Toyota is one of the most successful companies in the world, but yet the underlying principles from which their success is based on is often forgotten. So, in this post I would like re-raise Business Leaders awareness of those principles often copied, but for many reasons never emulated. It is a good reminder and mental framework for every business to know, or at least to dig deeper into the true meaning of them and understand what gaps they have in their business improvement model for success.

Toyota 14 Leadership Principles (Taken from Dr. Deming’s original work)

1. Long term Philosophy, Vision…

Base decisions on long term at the expense of short term financial gain

2. The Right Process WILL produce the right results…

Focus on continuous flow of value, create standard work to remove variation / waste and make repeatable.

3. Use PULL to avoid Overproduction…

Produce only what is needed, when it is needed by next process, material replenishment JIT to visual trigger

4. Level out the workload (Work like tortoise, not the hare….)

Eliminate 3M’s, smooth workload – Takt, Flow 1 x 1, Pull

5. Build a culture of stopping to fix problems, to get Quality right first time…(Quality at Source)

Build into equipment detecting problems, auto-stopping, Andon for help, immediate fix and root cause analysis.

6. Standardised tasks and processes are the foundation for continuous improvement / engagement

Use stable, repeatable methods and clear standards, to create stability for flow and Pull, Best practice capture & PDCA

7. Use Visual Control so no problems are hidden…

Use simple methods to help people see deviations from standard quickly, avoid using computer screens to report information at the frontline, enable results to be seen at POU and reduce reports to one A3 piece of paper. 

8. Use only reliable, tested I.T to support your people and processes…

use technology to support people and eliminate waste, but work out manually first before adding technology.

9. Add value to your business by developing your people…

Grow leaders from within, rather than buying in, Leaders must be the role models and understand the work to teach, coach and support the value adders…inverted triangle / servant Leadership

10. Develop exceptional people and teams who follow the company’s philosophy…

Create a strong, shared culture, in which company values and beliefs are shared, create strong teams and empower

11.Respect your extended network of partners and suppliers by challenging them to improve…

Help suppliers and partners to improve and see them as an extension of you, challenge them

12. Continually solving root problems drives Organisational learning…

Go and See yourself (Genchi Genbutsu), solve problems by personally going to the source, observing, veriyfing, testing, not theorising or superficial understanding, includes senior leaders.

13. Make decisions slowly by consensus, thoroughly considering all options, implement quickly…

Do not pick a single path until all alternatives explored, practice Nemewashi consensus building

14. Become a learning organisation through relentless reflection (Hansei) and CI (kaizen)…

Once established a stable process, use CI tools to determine the root cause or inefficiencies and apply effective countermeasures, design processes to minimal inventory and kaizen waste. Learn to standardise each process, not reinvent the wheel with each new project, or manager.

The word Lean conjures up many images and is exactly how it appears in our mind and how it sounds i.e. a picture of fitness; ripped, shredded, defined, optimised, maximised, efficient, healthy, no fat or waste, trim, and a highly toned physique.

Whether you associate with or are describing an elite athlete, a fitness model or a body builder with ripped muscles or even when describing animals such as a greyhound, gazelle, cheetah, a horse, or even a piece of lean meat, we often use the adjective Lean to describe it. Why? Because it is the best word that describes and sums up the characteristics of what we see and think i.e. fit, fast, agile, powerful, strength, flexibility, high performance, endurance and stamina to name a few.

So, if that’s how we think of the word Lean, what does getting Lean for business mean? Well, it is exactly the same; it is a streamlined, optimised, efficient and effective business that is free of waste (fat), and adds maximum value to its customers through its processes, systems and people. It is a business that is highly tuned and high performing with great results and identifies and solves problems quickly and like muscles, the ability to grow further with more exercise and repetitions through work outs. A Lean body requires an overall holistic approach to improvement, no different to a business i.e. Toyota and many other companies use an overall system and approach for improvement based on the relentless pursuit of waste and continuous improvement and always striving for that next level.

So, the question is not necessarily what is Lean, although it is useful to define it, the question is how does one get and stay lean as it doesn’t happen on its own or overnight. In sport, fitness or body toning / sculpture terms Lean is a function of a process and regular pattern or habit of working out, training, developing and building the muscles through repetition of standardised motions and controlled exercises. It is knowing the right technique to maximise muscle growth and putting the right fuel in the body to stimulate the growth. It is a continual cycle of breaking down the muscle fibres and stimulating in different ways that helps the growth and improvement in definition.

It is also a continual and gradual process that has to be repeated over and over. You have heard of memory muscle haven’t you? Well, we don’t go to the gym, lift weights or run for an hour and we get Lean, the same as we don’t have one coaching session to become Roger Federer or play guitar once to become a master (mastery is the mother of repetition).

It is the constant learning, practice and training that is key and the level of effort and intensity during workouts to get results and pushing yourself or having someone push you. It is also about setting goals i.e. everyone that works out has goals they set; could be to run faster, jump higher, lift heavier weights or do more reps to meet their lean goals of a bigger chest, bicep, shoulders, etc.

Each repetition being another chance to work and grow the muscle and doing this with quality in mind because form in a work out is key to get best results and quality in business also makes a huge difference. Each time the muscles are exercised it is adding value and improving performance towards your internal vision of the ripped and fit and healthy body (Mmmm, sounds like a business process). Often, to keep going and working out requires motivation and sometimes external motivation to hold us accountable.

An important part is measurement to see progress and improvement. Having the right measures is critical as otherwise we may be measuring the wrong things i.e. some lagging indicators and leading indicators and because measuring weight alone is not always the best measure as lean muscle weighs heavier than fat, so you may think you are putting on weight, which is fine but for those with a mindset of losing weight is the goal, you may then think it’s not working. Of course, measuring growth and improvement is essential to see progress and against your goals in both business and fitness.

Another important element is constant feedback. Seeing positive changes can help motivate, build momentum, incentivise and fuel the want for more (no different to how we need to build the need to change in a business context and constantly act on feedback from results to experiment and improve a process). Feedback also helps us to understand what is good or what is not working / adding value and make adjustments.

As muscle grows through adding more value and through working out we start to lose weight or burn fat. Fat or excess waste starts to reduce and the Lean body starts to take shape with a more toned, defined look (No different to a business process, as we remove waste, we add more value and it then takes less time and effort overall).

In addition, with good diet or input of fuel combined with continued workouts of high intensity, the body’s metabolism increases. This then makes it easier to burn more fat and keep Lean whilst aiming for the next goal…like business striving for perfection is it the journey that never ends and for continuous improvement there has to be that dissatisfaction of the status quo to create further action by setting new goals. We can always be fitter, faster, trimmer, and therefore there will always be a gap between where you are now and where you want to be, this is the gap between our current state and goals so we can always have something to aim for. It is self- perpetuating motion towards your targets and again no different to how a business needs to operate.

However, as most people who go to the gym, everyone knows what success looks like but achieving it is not easy which is true for every big goal in life. It requires a high level of commitment, dedication, discipline and focus to train, eat well and constantly hydrate. It also requires working on the whole body or system as opposed to just one exercise i.e. biceps. Getting Fit and Lean is a holistic effort, of mind and body (same as business) because the mind controls the body and this is often overlooked.

It is the mind that needs to recognise the need for improvement to get Fit and Lean and it is the mind that will try to rationalise with you when it gets tough and want skip training, eat bad food or just give up. The success factors are building fitness into your lifestyle so that is isn’t something we do every now and again, it just becomes our habit, routine, ritual and part of what we do (again, no different to business improvement). This is the hard part and why we need a coach to keep us on track, keep us accountable and aligned with our vision and goals and remind us of all the benefits.

In just this simple example we can start to see that creating a Lean business is similar to getting a Lean body and these are just a few of the similarities…we could go on…we have to work out to improve, set goals, measure progress to visible targets we commit to, get and review feedback often to make adjustments, make it a practice and daily habit, build standards into the process and standardised methods to ensure quality, introduce ways to sustain the gains and not fall backwards, add value for every repetition or cycle and learn from this, build Lean muscle in business meaning people, develop them to help you work out in your business (I’m not talking about a gym here, I mean improve your business with their creativity, innovation, constant search to add value).

Having everyone understand what needs to be achieved (20 reps per minute!!), working on removing the waste and creating more value adding activities, buddying up with people in business, like in the gym to make it easier, push each other and strive for more, or even better, get a coach with experience who can take you through your paces and has been through it and got the results you want. Like getting Lean in the gym, it also requires the upfront planning and preparation to give you the best chance of success I.e. a fitness test to see your current status and level, your workout sessions planned, when, what exercises and mix, a strategy to fit with your goals and when you will have rest days or cheat days to keep you going like motivating your business team.

The fundamentals of getting Lean and Fit in body is like getting Fit and Lean for business. I am sure there is a lot more we could add to this example but I think you could imagine the rest for yourself and compare how the mindset, workouts, exercises, training regime you and your business may need to do to get Lean and Fitter for peak performance and results. More than anything it will make you feel good, look good and have all the benefits.

Working on the mind is as important as the body so both together is key i.e. did you know that visualisation helps to focus on what it is you want, and your mind will lock on to this image to become it, and you can actually stimulate muscle growth through just thinking about it, of course to get the results we all want, you have to do the hard yards, but it can help to motivate.

It is also the mind that will decide what you do i.e. push harder or not to do that extra rep or sprint, it is the mind that will either set easy goals or stretch goals for each exercise, it is our mind that be the first to say, enough, this is not you or have your friends tell you it’s not working for you and listen to them, or decide it’s not working fast enough and give up. The point is with either fitness or business you have to give it enough time to improve and get results, you have to be persistent, try different things, and remind yourself that problems, fears, doubts and obstacles are inevitable, it’s how you deal with them that matters.

You get what you put in and how you do anything is how you do everything. Focus on the roots, not the fruits I.e. in Lean we need to look at and focus on all of the below the line, invisible things that cause, aid and support the muscle growth for it to happen, it is this compounding effect of lots of factors underneath the surface that make the difference not just the lifting weights. Remember, the results you have today are based on your decisions, priorities, commitment and actions to date…the question is how are you going with that? Are you reaching your goals? Do you keep giving up? What is your mindset leading to how you think and what you do? Did you ever stop to think it could be you?

If you want to get fit and lean for business or yourself, or you need a fitness test/assessment for your business or a strategy and plan to get you fit and lean, a coach to help you get back on track, or tune up your mindset, then get in touch and we can start to help you get lean and stay lean. 

CUSTOMERS (No.1) – Provide amazing value to get Sales growth

We believe that Customers is what drives the existence and profitability of a business….as without Customers there are no Sales and without sales there is no revenue stream and eventually no business is sustainable once expenses start to outweigh income and cashflow is negative.….this is fundamental for survival and it is a basic truth that the more customers, the more demand for products or services and the more prospect of growth and profitability.

This means there has to be a major importance and bias towards marketing, advertising and promotion of the business to leverage, attract and create leads, capture them and convert to sales. Asking what customers want and trying to ensure you make every effort to design and deliver what they require is again a basic step even though sometimes customers may not know what they want until they see it….it is a paradox.

Of course once you understand this, you are able to develop products and services that meet what  your customers want, then comes the need to continually provide this value, ensure and improve the service experience and continually aim to deliver a ‘wow’ factor above and beyond your competition to create raving Fans.  This is the basis for service excellence that totally exceeds most customers expectations and delivers a power punch to ensure anyone that has experienced your service is going to come back and tell all of their friends.

PURPOSE – With a big enough WHY, the HOW becomes easy…

To be successful in business requires a reason or purpose to start one and ideally over and above just wanting money which is why some people start a business. A better place to start from is often a place of service to Customers with the thinking that the more you can serve, the bigger and better your business will become due to the huge demand, which means if operating profitably, the money will soon follow.

It is a subtle shift in thinking but when things get tough, money may not be able to provide that x factor internal motivation, inspiration, passion and drive to really get through the turbulence and it is better to be built on a firmer foundation such as a higher purpose to fulfill an ambition, reach a big goal or a passion that is fueled by making a difference in the world, creating a better community or serving more people and customers with what you believe is a product or service they must have.

If you are the sole owner of the business you might have the passion and enthusiasm for your vision to be attained but you can’t do it on your own. In which case you not only have to have the mission, vision in your minds eye but be able to effectively articulate and communicate this in a way that is just as inspiring and engaging to others. The reason why is because otherwise you will be rowing in a boat going around in different directions because no one is a) aligned b) don’t care and c) are not engaged to do anything more than the job they were asked to do i.e. not connected to a higher purpose and not feeling part of anything bigger than just a job.

Having a deeper purpose and a more meaningful understanding of the end goals, why it matters and sharing in that vision is what makes the difference and inspires people to help you AND help everyone recognise where they fit and how they contribute to this BHAG and be able to describe it to others for further recruitment of help.

Part of this is not just the vision, but being able to create a strategy and plan to get there and in communicating it effectively. There also has to be a method to cascade goals and objectives and even break down to weekly and even daily tasks that are going to help reach your destination with a system of Quarterly, Monthly, Weekly, daily tasks that are aligned and add up to the overall goals of the business. This is an absolute fundamental so that not only is the road understood but the route-map is clear even though driving towards on the journey may be a rocky one.

PROCESSES – Standardised, optimised, and repeatable for delivering value to your Customers

Processes can cover a whole multitude of top level value streams to deliver value to the customer or it could be processes at a real basic level that describes how to do tasks in the best possible sequence, to the best standard to get the right results every time, consistent and repeatable. it could also mean all the varieties of processes and systems that exist and interact together to receive orders, prioritise orders, schedule orders, fulfill orders, take payments, or it could be the raft of policies and procedures that mandate certain things for compliance, laws, legislation, etc./.

However, the way that we look at processes is to understand what are the real key value adding and value creating activities that help deliver your core products and services to customers in the fastest time whilst taking care of safety, quality and cost by having simple, repeatable, consistent, optimised processes. If lead-times can be reduced the customer gets their value quicker, less inventory maybe required, the business gets paid quicker (cashflow), and potentially less resources are required for that area but can be used in a more value adding capacity somewhere else. This is the ideal but of course murphys law suggest that it’s not always that way. In which case there also needs to be standard practices and processes that are put in place to risk manage when things do go wrong or even better, systems that make everyone aware of the problem quickly so they can react earlier and not let the customer down (internal and external customers)

PEOPLE – Engaged Leaders & people, motivated, empowered to help solve the problem gaps

People are at the heart of improvement, in fact Employee engagement defines an organisation’s destiny. There are four key characteristics that form the structure of a truly successful business – sustainable profitability year on year, intensely loyal customers, great leaders and passionately loyal employees that go the extra mile. It is that last one that we firmly believe ultimately defines an organisation’s destiny. True employee engagement is worth its weight in gold and as this is the area where like to put focus on because it is a huge opportunity to improve performance….it is as means to an end but also developing people is less costly than hiring, firing and all in all builds a better environment for people to grow and flourish.

The lean tools serve as a catalyst to engage and inspire people to improve the business, learn and develop into better leaders and help change and shape the business towards its vision and purpose. Without people engagement and feeling empowered, important, encouraged, trusted, involved, supported and fulfilled the lean tools will deliver little in the long term as they are built on quick sand and its likely after a short period there will be nothing but a wasteland of tried and failed artifacts to show lean was here!

However, it has to be said that employee engagement comes from leading by example and it has to breed through the organisation like a viral infection to really change a culture en masse. This requires leaders to take responsibility to engage, inspire and support the value adders by removing the problems, issues, obstacles and hurdles that make value adding a harder task than it should be. It requires leaders to care, and it follows that if your leaders aren’t engaged then performance will fall like a set of dominoes i.e leaders first and then their teams as no one is holding them up and everyone is actively disengaged. Of course, life is not a bed of roses and there will never be everyone happy as problems will always exist, but the aim of the game is to make it a much better environment to work, a more harmonious team and what follows is better performance and results. it is like a cause and effect system.

So a pre-cursor to great leadership and employee engagement is based on the strength of the vision, the buy in to that vision, the communication and passion to reach it and clear goals and targets where everyone understand the importance of reaching or beating the goals. When this is known and people are reminded each day about how what they are doing (hard or easy) it creates a deeper meaning and desire from inside (intrinsic motivation) to keep moving towards that goal, especially when reward, recognition and the right incentives are part of that journey. However, like people who do community work, charity work or volunteer, certain people are not chasing the dollars but feel a responsibility and need to contribute as much as possible. This is when you have true employee engagement but beware don’t take people for granted.

 PERFORMANCE & RESULTS (Improvement in SQCDP leading to Profits, NPS, People satisfaction, Customer Satisfaction, Productivity and Cash Flow)

We treat these together because they are the result or outcome of the other 4 imperatives. They don’t all work in a straight line but like a set of gears where one can be working better than the other but in general there is still leverage to get better results from less input or excelled results with even more input if everyone is performing to their best.

When we talk about performance we also mean good planning, good preparation and the right inputs to be able to perform at your best. This could be looking after yourself, eating well, ensuring hydration, having a good mental disposition from meditation, working out so the mind is feeling fresh and ready for challenges. It could be a combination of mental, emotional, spiritual and physical factors that can help improve performance of an individual or even more importantly, leveraging teams to perform better. If you understand how to help teams get from forming, storming, norming into performing quickly then and keep them improving then this is a serious competitive advantage for your business but if dysfunctionality, conflict, poor communication or personality clashes occur then you need the ability to see this and address it early.

SUMMARY

All In all, when we understand our Customers better, have regular feedback and develop relationships with them to keep improving value for them, we understand our purpose and real reason for being in business is to deliver better value for customers and keep innovating and creating better services and products to generate MORE money to fund even MORE value and service then this is the first 2 steps for business success.

The next 2 is to ensure streamlined and optimised processes are created and continually improved to make value flow to the customer easier and keep seeking out the waste that gets in the way of adding value and frustrates people, adds cost time and energy as well as developing people, skills, knowledge and constantly engaging people, challenging them and helping the grow to their potential this will lead to the last 2 Performance and results in improved safety and ergonomics, better Quality, reduced costs, better delivery to customer and in turn this will positively impact the top line and bottom line through customer service and satisfaction, lead-time reduction, less returns, increased productivity and better cash-flow.

Sounds complex, but when you understand the big picture and how to tackle it…its actually quite easy.