also because there are three aspects of leadership worth highlighting.

Bless vs. Engage

No one would disagree that leaders play a critical role in the success of a continuous improvement program. The important question is around what kind of engagement we expect from our leaders during the journey. 
There has been a lot of discussion around whether it’s more important to have a top down change management approach or a bottoms up philosophy when it comes to programs like Lean, Six Sigma or TPS. The answer is somewhere in between. You need both. 

Without engagement of the people that touch the product you’re not going to surface the real issues or get tangible solutions impacting the bottom line. At the same time, without active engagement of the senior leaders you’ll have difficulty sustaining the sparks of enthusiasm generated.  

At this stage it is important for the engagement to be meaningful. Surface engagement that is akin to window dressing will be seen through by the rank and file pretty quickly. If leaders get into the trap of “blessing” improvement activities versus being actively engaged it can result in a check-the-box environment of self-propagating non-value adding activities. 


Avoid the death-spiral for any continuous improvement program by ensuring leaders are actively engaged in driving improvements.

Do vs. Delegate

Depending on the improvement program deployment strategy it’s important leaders at the appropriate level within the organization are executing improvement activities. Similar to the Bless vs. Engagement trap, it’s easy for managers to get into the habit of assuming effective continuous improvement means telling someone to just do it as opposed to participating themselves.

More often than not; well intentioned Lean and Six Sigma programs fail when leaders interpret good problem solving as a cascade of delegation until the person in the chain closest to the value addition is saddled with doing all the improvements.  Typically this individual on the front line is also the leader doing the most value addition within the chain of leadership and hence should be focusing on the day to day activities of the business.
The balance of Do vs. Delegate is dynamic, it will change over time and it will change depending on where the leader fits within the chain of value addition. 


At the outset it is important to clearly identify expectations from different leaders in the organization when it comes to participating in the improvement program. It can be perilous to assume leaders are aware, and capable of what needs to be done.

Expertise vs. Curiosity

These two attributes aren’t mutually exclusive, but it’s important that leaders engaged in the continuous improvement journey have at least one or the other. 

Either the expertise to lead a lean program, or the genuine humble curiosity to learn and ask the right questions. Sometimes good leadership is about asking the right questions and bringing a healthy dose of common sense. 

Another great word for common sense in this context is alignment. It’s surprising how often asking the right questions will surface a fundamental lack of alignment in activities being done across the value chain. 


Don’t let your continuous improvement agenda fail because leaders don’t have the technical capability or lack the confidence to be curious.  

This feeds into the larger organizational culture where it’s ok to raise your hand and say you don’t know. It’s encouraged to swing for the fences, even if that means missing once in a while.

So in closing

I’ll be the first to admit that there is nothing earth shattering in what I’ve shared around making your continuous improvement journey a success. 

• Make sure you know why your organization needs a continuous improvement program. If there isn’t a burning platform then make sure there is a clear purpose the whole organization can get behind
• What is the business expecting to get out of the operational excellence program? It’s important the leadership is clear on the expected results AND the timing – whether they are bottom-line benefits or more intangible cultural capability enhancements that are important for the long-term success of the organization.
• Don’t get seduced by the latest buzz-words. Pick an improvement program that is aligned to the purpose and goals. Spend time understanding how all the pieces are aligned.
• Leadership, leadership, leadership. Enough said!

In some sense the importance of the points I’ve listed should be underlined by all the stuff left out.  Beware of the comfort that comes from assuming the most effective solution must be the most complicated answer. 

Sometimes the simplest solution really is the best one, and it doesn’t cost you a bunch of billable hours.

Lessons from a Formula 1 race weekend

The Partnership

Beliefs are what define who we are.  Until a few months ago I believed that there would never be a sport that I could enjoy watching; avidly following any sporting event was something that "other" people did.  

All of this changed after one weekend in Abu Dhabi spending time with the McLaren Formula 1 racing team and watching how they built continuous improvement into every aspect of what they do daily. 

McLaren and GSK are working together in a unique partnership to share best practices across both companies.  You can read more about the partnership here.  

GSK follows the GSK Production System, probably the first Production System that uses concepts from Lean Manufacturing and applies it to the Pharma / Consumer Healthcare industry.  In line with the GSK ambition of having the best supply chain in all industries the GSK Production System (GPS) is a critical initiative  to continuously improving a world class supply chain organization. 

Few people would see any similarities between a Formula 1 racing team and a Pharmaceutical manufacturing company.  Surprisingly there is a lot that can be shared across two such seemingly dissimilar organizations. 

The GSK leadership team saw a unique opportunity to work with a high performing Formula 1 racing team to not only learn from them, but also share some of our insights and "tools" to help them drive performance.  Similar to a competitive F1 race, the Pharma industry functions in a highly regulated environment where strong teamwork is critical to "Winning". 

In a GSK context "Winning" means being able to deliver for the patient at the end of the Supply Chain.  Helping people do more, feel better, live longer.

Winning, for McLaren, is far more tangible and time bound.  In a work environment when you have multiple stakeholders, a mix of short term targets and long term strategic goals, the definition of winning can sometimes get fuzzy. For a Formula 1 team it's all about where your car finishes up after 305 kilometers (approx) and over the years McLaren has proven they know what it takes. 

Formed in 1963 by Bruce McLaren, the McLaren team has won more Grand Prix races than any other team in the history of Formula 1 racing.  With 182 Grand Prix wins and 20 world championships under their belt the McLaren team is a worthy partner for GSK. 

The Event

We assembled at the Abu Dhabi Yas Marina track along with Damian from the McLaren Technology Group.  One of the first highlights for us was interacting with Fernando Alonso, two time F1 World Champion driver from the McLaren Team. Hearing first hand about the challenges he faces both off an on the track helped set the context for us Problem-Solving focused Continuous-Improvement geeks. It was a unique experience to be able to interact with a high performing athlete in such an informal environment.

F1 racing is about so much more than 20 cars going around a track for 90 minutes.  As an engineer and a student of Lean I was attracted by both the technology and reliance on data. The icing on the cake was the pure rush of the engines!

The Learnings

The whole event was a series of practical learning experiences. Seeing the initial dissimilarity between the two industries and the slow realization that there was so much in common just added to the overall impact.

Here are the top 3 lessons I took away from the McLaren-GSK event in Abu Dhabi.

1. Communication, Communication, Communication

So there is a joke that makes the rounds at GE.  It's about one of the trainers at Croutonville who wasn't paying attention to Jack Welch during an inspirational talk that Jack was giving to a group of new executives.  Having heard Jack speak so often the trainer was sitting in the back of the auditorium reading a newspaper.  

Trying to catch the trainer off guard, Jack looks to him and asks,

"What do you think the secret is to good leadership?"

With no idea of the context, clueless of the ongoing discussion, and oblivious to the specific point Jack was making, the trainer says:

"Communication, communication, communication"

And he was right. 

Whether the anecdote is true or not, the message is valid.  Businesses run on communication.  Unfortunately, when you combine this truism with today's technology  you end up with a new truth - "Too much communication is worse than none"

With laptops, cell phones, blogs, twitter, yammer, email, Whatsap, SMS's it has become too easy for people to communicate.  The result being an overwhelming flood of information that employees must sort through every day to get real work done.  

What struck me about the Mclaren team was their ability to simplify the communication process so that people only got the information relevant to getting their job done.  When 0.2 seconds can make the difference between winning or losing you realize the importance of simple, focused communications.  

This is most evident when you observe the pitstop crews at work.  For those of you who have never seen a pit stop here is a great video by McLaren where Jenson Button talks about the importance of a good pitstop in winning a race. 

So one of the technology "tools" that the geek within me loved were the radios that connected everyone on the race team through the headsets. Have you ever wondered what they are talking about during the race? 

Well, through the GSK-McLaren partnership we had the unique opportunity to listen to the communications going on between the driver, pitstop crews and other team members during the race.  Anyone who has watched a Formula 1 race and seen the cars whizzing into the pit stops and shooting out in 2 seconds can imagine the amount of chaos, confusion and chatter on the radios during a pit stop to ensure everyone is working towards minimsing the pit time. 

WRONG!

What struck me most was the silence and lack of irrelevant communications. The only person that spoke to the driver was the main engineer.  He had the responsibility of filtering out the input from the different functions, including the remote support team that sat in Woking, UK.  No matter the crisis, the driver only got the input he needed to drive. Similarly during the pitstops the pitstop crew was only getting information that they needed. 

For a sport that is loud and fast paced, the communication channels were silent and calm!

Here is an example of a good pitstop by Jenson Button.

2. Know it, plan it, practice it

What helped facilitate the clear communications was every member on the team knew their role and had practiced extensively.  Not only did each team member know their own roles but they had also practiced a range of different potential scenarios. 

One of the goals of a Continuous Improvement program is to minimize the amount of time that people spend "fire-fighting".  No matter the role or industry we all face "unplanned" events on a regular basis.  Raw material didn't arrive, a machine broke down, someone didn't show up for work - all examples of a potential crisis.  If you really think about it, what turns these events into a crisis? 

A crisis arises from lack of clarity around who is going to do what next.   

F1 teams, and McLaren in particular, rely heavily on simulation software where they can test out every measurable variable and the outcome it could have on the race.  In fact the proprietary simulation software is a key differentiator since the time teams can spend on track physically testing the cars is very limited.  

This means that every potential "crisis" has already been thought through, simulated, and the response decided. When something actually goes wrong people know exactly what to do and more importantly who takes the lead on the decision. 

On any given race weekend the Pit crews will do over 100 practice pitstops. Multiply this by 20 races and thats over 2,000 practise sessions in a season.  How often do we practice our roles almost once an hour on average (~2,000 hour work year)

During the discussion with Alonso we asked whether there was allot of pressure when things went wrong during a race.  How was he able to make snap decisions while driving at over 300 KMPH.  His answer was pretty interesting.  

He said that the simulation software runs through over 3 million different scenarios before the race weekend using different variables specific to the driver, the car, the track, weather etc.  Before the day of the race the driver and the teams go through all the potential variable changes (crisis) that could happen and determine what the course of action will be.  During the race if the driver is tempted to react to a situation based on his "gut" instinct, he just needs to ask himself whether his "gut" instinct is more reliable than the 3 million scenarios the computer has already run through.  

3. Use the Data

Having an effective simulation means you need to have the right data to be able to quantify the impact of different variables.  This brings us to the last Top 3 take-away for me.  Not only is it about having the data, but it's about how you use the information you collect. 

Technology has made it easier to collect data.  This is evident in every aspect of our lives.  Today we can use our cell phones to track where we have been, how many steps we've taken, how many stairs we climbed, what our weight is and how much money we've spent. The list goes on and on.  One only has to look to the ubiquitous health bands that track your every move to see how easy it is to collect data these days. 

The McLaren team uses their own version of the Demings PDCA cycle to drive continuous improvement in the team.  What struck me was how well they are using data in every leg of the cycle to drive the continuous improvement engine.  In some organizations there is a stigma around both measuring and sharing data.  This is partially linked to how the data is used (or misused) at times.  A best practice I learnt from my small glimpse into McLaren was how well they use the data to take the emotion out of decision making. 

Rather than using the data to find faults in the decision making process focused towards an individual, the data is used to understand how the process can be improved.  The organization acknowledges that there are going to be times when the wrong decision is made.  The data captured is then used to review what it is within the process that can be improved to minimise the risk of an incorrect decision being made again. 

From a collection point of view it was impressive to see that almost every conceivable aspect of the race was measured and fed into the simulation.  The relevance of the simulation depends on how accurately the real world variables have been captured and their impact quantified. 

The McLaren team use the data captured from races to regularly reassess the projected improvements.  What this means is that over the period of the race season the team is constantly re-calibrating their aspirations (always upward) to reduce the variability in the targets.

What next

Getting exposed to an adrenaline fueled, high powered, invigorating event like a Formula 1 race is no doubt exciting, but the important thing is what you do with that energy.  

It's easy to think that success on a race day is determined by the drivers performance.  

But is it? 

As with success in any field, winning is the result of consistently working smart and always finding ways to do better.  I came into the two day event looking for answers.  Trying to find the secret formula or the magic bullet that F1 teams use to drive performance.  

So, did I get my elusive answer?

Surprisingly the answer is No.  I did not get the answer I was looking for.  

I'm walking away with a far more important lesson.  Understanding the importance of asking the right questions as I continue on my journey to do more, feel better and live longer.  

Thank you to the McLaren team (Damian you rock) and the GSK leadership for supporting a program like this.  

  

The South Asia GPS Team
Asanga, Ashish, Abhishek, Anant and Vetrivel

Morbidly Aweseome feature… Google Inactive Account Manager service

So I had this really surreal experience which I wanted to share with you guys. It’s sort of morbid so I apologize in advance!

I’m Not sure how many of you know about Google’s “Inactive Account Manager” service. Basically it’s just a pleasant name for an “e-Will”. What do you want Google to do with all your Google stuff after you… well.. die. Maybe not so important for some but very important for others like me that use Google drives for storing of key information on bills, investments etc. The kind of information you would want to pass on to others after you are… unavailable… to put it mildly.

The surreal experience was writing an email to Rashmi which I knew would only get delivered if I didn’t access my gmail account for 3 months, something which has never happened. Once I started writing the email, and the situation under which she would ever read such an email sunk in, there was so much I wanted to write in addition to the mundane logistics of which bills need to be paid by when.

Anyways, as morbid as the experience was, I encourage those of you that have made it this far in my diatribe to use this feature if you are a heavy google user and want to ensure that people have access to your google account in the unlikely event you are indisposed for an extended period of time.

Basically what it does is let you compose an email to up to 10 individuals and assign them access to your various google sites (Youtube, Picasa, Gmail, Google Drive etc). In the even that you don’t access your account for 3 months, and after Google has tried to contact you via alternate email and SMS, Google will send the email to the identified individuals along with providing them access to the services you selected.

It’s actually very useful so I encourage you to sign up for the service.

https://support.google.com/accounts/topic/3075532?hl=en&ref_topic=2864354

18 minutes to focusing your day

MONDAY, JULY 27, 2009 AT 12:26PM

In my conitnued search for productivity nirvana here is another tip that I found on the web.  The foundationg of productivity is of course... just doing the work, but tips like this can help in prioritizing your day.  My biggest problem is I tend to work on the stuff I enjoy, rather than the things I have to get done.

Link: http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/bregman/2009/07/an-18minute-plan-for-managing.html

Three Steps Every day:

STEP 1 (5 Minutes) Set Plan for Day.  

STEP 2 (1 minute every hour) Refocus.

STEP 3 (5 minutes) Review.

Read the whole articile, it's a great read.

Some productivity tips from Lifehacker

SUNDAY, JUNE 28, 2009 AT 7:29PM

One of my favorite sites is LifeHacker.com, proponents of the GTD (Getting Things Done) philosophy of productivity have a great list of ten basic productivity skills that one should have.  Wish I could say that I follow all ten tips religiously, but not there yet. The ones marked in bold I've found most useful.

Here is the link:  http://lifehacker.com/5303204/top-10-productivity-basics-explained

Their top ten:

10. Doable to-do lists
9. Ninja-like search skillz
8. Remind your future self (a.k.a. tickler files)
7. Ubiquitous capture
6. Timers and working in dashes
5. Quick searches (web)
4. Quick searches (local)
3. Inbox Zero
2. Keyboard shortcuts
1. Text expansion

Encourage you to check out the entire list at Lifehacker.com

Update on Sunday, June 28, 2009 at 7:42PM by Anant

While I am on the subject of Getting Things Done (GTD) I thought I'd post the link to a great article on how to use a "lite" version of GTD.  If you've never heard of David Allen, or GTD then check out this link.  I've always struggled with being adequately productive, since at the end of the day it comes to do "just doing it"

http://lifehacker.com/335269/practicing-simplified-gtd