Leaders on Lean

Perspectives from the Operational Excellence and Business Transformation Leadership Summit

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Today’s Biggest Challenge:Sustainability As one speaker at the event noted,organizations currently find themselvesat an interesting crossroads withrespect to lean initiatives: whileadoption rates of lean programs arehigh, overall satisfaction levels withlean programs are less than satisfactory.Exploring the reasons behind thisphenomenon was a major objective ofthe summit. Based on the inputs ofthe executives in attendance at thesummit, the overarching cause ofmuch of this dissatisfaction stems fromthe challenges in ensuring that leanprograms are sustained once theenthusiasm and successes oftenassociated with the initial launch of alean program start to fade. The insightsshared during the conference revealedthat the challenge of how to sustainlean initiatives is closely tied into thetendency of many organizations toinitially focus on deploying lean toolsand techniques at the expense offocusing right from the outset on thechange management dimension ofdeploying lean. More specifically,while many organizations do a goodjob using lean tools and techniques toquickly generate some initial leansuccesses, they do not take the parallel

steps needed to instill the requiredbehavioral change at all levels in theorganization. This behavioraldimension is essential in ensuring thatpeople think and work differently andcontinue to focus on lean in the longterm. Experience has shown thatwithout this behavioral change, leanprograms cannot flourish and prosperin the long run.

The debate led to a consensus that partof the issue of sustaining leanprograms lies in the challenge of“managing the right way”. Too manyprograms miss or undervalue the needto change, improve or radically re-design, deploy and implement a newmanagement system that connectsstrategy to operational execution anddrives daily, weekly and monthlyreview cycles utilizing the full PDCAcycle – Plan, Do, Check, Act. Withoutthis process and discipline, leanprograms can become disconnectedand end up relying more on fate thenfact to obtain the ongoing results.

Strategies for SustainabilityThe need for organizations to bringabout behavioral change in order toensure the long term sustainability oftheir lean program raises the obviousquestion of what strategies canorganizations deploy to achieve thisgoal. The discussions at theOperational Excellence Summitprovided valuable insight into thisquestion and in summary, fivestrategies were repeatedly identifiedduring the event as forming the keyunderpinnings of sustainable leanprograms:

1. Leaders in the organization have tolead lean initiatives by example.Naturally, this may require

On March 3rd-4th 2010, Capgemini Consulting hosted 175 seniorexecutives at the Operational Excellence and BusinessTransformation Leadership Summit in Les Fontaines, France. The executives in attendance came from a variety of industriesacross the manufacturing, services, public and healthcare sectorsand were typically senior executives responsible for leadingcontinuous improvement programs within their respectiveorganizations. Consequently the perspectives provided by thesummit attendees provide a valuable insight into both the challengesorganizations are currently facing in deploying lean programs and the successful strategies leading organizations are using toovercome these challenges. This document provides a summary of these challenges and strategies.

behavioral changes for both topexecutives and, equally importantly,for middle managers. For seniorleaders in an organization thisbehavioral change will includesetting guiding principles thatestablish ideal behaviors and thenensuring that these guidingprinciples are reinforced andingrained throughout theorganization over time. For middlemanagers the behavioral changemay entail a new focus on ensuringthat management systems aredriving the right behaviors amongsttheir reports.

2. Promotion and retention of thoseassociates who possess deep leanexpertise is critical. This will ensurethe lean DNA of the organization ispreserved and send the rightmessage about the importance ofthe lean program to theorganization. Related to this, whenselecting change agents to drive leanprojects in the organization, topcaliber high performers should bethe ones chosen and cycled every18-24 months through strategicallypositioned roles.

3. A lean program must be driven by acompelling burning platform that willresonate throughout the entireorganization. This burning platformneeds to be clearly linked to overallstrategy and should also clearlyreflect the future intent of theorganization. Consequently burningplatforms that focus solely on costshould be avoided, as these aredifficult to mobilize the organizationaround in the long term and oftentaint the program as a “headcountonly” exercise.

4. Technology must be agile andresponsive enough to support anorganization’s lean agenda. For thisreason lean innovators haveincorporated concepts such as LeanIT and Service OrientedArchitectures into their IT strategy.As an illustration, Capgeminishowcased the potential for lean inits own Outsourcing andTechnology Services businesses –for example through improving thedesign and launch cycle for ERPsolutions like SAP by eliminatinginterface delays – as a rich and newenvironment for improvements inefficiency and effectiveness.

5. A lean management system should bea fundamental component of any leaninitiative. As discussed below, such asystem will provide the glue that isrequired to pull the process andpeople improvement aspects of alean initiative together.

Ensuring Sustainability with LeanManagement SystemsThe final strategy mentioned above forfostering sustainability in leanprograms relates to employing a leanmanagement system, such asCapgemini Consulting’s BeLean®

Management System (BLMS), as a keycomponent of any lean program. SinceLean Management Systems representan innovation in the lean portfolio it isworthwhile to briefly elaborate onwhat is embodied in this concept. Aswas discussed at the OperationalExcellence Summit, a leanmanagement system such as BLMSenables continuous improvementthough a constant, disciplined processthat entails planning, monitoring andmeasuring events or processes. It isabout constantly reviewing those KPIs

Leaders on Lean: Perspectives from the Operational Excellence and Business Transformation Leadership Summit 3

Capgemini Consulting is the strategy and transformation consulting brand of Capgemini Group

that define the success or failure ofachieving business plans or objectivesand then taking action accordingly.This requires the use of suchtechniques as Integrated OperationsPlanning, Short Interval Control andEscalation and Visual Managementthrough an Information Center.Benefits are typically achieved throughthe following:

�Closed loop planning and execution– to ensure plans are delivered

�Full KPI cascade from managementto operations – driving ownershipdown at the operational level (wherethe value is created)

�Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and PlanDo Check Act (PDCA) are integral atall levels of the business

�Using management informationeffectively to control the business atall levels

Conclusion At the conference kick-off, thekeynote speaker, Rene Carayol,challenged the executives inattendance with the thought-provoking rhetorical question “Whywould anyone want to be led byyou?”. This question proved to beprescient as the subsequentdiscussions, presentations anddialogues repeatedly came to the sameconclusion: successful lean is aboutsustainable lean and sustainable leancan only come through effectiveleadership. Specifically, this manifestsitself as leadership that leads byexample, sets a burning platform thatthe organization can rally around,allows lean leaders to emerge at alllevels of the organization and ensuresthat the right tools, technologies, and management systems are put in place to enable the success of thelean program.

About Capgemini Consulting

Capgemini Consulting is the Global Strategy andTransformation Consulting brand of the Capgemini Group,specializing in advising and supporting organizations intransforming their business, from the development of innovativestrategy through to execution, with a consistent focus onsustainable results. Capgemini Consulting proposes to leadingcompanies and governments a fresh approach which usesinnovative methods, technology and the talents of over 4,000consultants worldwide.

For more information: http://www.capgemini.com/services/consulting/

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