Success Comes from Iterations of Improvement

Plan and lead multiple, inter-related improvement projects within a value stream, including iterations of improvement within a single area or portion of a value stream.

Practitioners; Tactical, integrative, and strategic

The two thoughts that surface first for me when I read this OpEx TopEx are multi-generation-project-plan, and George Koenigsaecker’s rule of 5X. When I site the 90% failure rate associated with lean implementations I am beginning to sound like a looping Instagram reel. Here is one more piece of evidence that I would add to the list of reasons for that failure rate. To plan and lead multiple, inter-related improvement projects within a value stream, including iterations of improvement within a single area or portion of a value stream required a duration of commitment that can and does change an organizational culture.

Let me begin with George Koenigsaecker. In his book Leading the Lean Enterprise Transformation, he dives deep into the cultural phenomenon associated with his rule of 5X.

“Every restudy takes you to a new level of performance and is profitable by itself. After you have gone through every value stream five times, you will typically have removed about 90 percent of the waste that you started with, and you will have reduced errors and defects by 90 percent, reduced time to provide the product or service by 90 percent, reduced the needed labor by 80 percent (yes, 80 percent!), and reduced accident rates and member turnover rates by 90 percent. (Koenigsaecker, 2013, p.49)”

Is it possible we will give up too soon? In my time working for George, I experienced these outcomes firsthand. That is part of my experiential learning. I know this is true and therefore, I do not submit to the urges to quit. The real power of this rule, however, lies in the culture that is born from it. Once you have experienced this, you cannot operate in any other way.

Iterations of Improvement

The idea of a multi-generation project plan comes from another organization that not so ironically worked with the same sensei that Koenigsaecker did. Understanding the need for generational experimentation comes straight from Ohno and Shingo. Committing to three, four, and five iterations of improvement is how we create a learning organization.

Every restudy uncovers something new and carries us forward. The culture of continuous improvement gains strength from every win that is achieved. An MGPP is a commitment to continue to pursue perfection and to grow an expectation within the team to solve the problems they face every day in their work.