In a lean transformation, this surfaces in two ways. First, there are some lean tools that support the pattern of “pull” which simply means that activities, production or otherwise, are completed based on clear signals from the immediate customer and their needs, instead of on schedule, forecast or driving independent efficiencies. As a simple example, if an area manager doesn’t internalize the principles of high agreement and systematic waste elimination, they are not likely to adhere to those tools and will overproduce when faced with meeting a monthly target. Second, the manager, without internalizing the new principles, will not build on the tools already in place to take them forward to the next level and will continually need guidance and incentive to move the organization forward.

A lean transformation that does not seek to develop a new set of principles in the organization will suffer only temporary gains, and sometimes none at all. By internalizing the principles, an organization can cut its own swath and not be dependent upon following others.

The last connection to the framework is the vision. Vision in a truly lean company is driven, on a daily basis, by the pursuit of the ideal state. You may use different words for your particular organization or industry, but a generic ideal state is “delivering what the customer wants, when they want it, at the price they want, with zero waste and where everyone is safe.” The search for the ideal state is shared among the most consistently successful companies. This pursuit means that even when you have met your goal or even become best-in-class, you do not stop because you are driven by a search for perfection. World-class is a common goal or vision for many

companies, but often comes with the mistaken idea that the second you become #1 you can stop, or even let off the throttle.

At companies driven by the search for an ideal state, you don’t measure yourself against your competition, but measure yourself against your ideal state which is a target that never moves and which everyone can align themselves around.

By combining the framework from organizational learning with the understanding of what lean is really about allows both initiatives to live in the organization in a sustainable and effective manner and, more importantly, provides leaders in the organization a road map for how to transform their companies. This includes connecting tools that previously would not have been considered lean by linking them to vision, principles and systems.

Consider the example of Ross Controls, a company founded in 1921 as an international supplier of premium pneumatic values and hydraulic controls. It started its lean efforts in it’s two plants (Michigan and Georgia) in a traditional manner ~ teaching and applying tools, implementing solutions as events and looking for patterns of how all the efforts fit together. Some things stuck and others did not. Progress was both painful and unfulfilling. Their start was learning tools such as the 5S’s, which stand for Sift, Sweep, Sort, Sanitize and Sustain. 5S’s was used for cleaning up the place, which was not the primary purpose of 5S.    Ross Controls was struggling, regardless of the tool or practice, with applying those tools on a consistent basis: progress would come in a spurt, then fizzle out, or revert back to before the improvement ever happened, or what

would work in one area wouldn’t in another. John Smith, Ross Controls’ COO, reflects on that stage: “It’s funny, at first, much of what we learned seemed like simple common sense. But we realized that implementing a common sense approach company-wide could be quite complicated.” As Smith realized, one person’s common sense is another persons’ impracticality, and the challenge of transformation became very, very real.

Without learning a single new tool, Ross Controls embarked on a formal learning process to incorporate the principles, or mental models, and the system rules into its lean transformation efforts. “This is where we learned how to pass along to others what we had learned and how we thought” comments Plant Manager Sue Reicher. With the right thinking in place, predetermined tools were not the only method of improvement; employees could use that thinking to find new creative ways to improve their operations and work environment. Reicher continues “The majority of employees have bought into it. We’ve been able to instill the feeling that everyone is empowered to make changes and get things done without incorporating red tape. This is a major change for us. Before, required supervisory permission or change was dictated from upstream. Now we use the 60 percent rule - if you’re 60 percent confident something will work, try it.”

On top of adopting principles and system rules, COO Smith established a vision of progress towards the ideal state regardless of what was happening with the customer, the competition or the economy. As a result of this vision, efforts were not determined by how good or bad things were in the economy and the company continued to make progress in light of very tough times. Today, Ross Controls’ enthusiasm and drive is infectious and one walk through the factory will tell you that this place truly is different.

It took some work, but soon, the tools that were already in place started to work, grow and produce results. Inventory came down by millions of dollars including finished goods down by 80 percent, floor space was freed up by over 20 percent, lead times cut in half and customer service rates rose. This affected more than the organization’s performance, however, it also affected the people. Steve Littleton, Ross Controls’ UAW Chief Steward at the time of this lean transformation, comments on the value to the people: “It made a big different to realize that management wants to know what we know on the floor. It’s great to see all these continuous improvements. We’ve moved areas for accessibility, eliminated waste, and lean has saved some jobs here. And since lean, we’ve added two new product lines. So, we’ve saved 20 percent of space and added 20 percent work to the product line. That’s significant.”

This is just the beginning for Ross Controls, and COO Smith knows this: “Lean is a journey, not an end. We’ve accomplished a lot through lean, but we’ve discovered that, because everything and everyone is connected, one action precipitates another. We’ve increased moral tremendously and opened the lines of communication. But there’s always room for improvement.”

Ross Controls, like many other companies, struggled significantly when only working at one or two levels of the organizational learning hierarchy (vision, mental models, systemic structures, patterns and events). They learned, and made work, that integrating all levels when dealing with any transformation, particularly lean, is mandatory in order to succeed.

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