SMARTER STRATEGIES

Four Tips: Going Lean Doesn't Have to Be 'Mean'

Dennis McCafferty | Date: 01-13-11 | Comments

Too often, the concept of "cutting the fat" in an organization casts a negative impression within the ranks. But many lean practices via IT innovation and other methods may actually be embraced�not resented�by employees. A new book from a management expert demonstrates how.

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Four Tips: Going Lean Doesn't Have to Be 'Mean'
When your bosses open a quarterly meeting by announcing that it's time for the company to "get leaner," what's your first reaction? To hide underneath the conference table because your mind automatically assumes that any "lean" directive from above will translate to painful cost-cutting within your department?

This is a perfectly reasonable reaction. But it's not necessarily a correct one either. In the book "The Going Lean Fieldbook" (Amacon), author Stephen A. Ruffa, who is the president of management advisory firm Lean Dynamics Research, demonstrates how organizations can explore lean management opportunities that don't cast a negative shadow within the ranks. The book also illustrates how managers at all levels can implement these practices.

Here are four tips derived from the book to provide guidance to managers seeking to go lean while gaining, not losing, support within their departments:

● Identify what's around you that needs a leaner look. Waste comes in many forms, both physical and intangible. You could be paying for 30 software licenses that only a dozen staffers use. You may encounter costly delays with an IT project simply because nobody knew the vacation/travel schedules of internal/external execs needed to give the sign-off. Or your department could be running up excessive travel costs because the current conferencing tools are considered a nightmare to use. Either way, you need to essentially inventory wasteful practices/resources that are out there before you can come up with a plan to reduce or eliminate them.

● No lean effort works without buy-in from above and below. For certain, you need senior-level management to sign off on your plan. After all, nobody needs a rogue lean manager within an organization. But you also must secure the support of your IT team. Otherwise, you'll emerge as the manager who brags about all the excess waste that the brilliant plan eliminated, all the while force-feeding it upon the workforce. Employees feel alienated by the top-down approach, especially if it means that once-familiar (and comforting) processes/resources will no longer be part of the routine. By defining the reasoning behind a lean strategy�and demonstrating why it will actually serve your team's interests�you'll earn the support you need to make it work for the long haul.

Next: Make Lean a Positive for Employees >>