Lean Connections

Perhaps you too have seen the recent survey by the Corporate Executive Board (CEB). 

Which way out?

Looks like 25% or so of the executives whom surveyed companies have identified as “high-potential” leaders plan to exit their respective companies within the next 12 months. Oops!  (Not sure how they actually got to this number – would you be telling your CEO of your plans to get-outta-Dodge?)  My guess:  the number is probably much higher.

So, is it too late for intervention? Can these organizations salvage the situation? 

The same survey indicates that an additional 21 percent (so now we’re looking at 45% total) of employees today (yes, your employees!) identify themselves as “highly disengaged,” and this percentage has risen, alarmingly, by about 300% since 2007.  Perhaps these statistics would be different today if more companies were doing some basic things a bit better, and if one of the foundational principles of “Lean Thinking,” respect for people, were at the core of their best people practices.

The CEB goes on to describe some tactics which companies might want to implement to re-engage and more effectively manage high-potential employees (though more progressive organizations might actually want to call them associates or team members):

• Stimulate — Emerging leaders need stimulating work, recognition and the chance to grow. If your company doesn’t provide these, they can quickly disengage.
• Test — Explicitly test candidates for internal promotion for ability, engagement and aspiration to make sure they’re able to handle the tougher roles as their careers progress.
• Manage — Having line managers oversee high-potential employees only limits their access to opportunities and encourages hoarding of talent. Instead, manage these high-potential employees at the corporate level.
• Challenge — High potential employees need to be in positions where new capabilities can — or must — be acquired.
• Recognize — High potential employees will be more engaged if they are recognized through pay, so offer them differentiated compensation and recognition.
• Engage — Incorporate high-potential employees into strategic planning. Share future strategies with them and emphasize their role in making them come to fruition.

Now, for you Lean Thinkers reading about these “new” insights, the CED prescription doesn’t really sound all that revolutionary, does it?  Maybe different words, yet very similar to what Lean Leaders actually do when they engage in “manager standard work.”   My guess is that Lean implementation, done the right way with people and continuous improvement in mind (not just thinking about tools), still has a long way to go in most North American companies.  Especially in those which will find the the CED survey and Harvard Business Review article revealing to them something which they apparently don’t already know.

The Shingo Prize:
Guanajuato Manufacturing Complex North Plant, AAM – Silao, Mexico
Interiores Aéreos S.A. De C.V. Gulfstream Aerospace – Mexicali, Mexico

Shingo Silver Medallion:
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company– Lawton, Oklahoma
HID Global – North Haven, Connecticut
Hi-Tech Gears Limited – Manesar, Gurgaon, Haryana, India
Valeo Sylvania Iluminación – Queretaro, Mexico

Shingo Bronze Medallion:
BAE Systems – Samlesbury – Blackburn, Lancashire, United Kingdom
Baxter Healthcare – Los Angeles, California
Fleet Readiness Center Southeast - TSRS Shop – Jacksonville, Florida
Letterkenny Army Depot, Patriot Missile – Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
Red River Army Depot, Up-Armored HMMWV/HEAT – Texarkana, Texas
Ultraframe UK Ltd. – Clitheroe, Lancashire, United Kingdom
Visteon Interamerican Plant – Apodaca, Nuevo León, Mexico

Congratulations, and  may your journey of Lean continuous improvement be a long and sustainable one.

And that’s the way I see it.  Adam Zak