Nemawashi | Improve With Me

Category Archives: Nemawashi

November 16, 2010 · 8:50 am

Communication Or Announcements?

Photo Source: On The Sauce http://onthesauce.net/?p=391

You have a new change coming, do you communicate or just announce it?

I define communication as two-way where input and feedback is requested and announcements as one-way “this is coming or it’s already here” kind of messages.

Announcements are not an effective way to bring your organization along on your Lean journey. People feel done-to or it appears as though they have no voice. Announcements give the impression of very top-down leadership even if you had some of the front-line staff involved in creating the change (intent versus impact).

For people to be engaged in the change, ensure you are seeking input and feedback from those affected. Firstly, before you make a change or set a target condition you should have gone and seen the actual process. Use this time in gemba to get feedback about the problem. I have seen flipchart paper put in an area for staff to add input prior to developing counter-measures to trial. Use staff meetings to ask for thoughts before you start improving.

When developing counter-measures, share ideas with stakeholders or involve them in the trial. Ask them what works or what further adjustments should be made before it becomes the new standard work. Their input will make a better counter-measure and help them be invested the change.

After the standard work gets implemented, have leadership and key coaches on the floor soliciting feedback and providing clarifications. The counter-measure may have some missing pieces that are only discovered after “launch” or people may not understand it enough to follow it. This communication helps your organization sustain the improvement.

Honestly look at your “communication” strategy. Is it really just announcements or are you actively asking for feedback to be seriously considered? Did you bump the communication discussion from every agenda and now stuck in the mode of announcing because a counter-measure is developed and ready to go?

Subscribe to Improve With Me via: RSS| Google Reader| Twitter

1 Comment

Filed under A3, Change Management, Communication, Consulting, Improve With Lean, Lean Hospital, Lean Hospitals, Learn Leadership, Nemawashi, Problem Solving, Project Management, Respect For People

January 15, 2009 · 8:37 am

Book Review: Understanding A3 Thinking

Understanding A3 Thinking: A Critical Component of Toyota’s PDCA Management System by Durward K. Sobek II.

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is outstanding. I initially thought it would be a quick read since the page count is short, but I found myself slowly savoring it. This book is like a good wine where you appreciate the textures and nuances if you take it slow.

I suggest this book to all Lean practitioners, most project managers, people who use data to understand problems and show improvements, people who like to draw, and anybody else that enjoys the thought process behind problem solving.

This is a great next book for fans of THE BACK OF THE NAPKIN. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24203…

The authors offer profound insights to A3 thinking and structure. They also paint a deeper understanding of the thinking at Toyota. I particularly liked the explanation of nemawashi and how the A3 author must return to those where their concerns were not addressed to explain why.

I found the thinking behind data to be fascinating. It is nice to see how much or how little is used. The authors even give a nice overview of Tufte’s graph theories while providing an easy template to choose the best graph to match your communication goal.

For project managers, the A3 project status template is worth exploring. I have used dashboards in the past but this structure paints a better picture while ensuring the organization’s objectives are still being met (projects can chug along way past this simple goal and this report keeps it grounded).

Last but not least, my organization is in the infancy of launching A3 to our mix of Improvement Workshops and Value Stream work. This book offers practical suggestions for starting A3 at your enterprise.

View all my reviews on GOODRADS.