An intrinsic part of lean thinking and practice is the scientific method – Plan, Do, Check, Act. At this time of year, our attention turns to “C” – the “Check” stage in PDCA. Reflection (the Japanese call it hansei) is a Check process. It’s a fundamental part of learning and continuous improvement. Did we do what we expected to do from our plan? If not, why not? What worked well, what do we need to improve? Did our plan help us achieve our purpose? If not, why not? What are the gaps we still need to close? What are we going to do next year?
So, what did we at LEA plan to do this year? As a not for profit organisation, we were established by Dan Jones to deepen our understanding of lean and then spread it to every sector and activity. We don’t want to do lean to people – for lean to stick we need people to become self-reliant in lean. Hence our purpose:
Our Purpose: We are a not for profit organisation, established to help customers become self-reliant on their lean journey. Through research, products and services we provide better, faster and cheaper ways to learn and improve.
Our plan for 2021:
Our plan for 2021 included the following objectives:
Learning:
In our Learning value stream we wanted to develop action research:
- To equip leaders with the ability to identify and solve problems.
- Into capability development – in particular how to develop teamworking.
- To improve performance management in an organisation.
- In terms of one practical case using tried and tested lean methods to a current issue.
Teaching & Coaching:
In our Teaching & Coaching value stream we wanted to develop:
- One webinar on each of the 5 dimensions of the Lean Transformation Framework and run at a cadence of once/month.
- 7 level 1 modules and 1 level 2 modules in our Lean Learning Journey platform.
- A blended online/onsite process that can be configured to specific, situational customer needs.
Sharing:
- Produce one blog article/month on a relevant topic.
- Write 4 articles for Planet Lean.
- Launch 3 new books in our store.
- Publish regularly on social media to grow awareness and community.
- Launch our Lean Learning Journey platform as a subscription process, reducing the cost to our customers.
In addition, we incorporated things that came along that were in line with our purpose. For example, we participated in the recent Lean Global Connection event.
Here is how we did when we conducted the check stage in PDCA versus objectives during 2021 and what we learned:
Our plan for 2022
So, onto 2022. Our purpose remains the same. We are a not for profit organisation, established to help customers become self-reliant on their lean journey. Through research, products and services we provide better, faster and cheaper ways to learn and improve.
What that means is we are researching how organisations are using lean thinking, doing our own action research into better ways of using lean, and codifying the lessons learned. The research acts as an input enabling us to develop learning processes and learning materials to share with our community.
In our Learning Value Stream we want to conduct research with the focus on improving value effectiveness for customers, improving productivity and having a positive impact on the climate change agenda.
- To this end we will continue action research:
- To equip leaders with the ability to identify and solve problems.
- Into capability development.
- To improve performance management in an organisation.
- Using lean thinking to help solve the environmental challenge we face.
To support customers in being more effective with their efforts, in our Teaching & Coaching Value Stream we want to:
- Develop 6 new webinars on lean topics, running a webinar once/month minimum.
- Introduce 4 new subjects to our Lean Learning Journey platform.
In our Sharing Value Stream we want to continue to share what lean thinking and practice are about. Where it came from, what benefits it brings and provide customers with accurate, valuable material that helps them deliver value to their customers and develop their continuous improvement efforts:
- Produce one blog article/month on a relevant topic.
- Write 4 articles for Planet Lean.
- Relaunch our Summit process (either in person, virtually or a blended event.)
- Conduct publishing experiments to explore new mediums for publishing content to widen the reach of lean thinking and practice.
Lean Learning Journey platform
Tying all these activities together is our Lean Learning Journey platform. At the end of 2021 we launched a subscription offer to support customers to cost effectively pull the right learning materials at the right time, at the right amount to suit their situational needs. In 2022 we will expand that offer to enterprises, further supporting individuals and organisations in their desire to learn about and practice lean thinking.
If you would like to learn more about how to partner with us in any of these endeavours then we welcome you to contact us at [email protected]. Thanks to all of you that support what we are doing. Have a peaceful Christmas and we wish you all the best for 2022.