1. LEAN CULTURE Debra Setman
Be sure there is an additional room available for the three break-out exercises. You will need two flipcharts per room and three different color markers per room. as well as an overhead projector for your laptop.
Please distribute the PowerPoint file of Japanese terms and acronyms and the link to the Lean Lexicon to the learners before class.
If people do not know one another, use name tents on the tables. Also, facilitate introductions. Suggestions: play “Two Truths and a Lie” or have learners introduce the person sitting next to them with the answers to four questions: Name?, Role?, Biggest accomplishment at J&J?, and Something you are proud of in your personal life?

2. What is your culture? Fill in items under each heading.
Group Exercise Part 1: What Is Organizational Culture?
Corporate culture is the personality of an organization. It guides how employees think, act, and feel. Johnson (1988) identified a number of elements that can be used to describe or influence organizational culture.
What is your culture? Fill in items under each heading.
The Paradigm
Stories and Myths
Control Systems
Culture
Rituals and Routines
INSTRUCTIONS: Break the group into two or three smaller groups (3-8 people per group) and have the groups identify the CURRENT culture in their organization by identifying examples under each category. Give the groups 20 minutes to complete this task. Make sure they use a flip chart and use only one color marker. Each group needs to choose a facilitator to explain the findings to the large group when reconvening.
DEFINITIONS:
Paradigm – What does your company see as its guiding principles? How does it view itself in the marketplace? Examples, customer focused, employee focused, safety, financial success, focused on profit, valuing employees, etc.
Control Systems – How does your company create organization within and between groups. Also what are the attitudes of your employees and how are things measured and monitored? E.g.- OGSMs, dashboards, firefighting the norm, single person heroics.
Organizational Structure – How is your company organized to make your products or deliver your services. E.g.- Hierarchical, flat, matrixed, team-based, functionally organized.
Power Structures – How does your company make decisions? E.g.- All decisions made at top levels, decisions made by department heads, accountability throughout the organization.
Symbols – What are some visual symbols, icons, communications, etc. that are associated with your company. E.g.- boards, Credo, OGSMs, dashboard, safety logo, company logo, colors.
Rituals and Routines – Name some common tasks, meetings, activities, events, etc., that are done on a repetitive basis. E.g. - Daily operations meetings, town hall meetings, credo survey, annual awards ceremony.
Stories and Myths – what are some stories that define what your company stands for. E.g.- Tylenol story at J&J.
Organizational Structures
Symbols
Power Structures 2
SOURCE: Johnson, G. (1988). Rethinking incrementalism. Strategic Management Journal, 9,

3. Lean Thinking
Lean has a variety of tools used to enable the culture. They are designed to reduce waste and increase customer value. Below are some tools used in lean thinking.
Mistake-
Proofing
Kanban
Visual Workplace
and 5S
Standard Work
Kaizen
KPIs
Value-Stream Mapping
ME2
Rapid Changeover
Our Approach to
Lean Thinking
Even though lean IS a culture, there are indeed tools to use in order to achieve the culture. 3

4. Lean Culture Lean Culture
The Paradigm
Elements of culture from Johnson (1988) can be linked to a lean culture:
Customer first after safety
Vision and values embraced by all
Hansei
5 whys
Teamwork
Kaizen (Relentless focus on waste)
Jidoka
Stories & Myths
Deming
Taylor
Ford
Toyoda
Ohno
Control Systems
Goal alignment (Hoshin Kanri)
Red is not necessarily bad
No-blame environment
Never give up attitude
Trial and error
Challenge and failure
KPIs
Compliance with safety and
government regulations
Rituals & Routines
PDCA
Hansei
Gemba walks
Team huddles
Problem-solving
Waste (muda) elimination
Effective meetings
Constant improvement
(every improvement is worthwhile, no matter
how small)
Both recognition and constructive, helpful criticism
Lean
Culture
This is the most important slide in the deck! It is critical here to show how lean is a culture! Ask the group: Are there any other items that can be added to the lists?
Make the point that this relates back to the Exercise Part 1 slide and this shows what a lean culture looks like.
Jidoka = in-station process control. Allowing people to detect when an abnormal condition has occurred and immediately stop work in order to prevent defects from passing on.
Gemba, - where the activity takes place.
Symbols
Organizational Structures
JIT
Std work
VSM
Visual workplace
Kanban
Layout—FIFO racks
Colors
Long-term focus
Triangle
Servant-leader mentality
Consistent and clear titles
Power Structures
Team ideas rule
Action oriented
Change oriented
Employee accountability and empowerment 4
SOURCE: Johnson, G. (1988). Rethinking incrementalism. Strategic Management Journal, 9,

5. Culture Culture Group Exercise Part 2: What Is Organizational Culture?
Exercise: Go back to the output from Part 1 and compare it to a lean culture. Identify areas under each category that you could/should work on improving to move toward a leaner culture. Use a different color marker on the same flipchart paper from the first exercise.
Stories and Myths
The Paradigm
Control Systems
Culture
Culture
Rituals and Routines
Make sure the participants return to their original groups from Part 1 (preferably divided in different rooms). USING A DIFFERENT COLOR MARKER, write the parts of a lean culture (found on page 21), that they would like to improve on in their own organization’s culture. Identify at least two items in each category and write them on the same flipchart used in Part 1. Select a facilitator/presenter to guide the group and present to the larger group when reconvening. Allow 15 minutes in the subgroup and 10 minutes in the larger group for discussion.
Organizational Structures
Symbols 5
Power Structures
SOURCE: Johnson, G. (1988). Rethinking incrementalism. Strategic Management Journal, 9,

6. References
Bridges, W. (2003). Managing transitions. New York: Perseus Publishing.
Convis, G. Role of management in a lean manufacturing environment. Automotive Manufacturing & Production, July 21.
Ford, H. (1988). Today and tomorrow. New York: Productivity Press.
Johnson, G. (1988). Rethinking incrementalism. Strategic Management Journal, 9,
Kotter, J.P. (1996). Leading change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Liker, J.K. (2003). The Toyota way. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Mann, D. (2005). Creating a lean culture. New York: Productivity Press.
Schein, E.H. (1988). Organizational culture. Cambridge, MA: Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Womack, J.P., & Jones, D.T. (2003). Lean thinking. New York: Free Press.
Womack, J.P., Jones, D.T., & Roos, D. (1990). The machine that changed the world. New York: Scribner
About the Book
enTarga (Ross A. Wirth, Ph. D.)
MACHINE THAT CHANGED THE WORLD
CHANGE MANAGEMENT RESOURCE: ask JJPE for internal resource suggestions. Also, take the CM on- line module offered through the JJPE website. 6