Lean Six Sigma Academy

As we start off the new year one thing is for certain… there will be lots of resolutions stated.

Everything from weight loss to improving the way money is managed will be focused in on for, at the very least, 7 to 10 days.

Yep.  You’ll more than likely fail at whatever you’re setting out to do.  Sorry.  Just trying to speak the truth.

That’s the bad news.  Want the good news?

It doesn’t have to be this way.  Here are some tips I’d like to propose for goal setting, I mean New Years Resolutions.

1. Get Real

If you’ve not worked out for 11 years don’t set a goal to work out for 2 hours every day of the week.  That’s not realistic.

Instead, start small and set a goal to work out 3 times a week for 10 minutes a session.  Then, once you are successful crank it up a bit more and increase it to 15 minutes, etc.

It’s good to be aggressive.  I love aggression.  But it’s even better to be real.  So no matter what your goal is be realistic and set a goal you’re confident you can succeed at.

2. Shhh… Write it Down

Instead of announcing your goal to every friend and Facebook follower you have… just write it down on a piece of paper you will see each and every day.  Perhaps you can tape it to your bathroom mirror.

In other words… this goal of yours belong to one person.  You.  You don’t need to make a big deal about it.  Just set it and go for it.

Having an accountability partner is OK… but I am not a big fan of announcing your goals to the whole world.

3. Think of Others First

Finally, the last tip I’d like to offer you is this.  Instead of focusing on a goal for yourself… why not set a goal to help others in some way.

The fact others will benefit from you just may be the catalyst you need to finally nail that resolution.

And the best part… success is contagious.  So once you succeed at helping others you just may have the motivation you need to help yourself.

What Do You Think?

Do you agree with my list?  What would you add?

The other day my 5 year old daughter said… OK, to be more accurate she whined, “She [referring to her 7 year old sister] got candy… why don’t I?”

Ah yes, my children often remind me of how important fairness and justice are. As such, tonight we continue our Cardinal Virtues and Leadership series with a discussion on Justice.

If you haven’t already, feel free to read part 1 of this series, a discussion on Prudence.

Justice Defined

Like most things, there are many ways to define Justice.

My favorite definition comes from the authors of the Catholic Encyclopedia who state, “Justice teaches us to give to another what belongs to him.” They also state that “Justice requires that all persons should be left in the free enjoyment of all their rights.”

Obviously there is a lot to be interpreted from these statements. So, allow me to offer my two cents on what Justice is and how it applies to those called to lead others.

The Opposite of Justice

When I first think of Justice my mind wanders to the opposite end of the spectrum where I envision young people forced to slave away in poor and unsafe working conditions for extremely low, if any, pay.

There is no justice here. There is only greed and selfishness on the part of the people running this business.

Sadly, I think it’s safe to assume many in this world continue to work in unsafe and unjust environments far more than any of us would like to imagine.

Justice and Leadership

On the other hand, strong and noble leaders of people can practice Justice by practicing what we lean practitioners commonly refer to as “respect for people.” But what does this really mean?

To me it obviously means:

• To always provide safe working conditions.
• To always pay fair wages no matter how much pressure is placed on the organization to increase profits.
• To never discriminating because of age, sex, race, or religion.

I also think it means, perhaps less obviously:

• To expect excellence of all associates, no matter their position or rank.
• To always encourage continued skill development of all associates, no matter their position or rank.
• And last, but certainly not least, a leader can exemplify the virtue of Justice by doing everything in his or her power to remain competitive and profitable by optimizing processes and relentlessly removing waste ensuring the employment of as many citizens as possible.

Justice is Hard Wired?

As I mentioned at the start of this article, children are excellent examples of how fairness and justice seem to be hard wired into our DNA.

In fact, a 2008 UCLA study claimed that reactions to fairness and justice are in fact wired into our brains as they concluded, “Fairness is activating the same part of the brain that responds to food in rats.”

Yikes. No wonder my daughter went nuts on me when her big sister got some candy [food] and she didn’t [justice]… at least not until I caved and gave her some which was only fair now that I think about it.

Photo Credit: 1

“In everything consider the consequences.”
- La Fontaine

A few articles ago I proposed the idea that successful leaders, in addition to being humble, should also practice the 4 Cardinal virtues.

I also committed to expand on this idea with more thoughts on each virtue.

As such, tonight we begin this journey with a discussion of the Cardinal virtue of prudence.

Prudence Defined

There are many definitions of prudence available such as the exercise of sound judgment in practical affairs.

But what does this really mean? More specifically, how does a leader of people practice this important virtue?

Prudence is Not Analysis Paralysis

First, I’d like to propose what prudence is not. Specifically, the prudent leader does not fall into what is often referred to as analysis paralysis.

In other words, while they do take the time to study the facts of the situation they are able, and more importantly, willing to make the tough call once they are confident in the way forward.

In fact, this aligns perfectly with what Jim Collins wrote about in his book Good to Great, as so called Level 5 Leaders almost always exhibit the will and courage to make the tough call after studying the facts.

Think Before You Leap

Now, to be clear, the prudent leader definitely thinks before he or she leaps.

In other words, to be prudent means to make sound decisions after weighing all of the options.

Some say that prudence is nothing more than the avoidance of reckless behavior.  Of course this may be oversimplifying things a bit but recklessness is most definitely an imprudent attribute so perhaps it’s the perfect description after all!

Long Term Perspective

Next, it’s my belief that the prudent leader always maintains a long term perspective when making decisions.

In other words, these leaders make decisions based on how to win the war rather than an individual battle.

As the co-owner of a business I can honestly tell you this is easier said (and written) than done. But, then again, no one said being a leader is easy.

Father of all Virtues

Lastly, St. Thomas Aquinas considered prudence to be the cause, measure and form of all virtues. This is to say without prudence a leader cannot possibly practice any of the other virtues.

For example, without prudence a leader cannot practice the virtue of temperance as it would be impossible to determine if they were being driven by a craving/desire or legitimate need.

What Does Prudence Mean to You?

This is what prudence means to me… but, as always, I am more interested in what you think.

Do you agree with my assessment of what prudence is? Additionally, in your opinion, how does a leader practice this important virtue?

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Our most recent article, Level 5 Leadership, created quite the discussion in the comments section (18 comments as I write this).

As is normally the case, I learned a lot from all the comments. I agreed with some of them and disagreed with others… but one question that seemed to rise to the top was whether humility is something that can be developed?

My initial, knee jerk reaction, was of course it can be developed and I set off to write how this is the case.

Reflection

Then I decided to take a step back and really ponder the question. And during this reflection I was reminded of the central part of my life – my faith.

Specifically, when thinking about humility my thoughts immediately went to the virtue of temperance. Then I was reminded of the other 3 cardinal virtues – prudence, justice, and courage.

The Light Goes Off

And then it hit me. While humility is of course an important characteristic of a leader… it, in isolation, doesn’t come close to equaling the power of the 4 cardinal virtues.

With this said, I’ve decided to dive into each of the 4 cardinal virtues over the next few articles discussing how each of them plays a role in the life of an excellent leader no matter if they are a person or faith or not.

But before we jump into each virtue I’d like to offer a few words regarding the origins of these virtues.

Cardinal Virtues Background

As it turns out, Plato is credited with initially deriving these virtues while theologians like St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine of Hippo went on to expand and adapt them to the ways of faith.

Finally, in case you wondered, the word cardinal is derived from the Latin word cardo, which means hinge.

As such, the cardinal virtues are often referred to as the hinges to which the doors of morality, faith, and I personally believe leadership swing.

Stay Tuned , Subscribe, and Last Chance!

So, please stay tuned to hear my reasoning! And if you have any thoughts on the matter I’d love to hear them in the comments section below.

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Finally, if you haven’t downloaded the LSS Academy Guide to Lean Audio Book please check it out today as we are raising the price next week.  Of course, all profits made go right back into making LSS Academy better than it is today.

In his classic business book Good to Great Jim Collins introduces what he refers to as Level 5 Leaders, our topic in this article.

Humility

To start with, Level 5 Leaders are humble.

In other words, those that Collins and his team of researcher’s labeled Level 5 Leaders rarely, if ever, took credit for their company’s outstanding performance.

Many of them would, in fact, pass their company’s success off as luck or being in the right place at the right time.

The analogy of a window and mirror was also used to describe Level 5 Leaders. Specifically, these leaders tend to always look out their window at their associates when explaining their company’s success while always looking in the mirror when dealing with or explaining how problems arose.

Collins contrasts this with companies that were not being lead by Level 5 Leaders. These companies are often lead by tyrants who tend to blame others (look out window) for their failures while always being the first to accept credit (look in mirror) for any success.

And the blame these tyrants pass off knows no boundaries… employees get blamed, the economy gets blamed, low cost competition gets blamed, etc. Just about everyone and everything gets blame with one exception – the way they personally lead the organization.

The Will to Succeed

The next characteristic Level 5 Leaders display is an unquenchable will to succeed.

These leaders will do just about anything needed to move their company forward… including, for example, the firing of family members and anyone else they feel is not capable of this level of leadership.

I couldn’t help myself from struggling a bit throughout this section since, it seems, there is a very fine line between what Collins is talking about while still maintaining a focus of respect for people.

Of course, while many people speak about how companies like Toyota practice respect for people… what they often leave out is that Toyota leaders can be ruthless as they shun and ignore underperforming associates… which often leads to the underperformer resigning in shame.

Of course, with this said, sometimes people are not in the right jobs and a change is needed for the good of the company and the associate. The key, it seems, is how these difficult decisions are handled.

Additionally, Level 5 Leaders also hold firm to difficult business decisions and are not swayed when others begin to panic and/or attempt to continue status quo.

For example, Walgreen’s former CEO made the decision to move out of the restaurant business while continuing to develop what he felt was their true core competency – their drug stores.

This was an extremely hard decision – and one he faced a lot of opposition to – yet he never wavered. And as a result of this move, coupled with other sound decisions, Walgreens went on to enjoy phenomenal success which they continue to enjoy today.

What do you think?

So, it seems the two primary characteristics of the Level 5 Leader are straight forward – be humble while holding fast to the path you feel is best for the organization no matter how difficult it may be.

I’d like to turn it over to you, are in 100% agreement with this leadership style? Do you think Level 5 Leadership is essential for a company to succeed?

So far in this series we’ve discussed the directing and coaching leadership styles.

In this article we’re going to move onto the last two leadership styles – encouraging and empowerment.

The Encouraging Leadership Style

The encouraging leadership style is similar to coaching but has a few unique characteristics.

While coaching it’s not uncommon to offer direct feedback and advice as to the performance of the individual or team.

Conversely, the encouraging leader does not offer such direct feedback and advice. Instead, they are there to offer their support and assistance when called upon… but rather than coach and guide they are more apt to encourage and motivate.

The encouraging leadership style might be best suited when an employee has the obvious ability to do the task and has proven many times to be extremely reliable.

However, and this is really the key point, this employee really excels when hearing they are doing a great job and are appreciated.

The Empowerment Leadership Style

Finally, the last leadership style I’d like to share with you is empowerment.

The empowering leader essentially shares the task and/or mission and then lets his or her people go. There is little directing, coaching, or encouraging.

Instead, the leader has complete trust and faith in the person or group they are empowering and simply turns them loose.

In Review

Throughout this series of articles we’ve learned about:

• The directing leader who offers strong advice and guidance on what to do.
• The coaching leader who openly listens to and shows interest in the ideas of others in an energetic and passionate manner while also providing regular feedback and constantly monitoring the performance of the person and/or team.
• The encouraging leader who motivates and inspires without a lot of direction
• The empowering leader who turns things over to his or her trusted team

The Versatile Leader

As the title of this series states… I firmly believe the best leaders are those that can apply the appropriate leadership style at the appropriate time.

In other words, great leaders don’t always empower when empowering would be disastrous.  For example, my 7 year old daughter needs to improve her softball skills so ‘empowering’ her to excel at this stage would be fools work.

However, I work with some people who are true experts in their trade and don’t need a lot of coaching but do like to be encouraged from time to time.

And, of course, I also know people who most definitely thrive under the empowerment leadership style of management and anything less is actually counter-productive.

Do You Agree and Final Homework

What do you think? Do you agree with me that a leader should be versatile depending on the situation and person they’re dealing with?

Finally, your last homework assignment requires some reflection.  I’d like you to think back to your “favorite boss or leader.”

Once you have this person’s face in your mind I’d like you to think of how they lead you.  Were they dogmatic or versatile?  I bet I know the answer.

“That’s what I do now: I lead and I teach. If we win basketball games from doing that, then that’s great, but I lead and teach. Those are the two things I concentrate on.” -Mike Krzyzewski, Duke University

In part 1 of this series we learned about the directing style of leadership. Feel free to check that article out before reading this one.

The Coaching Leadership Style

In this article we’re going to introduce another leadership style – coaching.

The coaching leadership style is best described as one where the leader openly listens to and shows interest in the ideas of others in an energetic and passionate manner.

Additionally, the coaching leader also provides regular feedback and constantly monitors the performance of the person and/or team.

Coach K

I am huge Mike Krzyzewski fan. For those that don’t know… Krzyzewski is head coach of the Duke University basketball team.

The thing I’ve always admired about him is how he is constantly encouraging his players while also teaching and demanding nothing but the best of them.

That, in a nutshell is what this leadership style is all about.

A Word of Caution

For some, coaching comes naturally which can, believe it or not, get you into a jam if you’re not careful.

You see those who get “too engaged” in the coaching leadership style often get far too involved and might end up doing the job, or worse yet, the “thinking” for the person or people they are coaching.

So, keep this mind, the next time you set off to coach someone. Your job is teach, involve, and mentor… your job is not to do it for them.

Your Homework Today

You homework today is simple. I’d like you to read as many of these Coach K quotes as possible. I find them truly inspiring.

Coach K or Bob Knight?

Here’s a question for those of you into American college basketball.  Which coach would you want your son to play for – Mike Krzyzewski or Bob Knight?  Why?

There’s one thing I know for sure… being a leader of people is hard work.

No matter if the “people” are those you work with or your children at home… knowing how to best inspire and move them to greatness is no easy task.

However, one thing is certain… great leaders all have one thing in common – they’re versatile. In other words, they are able to adapt their leadership style to the person or situation in front of them.

Along these lines, there are at least 4 different – possibly more – leadership styles that can be used.

And if you’re curious what these are you are in luck as I’ll explain exactly what each of these styles are all about over the next several articles.  So, if you want to be alerted of when these new articles are available please click here and subscribe to LSS Academy.

The Directing Leadership Style

OK, let’s get started.  First we have the directing leadership style which basically means you make the call and people do what you say.

You are not asking for consensus or opinions or alternative ideas. Nope. You are in charge and people better follow.

Sounds sort of harsh, doesn’t it? I tend to agree.

However, if you’re ever faced with extreme adversity (think 9/11) do you want your leaders to ask you to brainstorm for awhile? Possibly “ideate” for a bit? Of course not.

In situations like this we want, and need, leaders to stand up and take charge of the situation.

Additionally, if you are dealing with a new employee or possibly a child, a certain amount of direction is going to be needed from time to time.

Your Homework Today

Throughout this series of articles I’ll be assigning some homework… giving you chance, if you’d like, to practice or at least think about some of the things we’ve covered.

So, today you’re homework is twofold:

1. Seek out someone who is leading with a directing style. Once you locate the person and situation just observe. How is the “other person” reacting to this directive style? Do you feel this style of leadership is/was appropriate for the situation? Why? Why not?
2. Reflect on your own leadership style. Ask yourself how often you lead others, even those you may not have direct “authority” over, with a directing style? Has it been appropriate?

What do you think?

What do you think? Do you agree that a directive style of leadership is appropriate in certain situations? Also, do you agree with me that a leader should be versatile? Or do you feel a leader is what he/she is and they shouldn’t attempt to change?

Balaji, a reader of LSS Academy, recently sent me the following question/comment via email:

Toyota, GM, and Ford are experts in state of the art assembly technology and in implementing Lean and Six Sigma process improvement methods and so on. Then why have GM & Ford failed? Even Toyota closed its branch production units in Japan? Though I’m also one Lean Six Sigma Black Belt I too lost the confidence that Six Sigma or Lean or TPS can’t do anything in this recession period.

Regards,
Balaji.

Correcting Misconceptions

Before getting started, let me first say that I’ve done some research and don’t believe Toyota has closed any production units in Japan. If I am wrong here feel free to comment below with a correction.

Also, before the lean purists get too excited Toyota does not practice “six sigma” the same way companies like GE and Allied Signal do.

With all of this said, Toyota is still struggling these days just like many other companies.

The company is still deep in the red, logging a net loss of 77.82 billion yen (US$817 million) for the April-June quarter.

How can this be?

So the million dollar question is how did this happen? How could the mighty Toyota, the company that “changed the world” with their production and management system, lose money like this?

The Reality of Running a Business

Well, here’s my take on it.

No matter how amazing your production or management systems are or how well you respect people or how conscious you are of the environment… if no one is buying your product or service problems are coming.

You don’t need to be a CPA to figure this out… if your expenses are greater than your sales you’re in for some trouble.

And it goes without saying that people haven’t been buying many automobiles the past few quarters and no one, including Toyota, saw it coming. Perhaps they should have… but they didn’t.

Now, to be fair, Toyota has weathered this storm about as well as any automotive company SINCE they have an amazing production and management system… but they are not infallible. Far from it.

Rise Up Continuous Improvement Practitioners!

So does this mean lean and six sigma practitioners like Balaji (or you and me) should pack up ship and run for the hills until the orders start flooding in again?

Of course not.

Your company needs you now more than ever. Specifically, they need you to:

• Attack the waste that is sucking operating income down the drain.
• Find better ways to manage the inventory that is tying up much needed cash.
• Reduce lead-times that will make you more competitive.
• Partner with your sales and marketing team to see how you can apply lean and six sigma principles.
• Stay positive while working to make things better EACH AND EVERY day even though you might feel like your boss is more focused on other things (like how to make payroll this week).

A “W” Recovery?

This market will eventually turn around. However, I’ve heard some economists claim that we might follow a “W” recovery pattern instead of the more common “V” recovery pattern we often see after recessions.

In other words, things could look better (like they seem to be now?) only to tank once more before the final recovery takes place.

But no matter how things recover one thing is for sure… the companies that work to become stronger during this recession by investing in continuous improvement will be the new winners of the post recession period. This I’m sure of.

What do you think?

Do you agree with me? Do you have any other thoughts on why lean exemplars like Toyota are losing money? Do you agree that investing in continuous improvement is more important than ever in these tough economic times?

I just got done watching this video of Jeff Bezos, of Amazon, where he announced that Amazon has snatched up Zappos. I first saw this over on John Hunter’s blog.

And while this is big news for sure… the thing that I loved about this video were the four things Bezos claimed he knew. In summary Mr. Bezos knows.

1. You must obsess over customers
2. You must invent (on behalf of said customers)
3. You must think long-term
4. And rather than give the 4th away I’ll let you watch the video.  Of course once you see what the 4th thing is you’ll realize you’ve seen it before.

Jeff Bezos really gets it.  He inspires me.  I hope he does the same for you. If you are viewing this via your RSS reader or email you will need to visit the site to see the video.