Our expertise is focused on people, product and process. We work with you to ensure that improvement becomes a continuous part of everyone’s core activity and not a series of ill-defined, unfinished initiatives. Our model shows the dimensions of the journey towards operational excellence and incorporates our influences into what we see as the key element to success: a holistic approach to improving and maximising operational performance.
First – “We are on a mission from…”
The foundation for our approach is incorporating a learning and implementation culture into your vision and leadership. Self-respect and communal respect should extend across your organisation’s total network, internally and externally. To build this foundation, you need to stabilise your current activities and demonstrate your commitment by ensuring a safe environment for all.
Find the value, and you will know where to focus your continuous improvement and activities based on cost, quality and delivery. The diagnostic review must provide fact-based analysis to identify and map the journey.
Second – “To struggle and to understand. Never the last without the first”
This emphasises the need to develop the self and others, who in turn will gain the belief to contribute and allow their potential to be seen and utilised. Implementation must be focused and methodical, or your people will quickly become exhausted by the volume of issues that appear before them.
A large array of tools and techniques are well proven in support of quality improvement and lean transformation, but the key to it is ensuring that you use the appropriate tools and you start to link and flow processes throughout the organisation.
Third – “Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure”
There is no opt-out clause. Alignment, alignment, alignment. You need to face this full on and ensure that the team is fully behind the mission. At this stage, the team have experienced some successes but also hit barriers that will quickly frustrate. The power of the team generates the belief to break through. Significant enablers can be derived by challenging core competence preconceptions and new product developments that sweep away inherent problems.
Innovations will solve problems – consistency will deliver – standardisation will sustain.
Fourth – “As good as it gets?”
Ultimately, the pursuit of excellence is never ending, but great results will be achieved along the way and will continue as long as all leaders remain aligned and continue to drive and demonstrate the behaviours that deliver. Focus on the customer and on simple, visual measures that connect to each of the teams. Analyse and commit to turn around the losses. Enjoy and celebrate the wins.
Communicate, communicate, communicate.
What’s behind the model?
“Great artists copy, but geniuses steal.” (Picasso)
“Models are representations of a more complex reality. Models help us to represent, communicate ideas, and better understand more complex phenomena.” (Quinn, Faceman, Thompson and McGrath 1996)
We are proud to acknowledge the influences of a number of management models and theories in our approach of how to help improve your business. In particular, we have utilised the lessons from elite performance in sport, management theories on contingency and adaptive complex systems, the teachings of Dr Shingo, the principles established in the Toyota Production System, and Womack and Jones’ concept of ‘Lean Thinking’.