It’s time to admit that one of my consulting approaches has failed.
I’m a huge fan of Paul Akers’ 2 Second Lean philosophy. It’s simple, easy to understand, and has an intrinsic appeal: “fix what bugs you.” “Figure out how to do your job two seconds faster each day.” Who wouldn’t sign on to a lean program that promotes that mindset?
So off I went to my clients, with Paul’s videos embedded in my PowerPoint presentation, ready to show them how 2 Second Lean is the answer to their productivity problems, their low employee engagement and morale scores, their mediocre customer service, and their too-high defect rates.
And I failed.
When I look back at the clients I introduced to Paul’s method, I have to be honest and admit that a more traditional, kaizen event-driven approach would have served them better. 2 Second Lean didn’t hurt them, but they didn’t reap the rewards that they wanted, and that I promised.
I missed the most obvious fact: 2 Second Lean is simple. But it’s not easy. The commitment required of the president is enormous.
If you want to follow in Paul’s footsteps, you really have to follow in Paul’s footsteps. That means that you have to be a relentless, maniacal cheerleader for lean. You have to be at the office nearly everyday, talking to everyone, asking them to show you their improvements. You have to make videos of every little kaizen, and show them to the whole company at the daily huddle. You have to celebrate—loudly and visibly—every single improvement, no matter how small, every single day. You have to be more excited about the improvement than the person who’s actually made it.
How many presidents/CEOs are willing to make that commitment? Not many. Travel gets in the way a lot. There are other meetings to attend, other issues to address, other decisions that only the president can make.
So the president misses a day, or two, or a week. He supports 2 Second Lean, but he doesn’t lead it.
If you’re trying to get the kaizen flywheel turning from a dead stop, you have to constantly put energy into it. You can’t build momentum if you slack off even for a moment. At best, employees will assume that the president doesn't really care that much about 2 Second Lean—it’s nice, but it’s not as important as their day jobs. At worst, they’ll decide that it’s just another flavor of the month, and they’ll wait for it to go away.
There are people who understand this. Paul has a host of acolytes who have embraced and succeeded with his approach. Their companies are doing great—they’re growing profitably, and they have terrific employee morale. Day by day, they’re building wonderful businesses. These leaders have committed wholly and completely to the daily care and feeding of the kaizen mindset. They talk to all employees about their latest improvements, and they celebrate and share all the kaizen work that’s being done in their daily meetings.
My mistake? I didn’t adequately determine whether or not the presidents of my clients were willing to make that commitment. They all liked the idea of 2 Second Lean, but they weren’t willing to dedicate the time, effort, and energy to getting the lean flywheel turning. That was my fault.
As a consultant, it’s important to live in the world of the possible, not the world of the desirable. It’s incumbent upon me to tailor an approach to the constraints of a given situation. If a client is willing to follow in Paul’s footsteps, then great. If not, it’s my responsibility to find a different approach.
Lesson learned.