Lean Engagement

Lean Engagement from Lean Sensei's newsletter Q1 2014 issue

If you are a typical organization, you likely struggle immensely with the whole concept of employee engagement.  Discouraging, yes, but true.  Please allow me to explain, and keep in mind that I care about you and want to help you and your business to succeed.  First, I must admit that my research is based only on a “small” sample size: a few thousand managers, a few hundred clients, dozens of business leaders, and multiple industry sectors.  Yet despite these logistical limitations, patterns have emerged in overwhelming regularity.  Yes my lean friends, I have come to the conclusion that most organizations don't really measure engagement well or even understand what it is.  I have seen companies and government agencies equating and measuring engagement through employee surveys, job satisfaction scores, retention rates, and other symptoms that represent a complex set of employee relations issues muddled together in a satisfaction score.  Frankly, these measures fail to get to the root of why people stay or go.  I see many initiatives intended to build team morale that have nothing to do with real work in the gemba.  Sometimes I see hard-nosed managers press their staff and criticize them relentlessly, oblivious to the resulting disengagement. I also see executives and managers pandering to employee whims and apologizing for organizational shortcomings to improve engagement scores, while ignoring needed action to improve business effectiveness.  Sorry, my job is to point these things out, even though few leaders like to hear it.  Thus, the topic for this blog is building real employee engagement. 

It seems many businesses would be happy to ignore the truth about employee engagement.  The stark truth is that engagement is not about having employees feel good about what your company does for them.  It is not about knowing the names of your employees spouse, children, dog, cat, and goldfish.  Yes, you have to care for them, but in the context of what a man or woman can do and how you can help them do it.  It is about employees intrinsically feeling good about making a contribution to your company.  “Wow wow wow!”  That is what we need—a big paradigm shift about what engagement really is.  Let me state this emphatically - from a lean perspective - engagement is about feeling that you are making a difference in the company you work for.  It is not about feeling that someone else is making a difference for you, or gives your trinkets because you are an employee!  It helps if the difference you make is explicitly understood and recognized at the time you make it.  It hurts if someone tosses a few general platitudes out to everyone after the fact without ever acknowledging your specific work, and then HR organizes another company picnic so you can burn another Saturday in an attempt to feel good for the team.   Hmmm.  Time to check the rear view mirror.

I suggest a fundamental re-definition of "Engagement" is needed if we want genuine positive feelings and retention of good dedicated employees to persist.  Here is the key premise: Engagement = the degree to which employees demonstrate a shared destiny with the organization by proactively solving the problems of the business.  Lean engagement is not simply about employee happiness.  It is about commitment to mutual destiny and actively fighting for the business.  It is about working together with your manager, peers, staff, and cross-functional teams to make ‘how you do work’ better.  So from this perspective, voluntary participation in problem solving teams and kaizen activities is the purest form of engagement.  Yet very few companies measure and celebrate problem solving engagement.  Taking ownership of processes and seeing improvements through will not only get results, but will build mutual trust which improves all those employee relations issues, and reduces the relevance of many predictable employee relations symptoms.   

So what are the implications for leaders to promote an engaged workforce?  Here’s a secret ten-step engagement program that any manager can do:

(1)    Stop relying on employee surveys and start having real 1-on-1 “real” conversations with your team

(2)    Find out what makes them upset and frustrated more than anything else at work

(3)    Make sure you and they understand the root cause of the dissatisfaction

(4)    Figure out how to solve it, or who has already solved it (but don’t tell anyone that you know)

(5)    Equip your team to solve it; ask the right questions that will cause them to discover solutions on their own; be delighted in the creative ideas they come up with and assess them objectively

(6)    Coach them through solving the problem, clearing roadblocks but letting them take the lead

(7)    Congratulate them for solving it, and show how it helped the business and the customer

(8)    Ask them how they can pass on what they learned; get them to tell their story

(9)    Have them take ownership of the new standards, and re-training / maintenance of those standards as inevitable changes are realized

(10)  Follow-up to ensure their kaizens do not fizzle out, and their efforts are not diminished.  Show pride in their accomplishments, not your own.

If you do this (or are doing this already), you are actively building engagement.  If you are not doing this, what are you doing?  Whatever it is, please don’t call it engagement.  Have a look at the ten points.  There are always a couple of them that leaders recognize that they can do better.  Commit to doing it.  Engage.

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Making Training Stick

In today’s business world, making training ‘stick’ is extremely important.  How many times have we encountered organizations that, despite having the best intentions, fail to ensure that training of new behaviors is adequately reinforced and monitored to bring about an acceptable return on investment?

In today’s segment, we look at how one of Canada’s most iconic companies takes on the challenge of making training stick – how to enable training to lead to improved performance in their organization.

 Jeff Adams, Managing Director of Continuous Improvement, at Canadian Pacific (CP) recently answered questions about his company’s approach to ensuring that CP Lean Blackbelts properly utilize their new skills to execute continuous improvement in the workplace^*.

LEAN SENSEI: What do you expect from a Lean Blackbelt once they have completed their training?

JA:   When we send someone through the Lean Sensei Blackbelt program, our intention is that the individual become a practitioner and coach in CP – that is their full-time role.  This role is a significant investment, both in time and resources.  And the cornerstone of that role as coach and facilitator is the Lean Sensei Blackbelt program. 

LEAN SENSEI:  What lean behaviours do you expect to see?

JA:  We need to see those lean principles into action. When the individual comes back to CP, it’s a different environment; it’s their regular, working environment.  Going to a training program is what we call an antecedent.  So, you’ve gone to a training program, you now understand the content, and we wouldn’t have sent you if you weren’t highly motivated to utilize and execute that content. Simply going to a training program, however, doesn’t guarantee that you will go on to use what you’ve learned and practice it properly and fully.  Training does not guarantee any change in behavior.

Training, like a traffic sign or job instruction, is what we call an “antecedent” in that it precedes the desired behavior.  If you look at the impact of antecedents on behavior, just because someone knows what to do, just because they are motivated to do it, does not necessarily mean that they will end up executing the behavior.

It’s been well proven that antecedents – in this case, training – only has about a 20% influence on whether they execute the behavior or not.  What actually determines behavior and repeating behavior are the consequences from performing that behavior – consequences influence 80% of behavior.

LEAN SENSEI: Can you tell us about CP’s approach to ensuring that a Lean Blackbelt actually continues to demonstrate the desired behaviors for continuous improvement after their training?

JA:  Many of us have been through programs, and have been sent for training in different companies and in different roles.  People are often sent for training but come back to an environment that doesn’t support that new content.

At CP we are very focused on reinforcing that new content and reinforcing those behaviors.  My Directors and I developed a behaviour and results assessment that we use to evaluate a Blackbelt’s performance and on-the-job compliance.  We are looking for demonstrated, sustained performance in these new behaviours and concepts back at CP.

When they demonstrate the behavior properly, we give them positive reinforcement by pin-pointing exactly what that behaviour was and why it’s important.  When they don’t, we provide constructive feedback by identifying the undesired behaviour with the person, pin-pointing the desired behaviour, how to meet the requirement, to get into a routine and internalize a sustained habit.  

A different way to describe it would be that LSI certifies the person has fully met the knowledge and skill requirements, then we at CP certify the person who is actually performing at that level back in their full-time role.  While LSI does a terrific job in Lean Blackbelt hands-on training, LSI can’t be present back at the day-to-day job to ensure those skills are utilized and continue to build – that’s my role.

LEAN SENSEI:  What happens once someone has consistently demonstrated the behaviours enough to be considered “certified” as a CP Lean Blackbelt?

JA:  First I must mention that it takes about six months for someone to successfully demonstrate that they have internalized and sustained the behaviours.  That does include executing and facilitating lean philosophy and tools, but it also includes specific behavioral psychology and communications training and with follow-up performance assessments as well.

At that point, we plan an event to recognize that accomplishment with their peers and senior management, and award them with two very important items.

The first item is a lovely professionally-framed certificate naming the person, describing the accomplishment and it’s meaning to the company.  Each certificate is personally signed by the President of Canadian Pacific Railway.  So there is a very definite message from top management about the importance of that accomplishment and the role as a CP Lean Blackbelt.

The second item we give them is a game figurine, unique to that individual.  It’s professionally mounted inside a display case with their name and “CP Lean Blackbelt” engraved, and is accompanied by a description of that figurine’s name and personal attributes (with translation from Japanese provided by LSI).

Jeff first discovered the figurines on a Lean Sensei Lean Benchmarking Japan trip at the famous “Tokyu Hands” department store.  As Jeff describes it:

JA:  I wanted something that would reinforce the experience of the Blackbelt training through Lean Sensei and, in particular, the experience of Japan.  I consider the shop floor level visit of Japan to be the single most important module in all of the training – it has a profound impact on the Blackbelt’s outlook and attitude.  So, for that reason, I wanted something that was representative of that experience.

What is unique about the figurines is the dozens of characters and that they are not available in North America.  By selecting a figurine with a certain character, we could somehow connect the character to the individual receiving that particular figurine.  And while the figurines have low tangible value, they have high emotional value – because you can’t get them in here and you can only earn one in this way.

LEAN SENSEI:  Are you the one who decides which character is matched with a certain Lean Blackbelt?

JA:  No, it’s not up to me – a small team of us sits down to determine which game character reminds us of the CP Lean Blackbelt candidate.  And the choice must be unique for that person – no two people are awarded the same figurine.

The chosen character is then sent to CP’s promotional products provider who makes a base and an acrylic cover, mounts the figurine inside along with an engraved plate with the person’s name and title of “CP Lean Blackbelt”.  

Then we plan a celebration to present both the framed certificate (signed by the President) and the special character.  

LEAN SENSEI:  How does CP go about celebrating the full certification of a CP Lean Blackbelt, and how important is that celebration?

JA:   The celebration is extremely important and means a great deal to the individual.  Each person can see the President has personally signed their certificate – that’s a clear statement of the value and respect of their work to the company.  Each person also knows their peers have selected their figurine – a clear statement of camaraderie with and respect of their team mates.

The purpose of a celebration is to share the story of that person’s accomplishment with their peer group and leaders who have all been through the same challenge.  Then we recognize that accomplishment permanently through the certificate itself and the game figurine.  Since we usually have our entire team together two or three times a year for business purposes, we use those times as opportunities to celebrate these accomplishments.

Jeff Adams’ department was one of the very first at CP to take on this rigorous approach to making training stick.

LEAN SENSEI:  How has the response been to this approach back at CP, in the wider organization?

JA:  It’s being adopted in other ways across the organization when it comes to training – or perhaps a better way to say it would be that it’s being adopted in what happens after training.  Training is only about 20% of the influence on successfully driving the behavior.  The consequences are 80% : If the behaviours are supported and sustained and  if they are reinforced, then people have begun to form new habits.

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Lean is Not Just for Manufacturing

This week Calgary/Edmonton is wrapping up their training with module 3 of Greenbelt. While on the Island we are conducting an in-house program for a financial institution.

Speaking of lean banks, last year, First West was our feature company for our newsletter. A copy of this article is below. To ensure you don't miss out on what's on the cutting edge of lean, sign up for our newsletter, released quarterly.

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Recently, Lean Sensei International interviewed Launi Skinner, Chief Executive Officer of First West Credit Union.  With $7.1 billion in assets, 1,300 employees and 171,000 members, First West is B.C.’s third largest credit union.  As a forward thinking credit union, this financial body is a unique model for their industry, having maintained local names and leadership at each of their operating units following the merger of Valley First and Envision Financial.  Traditionally, credit union mergers entail name changes and hierarchical recalibration.  However, First West blazed a new trail when it decided to maintain the local names and local leadership to fulfill the vision of developing an organization where each employee would be empowered to be part of the solution every day.  It is this very vision that makes Lean a natural fit for First West.  First West’s Lean journey, is not only a Lean success story but a hallmark of successful Lean deployment in the service industry.

Lean, a Natural Fit

Skinner explained how First West first came to embrace what Lean could do for their organization.
First West was first introduced to Lean Sensei International three years ago.  First West’s board chair, at the time, had worked previously with Lean Sensei and was a firm believer in how Lean had transformed his own business.  As an organization, First West had people who were well versed in Business Process Improvement or in Six Sigma but aside from the board chair, no one in the organization had extensive knowledge of Lean.  Following the initial meeting, First West met with other organizations who had partnered with Lean Sensei and learned about the value that Lean had brought to their organizations.  It became apparent that Lean was indeed the way to go.

The Role of Leaders with Lean

In consultation with Lean Sensei, the executive team and Skinner put together a three-year plan with the first year addressing education of the board and executive team.  As role models of the organization, the executive team participated in Executive Lean training to understand more about Lean, its relevance and how the methodologies could be applied to a financial institution.  Every year since then, First West organizes development days to have executives “go to the gemba” and work directly on projects that address issues facing the organization.  The executive team is actively involved with Lean, participating in kaizens at regional offices, branches and insurance offices.  The CFO and his team have participated in two kaizens and Skinner has been part of two kaizens this year as well.

Adding Value Back to the Organization

Skinner points out that often people want a single metric to measure Lean and prove its effectiveness.  However, when companies decide to embark on the Lean route, they need to understand that starting Lean today does not mean that you will see improvement the next day, at least from a linear cost perspective.  Lean is holistic.  As an organization, you become more efficient in terms of how you determine efficiency.  First West has experienced process improvement, time improvement and they have gained the capacity to become more innovative and give more value back to members (customers).  Time that was once wasteful goes back into the organization and allows for the development of an arguably more sophisticated organization.  The organization now has the capacity to develop the business further and enhance their staff’s leadership and problem solving skills.  Going Lean has made each employee a stronger individual in how they make their decisions.  On the business front, the number of commercial loans has increased significantly and teams have been developing many new innovative product and service initiatives that bring direct value to members.  All of these initiatives have been accomplished with the same number of employees.

Overcoming Hurdles

Skinner emphasizes that Lean is a commitment.  If you believe that the biggest opportunity for your future is to have an organization with a workforce that is empowered, you have to commit and you have to invest.  This may require you to determine what you are willing not to do in the short term to build up capacity.  You have to see where the short-term need is versus the long-term.  For us, we would not be able to do what we are doing today if we had not adopted Lean principles.
When First West began doing Lean, their people were excited and they completed a number of kaizens.  However, the organization soon realized that they needed to manage the total pipeline of activity.  Coming to this realization was also a trigger to create a vehicle of communication.  Currently, the organization has about 75 concurrent kaizens.  At any point in time staff are able find information on current projects and their leaders, the people involved and the progress of the project.  Communication across the organization is part of engaging employees and recognizing them as an integral part of organizational success.

Lean for Service

When implementing Lean in a service industry, there are three main areas in which service organizations differ from manufacturing organizations.
Language
Connect the dots through the use of semantics that are more meaningful to transactional processes.  For example, the term process-time is used rather than cycle-time.
Frequent turnover and larger workforce
The workforce is a dynamic component for service organizations.  Retailers, for instance, hire hundreds to thousands of people and inevitably experience higher turnover.  First West found that there needed to be levels within Lean.  For example, it was more appropriate for some employees to have only basic Lean training (Lean 101) while others needed the more comprehensive Blackbelt training.  The depth and breadth of training needs to match the frequency and the way that employees will be leveraging Lean tools in their role.
Non-linear processes
For service companies, there are many processes around how you deliver service and there is more flexibility within processes.  There may be three or four decisions that need to made at once, not only the next one.

Sustainment and Beyond

First West has worked diligently in the past three years.  Their partnership with Lean Sensei was integral to keeping the organization focused and having the guidance necessary to help steer the company in the early stages of the Lean journey.  The adoption of Lean practices and a focus on empowering every employee to be a part of solutions on a daily basis has allowed Lean Sensei to now step back.  Although Lean Sensei is still a strategic partner with First West, the organization is well poised to tackle many challenges on its own.
First West sustains Lean through continued engagement on the organizational level, the executive level and the individual level.  Each employee must identify a Lean goal as part of their annual goal setting.  At the leadership level, each member is responsible for taking 20 goals and translating them into three to five meaningful targets.  Then, as a team, each person commits to making the Lean goals one of the team targets.  This approach exemplifies the depth of First West’s commitment to Lean and their dedication to bringing increasing value to members.
Skinner describes First West as a Lean organization.  Going forward, they aspire to be the leader of Lean organizations.  They would like to bring their passion for Lean and member service to their suppliers, vendors and other credit unions.  It is their goal to transform the entire credit union industry.

PULL!

We are about halfway through the second quarter- almost time for Lean Sensei's quarterly newsletter. If you are not on our mailing list, sign-up by emailing info@leansensei.com

Our newsletter includes lean advice rotating between our knowledgeable coaches, a feature highlighting a lean share from one of the many great organizations we have the honour of coaching, updates on upcoming programs and more.

Here is a past article by executive coach, Andrew on one of the fundamental concepts of lean, pull.

Pull What?

As any Greenbelt will tell you, PULL is about producing and supplying only what the customer needs. Pull remains the first and most powerful paradox in the Lean world. How can stopping and re-starting work possibly be more efficient than running flat out and using every drop of time available? Well, now we know that it is true—the minor time wastes of stopping and starting pale in comparison to the major wastes created by overproduction, excess inventory, obsolescence, and long lead times. Companies that truly practice PULL not only reduce inventory, they also create a framework for kaizen. When inefficiencies are not hidden by a sea of inventory, the logical thing to do is to shorten set-up times, reduce change-over times, build more flexibility into operating schedules, better manage staffing levels, cross-train people, and become more nimble as a supplier of goods or services. Operating a pull system means you need to build stability and predictability into your processes and your supply base, because you won’t be hiding behind a sea of inventory any more. In this way, Pull and Kaizen go hand-in-hand. The mechanics of pull are not all that difficult. Right? Well, we coaches see a lot of failed attempts, but there is always a silly deviation behind every failure. Failure is not a chance occurrence. Usually it is because of fruitless attempts to re-invent the wheel. You don’t gamble with the pull system. Unless you are running a job shop with inconsistent material inputs, you can make pull systems work for you. Please take advantage of the lessons learned when setting up your pull system. Use the LSI checksheet! It will guide you, like a ship’s compass to treasure island. Continuous improvement applies to pull systems as well. You need to revisit your pull system and make regular adjustments to ensure it is indeed pulling.

 

PULL Is the New JIT

One of the questions coaches often get asked when we talk about pull systems is what happened to Just In Time (JIT)? Is pull the same as JIT? Well, yes and no. Yes, JIT is about reducing inventory and having just what you need at a workplace. Back in the day, I was all over JIT. I saw the future and wanted to put JIT in place everywhere. I wanted to make change. They called me a JIT disturber. They said I had JIT for brains. They even called me a JIT head. I got over it. Much like the Lean world got over the word “JIT”, and replaced it with Pull or Replenishment. You see the problem with JIT as a Lean term is that it implies something arrives just in the knick of time. It confuses people because they might think there is nothing there; no inventory at all. Then, suddenly when it is time to start work, materials magically appear. We know that isn’t so. And good luck with trying this folly through Enterprise Resource Planning. So the real winners understand that Pull is best accomplished by replenishment. Never forget the ‘supermarket’ analogy. There is some product on the shelf, consumers take it and the stock level drops. Before the day is out, the stock gets replenished. So great pull is not really JIT. We now talk about Pull and Replenishment and Supermarkets and Kanban.

Kanban and Triggering Pulls

Which brings us to the final element of Pull systems—Kanban. OK, let’s get this straight. You pronounce it “Kahn Bahn”. Not “Can-Ban” (eeew, shudder). Now that we have that out of the way, let’s keep it simple. Kanban is simply a signal to replenish. Yes, we can add complicating factors like production kanban (signal to make stuff) and movement kanban (signal to move stuff) and internal kanban (signals that are only communicated within your company) and external kanban (signals that go to your suppliers or come from your customers). But the premise is all the same. We need a good clear signal: 1. What item is needed 2. What quantity it is needed in 3. Where to deliver it. That’s kanban. Keep it simple folks. Start with a simple 2-bin system where the value of parts are not in the top 20% of your spending, and get the flow going. Slowly expand to higher value items where more kanbans and smaller quantities can reduce overall inventory levels. Actively manage the number of kanbans for seasonal levels and major customer demand level changes. And where you can, attach the cards to the bins that hold the parts. Use “Bin-Ban” wherever you can. For suppliers, use “e-ban”, where you email the kanban signal to the supplier (unless you are using re-usable bins that go back and forth to the supplier). Get the mechanics of kanban working well, and you too will Pull ahead with your Lean program. So now we would like to Pull in some feedback and insights from you, our attentive audience. Go on and send in your thoughts and comments on Pull.

  -Coach Andrew.

Lean Roots

Lean – Made in Japan, Born in the USA

We often associate Lean with everything that is good about Toyota or the Toyota Production System (TPS). For some of us, the mystique of Lean may even include all things from Japan and everything about the Japanese people. Looking back in time, however, many of the foundational principles of Lean were not so Asian and were actually born right here in our own backyard.

We know how Henry Ford’s assembly line or flow production transformed the manufacturing process and revolutionized transportation and the American industrial landscape. We also know of Edwards Deming’s “plan-do-check-act” and his teachings to Japanese managers during the post-war period.  Ford and Deming’s work had a significant impact on Japan’s reputation for producing innovative and high-quality products in the 60s and 70s. However, the most significant contribution to TPS that is rarely talked about these days may be The Training Within Industry or TWI service model which was created by the US Department of War, and ran from 1940-1945. The mandate of the TWI service was to provide consulting-style, train-the-trainer service to war-related industries in order to increase the production output to support the war effort. You can read Jim Huntzinger’s article The Roots of Lean[1] for an in-depth study on how TWI had such a profound influence on Lean as we know of it today.

The TWI service identified the Five Needs of the Supervisor:

1.    Knowledge of Work

2.    Knowledge of Responsibility

3.    Skill in Instructing

4.    Skill in Improving Methods

5.    Skill in Leading

These skills were taught to supervisors and experienced workers through training sessions which included:

1.    Job Instruction (JI) – Based on the credo: “If the worker hasn’t learned, the teacher hasn’t taught”

It provided guidelines for trainers to coach inexperienced workers so that they can work according to the standard.

2.    Job Methods (JM) – The underlying goal was to empower workers by having them evaluate their own jobs objectively and analytically on factors such as efficiency, safety, quality, quantity and cost.

3.    Job Relations (JR) – Provided guidelines for supervisors to handle workers fairly and with respect under the principle that “people must be treated as individuals.”

4.    Program Development (PD) – For trainers (Sensei) to continue training others to solve production problems.

The TWI program was well received in post-war Japan and formed the basis of the Kaizen and Standard Work culture in industry, particularly at Toyota. Harnessing this mindset and incorporating Taiichi Ohno’s Just-in-Time concept and Sakichi Toyoda’s principle of Jidoka are what resulted in today’s Toyota Production System and the Toyota Way.

I’m certain that there are some people who feel that it is difficult to become a Lean organization without having the “cultural roots of the Japanese” - well think again! For starters, many of the key components of Lean that are familiar to us such as Kaizen, Muda, Sensei, Gemba and JIT actually have their roots in North America - but were adopted, evolved, and improved in Japan.

In North America we tend to prefer controlling over engaging, commanding over coaching, adding/subtracting over improving, which makes the environment more difficult for lean. We’ve got let go of our need to control our people. Instead, engage them in making their jobs better through kaizens and develop them through proper coaching and mentoring. By making them part of the solution to the problem, the chances of a more effective sustainment will be much greater than if they were simply told how to fix it. This approach is the essence of TWI which played a significant role in the evolution of the problem solving and people developing culture at Toyota. And what are the results after just a few short decades? According to Fortune’s list, Toyota is the eight largest company in the world by revenue as well as the largest manufacturer in existence.

All this is not to say that we do not have great role models locally. Some exceptional organizations such as Medtronics or Dell Computers are present day manifestations of North America’s lean roots. Fortune magazine named Medtronics on their list of 100 Best Companies to Work For.  Access to some of Medronics’ best practices is accessible to you through Lean Sensei’s Florida Benchmarking tour. Of course you would have figured out by now that our Greenbelt and Blackbelt programs were designed many years ago based on the fundamental TWI principle of “train-the-trainer.”  The objective of these programs has always been the same: to prepare and develop people to become a true Sensei to others and eventually reach out to the entire globe.

Go Transform The World!

Coach Bob

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[1] The Roots of Lean – Training Within Industry: The Origin of Japanese Management and Kaizen by Jim Huntzinger
http://twi-institute.com/assets/Uploads/Documents/articles/04-Roots-of-Lean-TWO-Origin-of-Kaizen.pdf

Lean Sensei's Newsletter Released!

Here at Lean Sensei we have a quarterly newsletter and our issue for the first quarter travelled to inboxes across the globe yesterday.

Newsletter Contents

Coach's Corner, a regular column in our newsletter delves into one specific lean topic. This column is rotated between all of our coaches so you can bet that this column will provide you with a wealth of useful and practical information. This quarter, Executive Coach, Andrew authored the column with a topic on Lean Engagement.

Feature Company is a reoccurring column that comes from interviews with one of the many organizations we are coaching. In this column, the organization shares highlights and learnings from their lean journey. It is a great learning tool and way to learn about other local companies that like you are striving towards becoming world class lean organizations.

Upcoming programs here we showcase our most popular, new or returning by popular demand programs. You can always refer to the calendar on our website for all programs.

We also have occasional contests with great prizes that range from having the honour to name our mascot to free spots to select lean workshops.

Keep on the cutting edge of lean and email info@leansensei.com if you would like to be included in our newsletter (e)mail-outs.

Click here for the online version.