Number 135 – Set Goals for Improvement Efforts

Set Goals for Improvement Efforts Across Value Streams

Practitioners: Integrative, and strategic

One of my favorite books comes from George Koenigsaecker.  His classic work, Leading the Lean Enterprise Transformation, comes to mind when I read today’s OpEx TopEx.  One way to set goals for improvement efforts across value streams comes from this very influential volume.  Specifically, his N/10 rule.  I often speak of pace as a critical variable to success.  Koenigsaecker says:

The N is the number of people in the value stream being worked on (or in the total site under transformation or in the total company, if an enterprise-wide transformation is under way).  Dividing the population by 10 (n/10 rule) gives you the approximate number of annual events required (that is, weeklong teams of six to eight people, studying and improving a process within a value stream). (Koenigsaecker, 2013, 62-63)

When goals are set too aggressively, too many initiatives are introduced, and too few are completed.  When too few are selected, the improvement agenda never achieves any momentum.  Pace is also a function of bringing a team along.  The pace of a project is set by the slowest member of the team.  If anyone is left behind, the probability of sustained performance is reduced significantly.  Pace could be one of the most impactful variables that we have to consider.

To set goals for improvement efforts across value streams does not necessarily mean improvement increments.  If the culture takes on a sense of permanence in terms of improvement efforts, establishing increments could create a barrier.  For those of you who practice Kaizen, how often does the next opportunity reveal itself through the project?  One project leads to the next in my journey.  If the experience is positive and impactful to the team, after 4 or 5 iterations, you can never rid yourself of the improvement mentality.  This is a reference to Koenigsaecker’s rule of 5x. (2013, 48)

Set Goals for Improvement Efforts

When these two rules work together, we have a permanent culture shift.  This requires first a shift in leadership presence, and to build trust and respect in your organizational culture if it does not already exist.  You cannot have participation without dignity.

If your improvement efforts are falling short of your expectations, perhaps a SMPL assessment is in order.  A brief examination of the impact and effectiveness of the four systems will tell us exactly where the gaps exist.  That is always the first step.  You cannot improve what you do not see.  Once you understand the gap, addressing it is much easier and brings quick and significant change. 

Questions For Your Consideration

Do you have improvement goals for your value stream?

How to you track these efforts?

What is the expected time between improvement projects?

Does the pace of change support sustainable improvement?

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