Hoshin Kanri (Lean Strategy / Policy Deployment)
Setting a 'Psychologically Congruent Strategy' is a term specific to those who work with Duxinaroe. Once the deeper issues are understood through our exclusive Leadership and Culture development programmes, the vision can be put into practice. We have extensive knowledge of 'Hoshin Kanri' (Policy Deployment) and we enhance this with a working knowledge of the psychology and neuroscience that makes it work.
With 'The Dux Method' behind your leaders, culture and strategy, not only will your team deliver against your 3-5 year breakthrough objectives, but you will also understand why this approach satisfies much of what is required for 'People' to create a high performance culture (at a deeper level). With our knowledge surrounding the Neuroscience and psychology of Lean and Leadership, Duxinaroe are ideally placed to help you implement a robust strategy that will enable your teams to align to the big picture and deliver results. |
Hoshin Kanri (also called Policy Deployment) is a method for ensuring that the strategic goals of a company drive progress and action at every level within that company. It 'enables' clear communication across cultural (hierarchical) layers of the organisation while enhancing connectivity between functions and departments. This eliminates the waste that comes from inconsistent direction, conflicting KPI's and poor communication (see our Leadership section for a deeper understanding of this).
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Hoshin intent... |
Hoshin Kanri strives to get every employee pulling in the same direction at the same time. It achieves this by aligning the goals of the company (Strategy) with the plans of middle management (Tactics) and the work performed by all employees (Operations). It also has a deeper side - in respect to alignment; it is crucial not to overlook this.
It requires a leadership team is fundamentally aligned and 'on-board' with the principles behind the process. This deep alignment to the underlying principles is where Duxinaroe excels! We help leaders understand the neuroscience and psychology behind the principles, behind alignment and behind the model in operational terms, (as it interacts with and therefore effects people and performance).
Once leaders are aligned in mind-set, Hoshin Kanri provides an excellent 'visually managed' framework which connects 3-5 year objectives with annual plans, tracked via monthly updates achieved through detailed action plans. 'Hoshin' is naturally the best Strategy Deployment model to adopt as it is the only model developed by Toyota in line with Lean / World Class performance. It delivers what others such as EFQM, BSC, STRAP etc. fail to. It is the strategy deployment model which drives alignment at the depths required if an organisation is to become 'Lean' sustainably. It has to become 'Just the way we do things around here'.
It starts with a strategic plan defining 3-5 year breakthrough objectives, developed by top management to detail the long range goals of the company. Given the right leadership knowledge, understanding and alignment, this plan will be carefully crafted to address a small number of critical issues directly aligned to the leadership teams values and their very specific, very clear, definition of 'Value Adding Activity' in line with the voice of the customer.
Many consulting companies advocate a focus on only a handful of key issues when they talk about a strategy, however this generalisation is based in standard project management theory and it misses many of the principles Hoshin requires at a cultural and psychological level (essentially - this must be understood by the leaders introducing Hoshin) if it is to work. The rationale for this 'project management' advice is this:
1. the mere act of writing down goals can create a (false) feeling of progress – and more goals feels like more progress. In reality, a goal only expresses intent. Taking action is the hard part.
2. Every company has finite resources and energy…and a limited attention span. Focusing on a small number of goals makes success far more likely than dissipating energy across dozens of goals. Or looking at it another way…if everything is important; nothing is important.
And that's where the rationale ends. As good as it is. It's limited! At Dux we have the luxury of detailing more than this. 'Action' requires 'ownership' and not an 'over-the-wall' attitude common to many of those who constitute employee, management and leadership teams across the globe.
As we teach in our Leadership courses, if there is misalignment between values and intent, action will not follow or flow... Hoshin will become another 'Fad' imposed from above and the organisation will remain in a cultural state of 'Push' rather than 'Pull'.
Done well, Hoshin develops 'ownership' seeing people involved and 'wanting' to pursue the main drivers detailed in the Hoshin model. Done poorly, it becomes just another 'tool' introduced as a 'Fad'. The key to success is a deeper understanding and approach to 'Leadership'.
Focus on 3
In Lean manufacturing terms, there are 3 very well defined 'Key Issues' (Drivers) used at the head of the Hoshin Planning process. These drivers apply to any manufacturing organisation regardless of size (and once leaders understand the philosophical need to define 'value', these can be adapted to suit service environments). We have worked with many organisations trying to manage with different drivers and with more than 3 - unfortunately, none of those strategy deployment initiatives are still operational today... which proves the importance of defining only 3 primary drivers at the top of a manufacturing operational strategy.
Hoshin is not easy.It takes total commitment from the top and throughout the ranks. This means it has to be implemented in a way which generates engagement and improves empowerment. Where this is achieved, it provides a rudder capable of steering the whole ship, a rudder second to none!
It requires a leadership team is fundamentally aligned and 'on-board' with the principles behind the process. This deep alignment to the underlying principles is where Duxinaroe excels! We help leaders understand the neuroscience and psychology behind the principles, behind alignment and behind the model in operational terms, (as it interacts with and therefore effects people and performance).
Once leaders are aligned in mind-set, Hoshin Kanri provides an excellent 'visually managed' framework which connects 3-5 year objectives with annual plans, tracked via monthly updates achieved through detailed action plans. 'Hoshin' is naturally the best Strategy Deployment model to adopt as it is the only model developed by Toyota in line with Lean / World Class performance. It delivers what others such as EFQM, BSC, STRAP etc. fail to. It is the strategy deployment model which drives alignment at the depths required if an organisation is to become 'Lean' sustainably. It has to become 'Just the way we do things around here'.
It starts with a strategic plan defining 3-5 year breakthrough objectives, developed by top management to detail the long range goals of the company. Given the right leadership knowledge, understanding and alignment, this plan will be carefully crafted to address a small number of critical issues directly aligned to the leadership teams values and their very specific, very clear, definition of 'Value Adding Activity' in line with the voice of the customer.
Many consulting companies advocate a focus on only a handful of key issues when they talk about a strategy, however this generalisation is based in standard project management theory and it misses many of the principles Hoshin requires at a cultural and psychological level (essentially - this must be understood by the leaders introducing Hoshin) if it is to work. The rationale for this 'project management' advice is this:
1. the mere act of writing down goals can create a (false) feeling of progress – and more goals feels like more progress. In reality, a goal only expresses intent. Taking action is the hard part.
2. Every company has finite resources and energy…and a limited attention span. Focusing on a small number of goals makes success far more likely than dissipating energy across dozens of goals. Or looking at it another way…if everything is important; nothing is important.
And that's where the rationale ends. As good as it is. It's limited! At Dux we have the luxury of detailing more than this. 'Action' requires 'ownership' and not an 'over-the-wall' attitude common to many of those who constitute employee, management and leadership teams across the globe.
As we teach in our Leadership courses, if there is misalignment between values and intent, action will not follow or flow... Hoshin will become another 'Fad' imposed from above and the organisation will remain in a cultural state of 'Push' rather than 'Pull'.
Done well, Hoshin develops 'ownership' seeing people involved and 'wanting' to pursue the main drivers detailed in the Hoshin model. Done poorly, it becomes just another 'tool' introduced as a 'Fad'. The key to success is a deeper understanding and approach to 'Leadership'.
Focus on 3
In Lean manufacturing terms, there are 3 very well defined 'Key Issues' (Drivers) used at the head of the Hoshin Planning process. These drivers apply to any manufacturing organisation regardless of size (and once leaders understand the philosophical need to define 'value', these can be adapted to suit service environments). We have worked with many organisations trying to manage with different drivers and with more than 3 - unfortunately, none of those strategy deployment initiatives are still operational today... which proves the importance of defining only 3 primary drivers at the top of a manufacturing operational strategy.
Hoshin is not easy.It takes total commitment from the top and throughout the ranks. This means it has to be implemented in a way which generates engagement and improves empowerment. Where this is achieved, it provides a rudder capable of steering the whole ship, a rudder second to none!
Call on +44 (0) 20 3102 7670 for an initial discussion about your requirements or to book an appointment with a member of our team.
Alternatively, send us a message via our CONTACT US page.
Alternatively, send us a message via our CONTACT US page.