1. Setting Direction
An important part of the recipe for releasing the hidden factory is creating a sense of urgency. This is easier where there is a "burning platform" to make the pressure for change visible to all but succesful organisations don't have that so how can they maintain the drive for year on year improvement in performance?
Often the spark that starts organisations on the route to improvement is the need to change to survive. The organisations that progress beyond this early stage are the ones are able to harness the collective will of the senior management team behind a business led improvement strategy. They achieve this, formally or informally by gaining the collective insight to be able to agree in detail:
- The pressure for change (Why bother)
- The vision for change (Where do we want to end up)
- The capabilities needed to deliver that vision (What stops us from being there now?)
- The practical "next steps" that can be made towards that today.
Early "next steps" are typically characterised by addressing gaps in the fabric of management to stop problems from happening. That includes gaps in information flows, performance management and workplace discipline. Fixing these provides the stability and resources to improve material flow, process capability, labour flexibility and deal with slim profit margins.
In award winning organisations these improvements are carried out by front line team leaders and their teams. They are the ones who can give the attention to detail needed to refine and improve best practice so that they become robust.
As each milestone of the engagement road map is achieved, the management team revisit the above four steps to maintain the pressure for improvement.
"Next steps" for stable operations is characterised by improvements in process control and precision which deliver higher customer added value and operational flexibility. This supports long term growth and the rapid introduction of improved new products and services.
In some industry sectors the optimise stage gate may include working with suppliers to raise their standards. In others this stage gate may focus on reducing time to market for new products.
As each level of capability is achieved and stabilised, new opportunities for further value enhancement become possible. It is this ratcheting up value adding capability and leadership of the customer agenda which helps industry leaders to remain as industry leaders.