Theory Into Practice: Our Work to Avoid Ineffectual Implementations
Two-thirds of corporate improvement programs grind to a halt because of their failure to produce results, according to a McKinsey report. Despite spending nearly $100 billion on initiatives such as TPM, Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and others, efforts to implement such methods generally failed to produce results.
The ability to learn about these improvement methods is not a significant barrier, but successful implementation certainly is. For example, according to a 2003 survey, nearly 60% of aerospace executives remained dissatisfied with their Six Sigma programs.
Our clients are often frustrated by the gap between what they know they can do and what actually happens in the cut and tumble of real business. We find they often need guidance and help implementing sustainable cultural and process change together.
Indeed, there is a huge difference between companies that use the tools (SMED, Six Sigma, Lean and many other flavors of alphabet soup) and those that change how people think. Great organizations like Toyota and Federal Express uses a “system” to engage everyone in improving their operations—it becomes the way they think.
This even applies to humble 5S: many companies have programs, but few use it to its fullest, as a means to change a culture. Great 5S arises when people no longer think about tidiness and organization—instead, they think about finding and eliminating waste. 5S makes waste visible, and once a cultural change occurs, everyone can see that waste.
Our task is to help our clients move from simply applying the tools to changing the way that people think and are engaged. In changed organizations, it's amazing how many people are involved and really committed day-to-day to solving problems and driving change. It has been said often, but bears repeating: cultural change leads the application of analytical tools, sustained problem solving, and change. It is almost impossible to run that machine in reverse.
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