Daily Kaizen

Group Health had an amazing opportunity a couple of weeks ago to learn from Sensei Imai thanks to the Kaizen Institute.  Joan DeClaire a senior communication manager from Group Health Research Institute attended and wrote this blog to share her reflections.  Thanks to Joan and the folks from Kaizen Institute. 

Because Group Health Research Institute Director of Operations Helga Ding had a conflict, I got to attend a “Knowledge Forum” hosted by Group Health’s Improvement Promotion Office a few weeks ago. The guest speaker was Japanese Lean expert Masaaki Imai, founder of the Kaizen Institute and author of the first book on Lean management.

At age 81, Mr. Imai is known as “the father of continuous improvement.”  At age 55, I often feel like its rebellious stepchild. Maybe that’s why Helga pegged me for this event. I’m not the most Lean-leaning manager at the Institute. Nor am I anti-Lean. It’s just that I manage a small communications team that’s constantly chasing deadlines. Who’s got time to continuously improve? But I do continuously crave sushi, and this was an after-work event with appetizers. So I schlepped down to GHQ, hoping for wasabi and fresh tuna.

Michael Erikson, interim executive vice president of the Group Division Practice, kicked off the event with an overview of Group Health’s “Lean journey,” which began in Laboratory Services in 2004. Next, the Health Plan Division embraced Lean before it spread through Primary Care. In fact, Lean was a big part of Group Health’s success at expanding the patient-centered medical home to all 26 of it medical centers, Michael said.

Then he introduced the guest speaker, using words like “master” and “sensei” (Japanese for teacher). Wearing gray pinstripes and a dignified smile, Mr. Imai set out to describe several high-level precepts of Lean thinking.  He didn’t say a thing about visual trackers or the size of A-3 paper stock. There was not a white board or yellow sticky pad in sight. But there was something quite familiar to me about his presentation.  It reminded me of lessons in “mindfulness”—a philosophy that I’ve been studying outside of work for the past five years or so. The connection between Lean and mindfulness may be old news to many of you. But Helga asked me to share my impressions, so here are my take-aways:

• See change as a good thing. Mr. Imai explained that the word “kaizen” (used interchangeably with “continuous improvement”) comes from “kai,” which means change, and “zen,” which means good.  “The Kaizen spirit encourages thinking about how to change, rather than why it can’t be done.”
• Don’t wait for the perfect solution.  This reminds me to let go of the illusion that I can make everything flawless.  If I seek perfection, I’ll feel overwhelmed. Better to do what’s actually possible to bring about positive change right here, right now.  Said Mr. Imai, “Seek improvements right away, even if you’re only 50 percent on target.”
• Ask “why” five times. This helps get to the root cause of problems, Mr. Imai said. And, of course, I’m thinking, “Five times? That’s a lot of thinking!” But such persistence and commitment could allow me to see things as they really are. Am I really ready for such clarity on the job? Are my co-workers? What about our bosses? “Wisdom comes from facing hardship,” said Mr. Imai.
• When you solve one problem, you will see ten more.  And this is a good thing because….?  Oh, right.  Because it might actually help me find more solutions!
• Use Lean to go green. “Because Lean uses less space, less equipment, fewer people, and less time to produce maximum output, it’s a way to be nice to the good old earth,” said Mr. Imai. It may also lead to kindness for my good old staff. “If you don’t want to work weekends and holidays to meet your goals, do Kaizen,” he said.  Many Americans don’t appreciate this, he added.  They believe we need more money, more time, more resources, and more staff to solve our problems. “If you have no money, use your brain,” said Mr. Imai. “And if you have no brain, sweat it out!”
• Be present with your co-workers and staff. The Leanophiles say, “Go to the Gemba,”—a Japanese word that means “the real place.” “The most sacred place in management is the Gemba,” said Mr. Imai. “This is where value is created.” In fact, Japanese police detectives call the crime scene a “Gemba.” Mr. Imai asked, “Did you ever see Colombo sitting at his desk waiting for a report?”  Of course not. He needed to see the reality of the work before him with his own eyes.
• Practice Lean every day. “Kaizen is everyday improvement, everybody improvement, everywhere improvement,” Mr. Imai said. Everything in the Gemba deteriorates if you don’t pay attention, he added. Even sustaining the current status requires effort.  But if you pay attention daily, your efforts naturally become part of long-term improvement.
• “Seek the wisdom of ten people rather than the knowledge of one.” That was one of my favorite quotes. I suppose everybody who accepts Lean management finds their own reason to value it. And maybe if we share our perspectives with each other, we’ll all become a little wiser.

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