I just finished working with one of our clients on a communication package (a la change management) for keeping the steering committee informed of the way ahead. He is responsible for supporting the implementation of Operational Excellence along with his colleagues on the steering committee. He has done a great job to date with communicating the strategy to his front line folks. I wanted to share three things they did right:
1. Make the lean strategy a positive and uplifting thing. To often, organizations wait until they are backed into the corner to communicate the strategy. While you may be using lean and OE as weapon to fight bad times, you want to make sure folks see it as an offensive and active weapon, not a passive one.
2. Keep it really simple. Only share what you know for sure. Many of our clients try to outthink us and attempt to paint a detailed plan for the way ahead. That will come through master planning, but for now, your frontline folks just need to know that you are being deliberate and being transparent. Lean - in some areas of the country and the world - has a negative connotation that comes from "lean and mean" thinking, cutting folks, focusing on costs and numbers of projects, etc. Communicate the right stuff, simply.
3. Make sure folks know that the WAY you are doing business today WILL change for the better. Change will be hard, but if it is planned and managed well, it doesn't have to be painful. Avoid the (fill the in name of your company here) Way AND the OE/ Lean Way trap. The way ahead is only the OE/Lean Way. The old (company) Way has to go. Convey the singular purpose at this point in time to set the stage for the change.
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