John P. Ballis, Founder & CEO, Lean Your Way, A DotCom Magazine Exclusive Interview

We are passionate practitioners of Lean who are committed to our clients success. Using lean principles and philosophies, we both challenge and guide clients on their continuous improvement journeys as they deploy Lean to find innovative ways to solve business challenges through their people not consultants.

Lean Your Way’s view is that successful lean transformations require a comprehensive implementation approach in weeks not years. While they will certainly include items such as going to Gemba (viewing your process) first to build a current state value stream maps, building continuous improvement plans, and a relentless pursuit of waste elim?ination, they will also involve efforts such as developing a company-wide understanding of what waste is and how to see it through training, creating a process to sustain Lean improvements, and assisting all levels of management navigate the unexpected challenges associated with an empowered workforce through change management up front. A key component of any Lean Ballistics implementation plan is that it includes tangible financial savings tied to all employees performance plans and reviews. While lean transformation requires much more than a focus on financial performance, it is our view that focusing on the numbers will create a healthy sense of urgency across the organization, as well as energize all levels once super kaizen efforts begin showing results. In our view this should take a few short weeks, and not months or more.

Getting organizations moving forward without resisntance is balancing act between meeting the requirements of the business and engaging employees so they understand they are part of the team for success.