The Hoshin Kanri method of strategic planning and deployment is brilliantly simple, yet powerful. It helps organizations navigate toward their “true north,” while practicing continuous daily improvement. However, like most great ideas, the devil is in the details. When we talk to leaders who have tried the approach but failed to get the desired results, the problem is usually not in the effort, but instead, in the execution. We’ve compiled a few tips to help make sure you achieve the intended outcomes.

Provide training about the approach and let people know what to expect and why Hoshin Kanri is different from other strategic planning tools.

I’m just going to put this out there – your employees have been through strategic planning exercises before. Anyone who’s been around the block at all has seen various goal setting schemes come and go. You’ll probably get enthusiastic nods while you’re in the meeting, but expect eye rolls and Dilbert jokes as soon as management leaves the room. Success depends on convincing your team that this is not the annual plan that gets sent out and then stuck in a drawer. A large part of the discussion should be focused on how Hoshin Kanri will guide everyday decisions and be a consistent part of how the organization is managed.

Hoshin Kanri is a popular approach to strategic planning and deployment. It provides a roadmap to achieving an organization’s most important three to five-year objectives, while at the same time achieving continuous, daily improvement.

(If the approach is new to you, start here for the background.)

While the Hoshin Kanri methodology is relatively straightforward, there are a few common errors that send it off the rails. We’ve looked to the literature to see what the experts have to say about each frequent mistake. Hopefully this post will help you avoid or correct them. (It will also make a handy reading list.)

DMAIC is said to be the Six Sigma methodology’s roadmap to improvement. It is one of the core tools of the approach, but organizations also use it as a standalone improvement technique. We have clients in almost every industry from healthcare to construction who have achieved quantifiable impact against core business metrics by using this technique. Here are some of the questions we get asked about it most often.

Kaizen events are a frequent subject of discussion when we are meeting with potential clients or others who are interested in the technology that powers improvement. Although we talk to folks in almost every industry, almost everyone we talk to has one thing in common. They’ve lived through a disastrous - or at least ineffective - Kaizen event. We’re not surprised because there are lots of ways that rapid improvement blitzes can go off the rails. We don’t want that to happen to you, so we’ve assembled a list of our most important advice for making your Kaizen event a smashing success.

Then the Lean management methodology was first developed, based largely on the management techniques of Toyota and other Japanese automakers, it was mostly used in manufacturing. Today, the approach has been embraced by almost every industry. Along the way, software has been developed to support the approach. When we chat with people about the details of these Lean management systems, we are often asked some standard questions. Here are the answers.

Lean transformation is rooted in collaboration and transparency.

While Lean got its start in the manufacturing industry, people have found that the broader context of a Lean adoption strategy is relevant to all industries and sectors. That said, the public education system is a great place to start—and the Des Moines Public School District has the results to prove it.

The DMAIC improvement cycle is one of the most widely used Six Sigma management techniques. It was developed by Motorola in the 1980’s, and it helped the company win the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award in 1988.

The approach caught on, and thousands of people learned how to attack problems by improving the processes that were causing the problems in the first place.

These days, companies across all industries use the technique to make sure they deliver high-quality customer value with the least amount of friction and waste.

Organizations that are serious about getting the most out of their improvement efforts and using DMAIC to the fullest implement software that supports the improvement cycle. This accelerates improvement processes, makes improvements more likely to succeed, and sets the foundation for measuring the impact of DMAIC.

Here’s how it helps at every phase of the cycle.

Organizations implement technology to support Kaizen for a number of reasons. It provides structure for improvement, allows for active management of projects, forms a repository of knowledge, gives leaders insight into the health of Kaizen, and allows for tracking of results.

People who try to manage Kaizen work in spreadsheets quickly find that they lack the interactive capabilities necessary to spread and sustain improvement.

Use this free download to compare and rank different Kaizen management systems:

Continuous Improvement Software Comparison Matrix

Download this free matrix to:

• See a list of all features and functionality available in improvement platforms
• Calculate a weighted score for each platform based on available features and your organization's unique needs
• Make an educated, intentional choice about which improvement platform is the best fit for your organization

If you’ve decided to invest in technology to support your Lean construction efforts, congratulations. Giving your team the right tools for the job is always a smart move.

Picking the system that’s going to help you complete more opportunities for improvement, sustain those improvements, and calculate the impact of Lean is an important job. Most people have little experience selecting software of this type, so it can be a little daunting.

Fortunately, there are some easy ways to separate the solutions you should consider from those that will be of little value.

We’ve put together a series of questions that will help guide your selection process.