Twelve Steps to Walking the
Talk
by Brian Maguire
National Productivity Review / Autumn 1995
What does an organization need to do to reach its
goals, and how can it best do so? These are the questions that haunt many
a manager. This article outlines a 12-step process to help organizations
improve their operations by learning how to manage what matters most.
- Say what you're going to do in simple, concise terms.
- Do what you say you're going to do.
- Convince leaders to become champions.
- Tell stories to connect employees to what matters in their
terms.
- Put every improvement idea to the "what matters"
test.
- Ask only for feedback you intend to act on.
- Set boundaries, then get out of the way.
- Fight "scope creep" and get closure.
- Recognize and reward closure.
- Make failure for the right reasons OK.
- Make skeptics part of the solution.
- Acknowledge the past and learn from it.
Managers who have tried -- or are in the midst
of -- a continuous improvement effort have heard a hundred times that they
must: create and communicate a vision, establish a sense of urgency, empower
others, devise a workable strategy to achieve the vision, lead the process,
and pursue short-term wins. Yet despite high awareness of these success
factors, efforts to foster continuous improvements are still failing.
What's missing? Usually, it's a focus on managing
what matters. The two critical elements of managing what matters are the
right talk and the right walk. The "talk" is what an organization
will do to achieve its objective. The "walk" is how an organization
turns its talk into reality. "Walking the talk" exactly captures
what managers must do to successfully change an organization. But, it is
hard to understand and easy to get wrong. However, when a company combines
the right talk with the right walk, it will produce powerful results, as
the following three companies have discovered:
Working with a turnaround management team, a Pennsylvania
manufacturer tripled throughput and cut inventory 45 percent, scrap and
rework 90 percent, and setup time 80 percent in six months. The company
also went from operating at a loss to above break-even performance. It
now uses activity-based costing to sharpen product pricing decisions and
guide future improvement through target costing.
A Connecticut firm raised on-time delivery from
50 to 93 percent (100 percent for its two largest customers), cut lead
time by 42 percent and order-quoting time by 49 percent, and increased
the percentage of employees on improvement teams from 5 to 54 percent of
the workforce.
A Massachusetts company raised customer satisfaction
levels from 55 to 95 percent, markets share 8 percent in a no-growth market,
and production schedule adherence from 63 to 99 percent. As a result, it
also boosted the value of the company. These improvements happened because
management at these companies had two things in common. They focused on
managing what mattered and they made a commitment to walk the talk.
The Pennsylvania-based company, a manufacturer
that supplies components to various industries, had lost a significant
percentage of its high-volume, profitable business when an important customer's
market dried up. The manufacturer could not quickly replace this lost business,
because its key prospects were looking for a single-source supplier that
could reliably deliver a high-quality product. The sudden loss of business
created chaos, forcing a host of problems to the surface that demanded
management attention. As a result, the few core problems were not addressed
properly. In October 1994, a consulting firm was hired to lead the management
team that would run the business. They were challenged to walk the talk.
In the early weeks of the improvement effort, a
welder, one of the company's most dedicated employees, stepped forward.
He said the company's welding practices were inefficient and wanted to
know whether the issue would finally be addressed. If not, he said, he
would leave the company. In his view, over the previous two years no one
had ever seriously listened to his feedback and no effective action had
been taken. Further, he pointed to the company's current financial position
as evidence of the lack of effective action. This was one of many moments
of truth that managers faced every day as they tried to walk the talk.
Although welding was an important issue with its
own merits, it was not a critical driver of delivery and quality issues.
Specifically, there were bottleneck operations that needed to be managed
and a situation in a production area (not welding) that accounted for 50
percent of all quality problems. Nonetheless, every employee would judge
the improvement effort by what he or she saw as important. Management's
response to the welder was, "We need you, we'll get to the welding
issue, but not today and not tomorrow. You've got to hang in there, but
we promise you that we'll create a welding-improvement team at the appropriate
time. It might be another month or two. Meanwhile, look for signs that
things are changing around you. You'll see a new work cell in the quick
turnaround press area in two weeks." The welder was immediately put
on one of the improvement teams, not in the welding department. Two months
later he was leading a welding-improvement effort, because at that time
it made sense. The credibility created with the welder and others was immense.
Management began talking the talk that would get
the company turned around. The talk was on target because it focused on
managing what mattered regarding the organization's delivery and quality
problems. During the exchange with the welder, it was important not to
lose focus on managing what mattered. There are three fundamental components
to managing what matters:
- Define and measure what matters.
- Determine the drivers of what matters.
- Align the actions of the entire organization on what matters.
This "talk" represented exactly what
the company needed to do to fix its problems. However, the talk would have
been beside the point if managers couldn't walk the talk at the right moment.
To do so, they followed 12 guidelines. Not only did this set of guidelines
help keep the entire improvement process on track, it also helped the firm
avoid the classic traps that have ensnared thousands of others that have
embarked on improvement programs. These are the 12 keys to walking the
talk:
1. Say what you're going to do in simple, concise
terms. The talk must constantly remind people of what matters. Success
with a change process is a result of communicating and continuously repeating
the three steps to managing what matters: define and measure what matters,
determine its drivers, and align actions. Within this simple framework,
all improvement strategies can be communicated. This simple process focuses
the communications on fixing the system the people work in, not blaming
people.
Start with a set of metrics that balances the needs of customers, shareholders,
and employees. Clearly articulate the vision, mission, and strategy for
the company. Quantify the performance gaps. Establish the scope of needed
action based on the need to close a gap. Map and analyze the business processes.
Identify the key drivers in the business process that will close the gaps.
Align actions to attack only key drivers that close gaps. The resulting
gap closure or nonclosure is feedback on the effort's effectiveness.
Trap avoided: Miscommunicating what continuous improvement means.
Continuous improvement is understood by employees, in a literal way, to
mean improving one thing, or everything, continuously. In an attempt to
uphold this interpretation of the program, employees attempt to improve
everything in their area. Managers need to guide employees to a responsible
understanding of what continuous improvement means for the business. The
proper definition means continuously improving the business by adjusting
the focus to address the most significant performance gaps, then holding
onto the gains achieved. Meanwhile, many improvement opportunities are
simply not addressed. Managers must tap employees looking for a personal
way to contribute to the vision. Employees need to know what their immediate
roles are -- if any -- within the strategic, company-wide definition of
continuous improvement. The objective is to focus only on continuously
improving what matters, not mistakenly trying to improve things that do
not matter right now.
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2. Do what you say you're going to do. This is
the first principle of building credibility. Management thanked the welder
for volunteering information and told him what would be done and when.
The main point here is to be careful about making promises and that, having
made one, to keep it. Management had the right action plan and it would
be communicated to everyone over and over again. Expectations were being
managed. For this reason, management was confident that it would make sufficient
progress to allow it to keep its promise. The welder was asked to watch
for the signs of change and improvement while waiting his turn.
It is important to define success for the participants in an improvement
process. For some groups, the impact of change is immediate; for others,
it may take months to be felt. Change does not affect every area at the
same rate or level of intensity. Nonetheless, agents of change must, with
every word and deed, strive to bring about acceptance of change among the
entire workforce. All employees should be brought along the learning curve
to the extent possible.
Trap avoided: Over-promising and forgetting your promises. Despite
good intentions, talk and walk often drift apart. Visions are articulated,
but not followed through with action. A program is kicked off, but dies
a slow death because of lack of focus. Teams meet, but never complete the
task. Employees analyze problems, but never see their solutions implemented.
Managers must be aware of what they can and cannot do and manage expectations
accordingly. Never promise to do something down the road just to keep employees
on hold. Managers must honestly assess what's possible. If management has
credibility problems, forget stretch goals.
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3. Convince leaders to become champions. The
welder was a strong force in his department. He had leadership qualities.
His abilities and influence were needed to close other performance gaps.
This employee had to see that the improvement process was real and that
management was concerned about including him, even though it couldn't focus
on his problem at the moment. Management took the time to evaluate his
input, explain the company's strategy, and request his temporary patience.
He was identified as a potential champion and included on a cross-functional
improvement team focused on the bottleneck operation.
Trap avoided: Failing to bring leaders in the process. The organization
needs champions, natural leaders who can take ownership of the improvement
process. People with leadership skills must be systematically brought into
the process, not brushed aside if their concerns are not the current point
of focus. Management did not ask the welder to have faith; he was asked
to be alert for the improvements that had been carefully planned to materialize
in two weeks. Management consciously built a stairway of credibility for
the process that the entire organization could climb one step at a time.
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4. Tell stories to connect employees to what matters
in their terms. Using metaphors and stories to convey facts and data
employees need to know is a powerful way to communicate what matters. It
is also the secret to showing them how the organization defines and measures
what matters. The welder and the other employees had to learn what matters,
see the current gaps between performance and goals, and be connected to
companywide improvement actions in terms that were relevant to their jobs.
Organizations that know what matters (on-time delivery, in this case)
can emphasize new drivers (synchronous manufacturing measures for inventory
reductions), align their actions accordingly (new material release, batch-size
and running rules, and production scheduling policies), and see measurable
improvements almost immediately. Every day managers would tell stories
about how employees were fitting into the process and the vision. They
would explain how improvements would materialize and what form those improvements
would take in their operation. In response, employees would start telling
their own stories and begin making their own connections to the process
and vision.
Trap avoided: Failing to communicate what does not matter. Managers
need to let employees know that they can see the same issues that employees
see, that inaction on an issue does not reflect a lack of understanding
but is, rather, a key part of the strategy. This point can become a major
component of effective communication. Managers must understand that in
addition to communicating what matters, it is just as important to tell
stories that explain why issues that seem important to some employees do
not matter right now. For this reason, managers must be visible and personally
keep employees focused on the vision day in and day out. They must find
creative ways to make every individual in the organization understand what
does and does not matter and how both are affecting a given area.
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5. Put every improvement idea to the "what matters"
test. The Pennsylvania managers communicated what mattered. Employees
were looking for consistency between their words and actions. If they had
redirected their efforts to address the welder's concerns, the welder would
have been encouraged, but many others would have been frustrated as attention
was diverted from what mattered. As long as managers could explain how
the welding issue did not pass the "what matters" test, they
could survive the moment of truth without weakening the firm's focus on
what mattered -- on-time delivery. Welding didn't affect deliveries because
the welding issue couldn't pass the "what matters" test, it had
to wait.
Trap avoided: Caving in at the moment of truth. In an attempt
to be faithful to the idea of continuous improvement, managers are often
tempted to commit to improvement actions that don't matter. This can be
fatal to the credibility of the effort. Managers must keep their focus
where it will produce fast, measurable results. When continuous improvement
is misunderstood to mean continuously improve everything, managers are
neither communicating the strategy nor managing employee expectations properly.
Only the most critical business objectives should drive the improvement
focus. Managers must not let a multitude of improvement opportunities blur
the focus.
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6. Ask only for feedback you intend to act on.
In an attempt to set objectives for the improvement process, companies
often survey customers and employees. This activity can become a disaster
for managers who do not act on the feedback in a timely manner. Feedback
requests tend to bring problems to the surface that cannot be dealt with
at the moment. Managers who solicit feedback they don't or can't act on
send the wrong message to employees, who can later claim with some justification
that their input was not valued and their recommendations were not acted
on. Later employees will be reluctant to join improvement teams, because
they see the process as ineffective.
Managers should avoid making requests for feedback that will cause employees
to do work that produces nothing. If the risk of this happening is high,
ask for feedback within an informal, tightly limited framework. This way,
managers can be sure they will be able to respond to input.
Trap avoided: Frustrating employees and fueling resistance to
change. By asking for feedback then not acting, managers can irreparably
damage their credibility. Subsequently, it may take a great deal of time
and effort to get genuine participation in the improvement effort after
requested input is not acted upon. Requests for feedback, like the improvement
process itself, should focus only on what matters right now.
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7. Set boundaries, then get out of the way. The
welder presented his managers with a dilemma. On the one had, they wanted
to develop an empowered workforce. On the other hand, the employees needed
new skills and motivation before they could hold themselves accountable
for their performance. Managers began the process of limiting freedom to
act while simultaneously encouraging freer actions within new boundaries.
Meanwhile, they were improving skills and eliminating demotivating factors.
The objective was to begin creating the conditions under which people would
hold themselves accountable for their own performance.
Trap avoided: Assigning accountability. Empowerment cannot be
announced and real accountability cannot be assigned. To create the conditions
for real accountability, managers should invite employees to help design
the process for achieving objectives. Sharing responsibilities for the
successful design of the process is the essential step in leading employees
to accept accountability for process performance. Clear away demotivating
issues, free up the right resources, train people as they need to be trained
so that they focus on what matters, and delegate the appropriate level
of decision-making authority.
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8. Fight "scope creep" and get closure.
Narrow the scope of the projects to what can be accomplished in a reasonable
time frame. A clear definition of objectives and a well-thought-out project
plan will go a long way toward ensuring success. The longer a project exists,
the more likely scope creep will occur. Narrow the scope of projects to
bite-size chunks. Scope creep is particularly dangerous for improvement
efforts at companies where employees are struggling to free up time from
their function jobs for team activities.
Trap avoided: Scope creep. The silent killer of projects is the
ever increasing list of tasks that do not contribute to achieving the original
objective. As team members get into the project, they sometimes inadvertently
take on issues and tasks not directly relevant to the original objective,
simply because accomplishing them seems related. To combat this, the managing
body (often a steering group) must use strictly defined project plans and
build in milestones to hold the team's attention on the original objective.
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9. Recognize and reward closure. Timing is everything.
When a team completes a task, recognize that accomplishment publicly and
immediately. This technique strongly reinforces success and signals to
employees that progress is being made. The recognition and reward process
can be focused on many different types of activities that lead to overall
improvement. For example, individuals can be recognized within departments,
teams can be recognized within the total improvement process, and all employees
can share in the company's improved performance. The message that should
be broadcast to the entire organization is: "The improvement teams
are focusing on what matters most right now. They are accomplishing their
missions. The overall program is coming together and working. When your
turn comes, we expect similar performance from you and you will enjoy the
same recognition and rewards." If gainsharing is part of the reward
structure, the organization can tap a powerful motivator for driving acceptance
of the new approach.
Trap avoided: Missing opportunities to build enthusiasm for change.
The change effort is underway. Closure is achieved. An effort is successful.
But no one else knows and the people involved are not recognized for their
accomplishments. Failure to recognize and reward progress is the ultimate
wasted opportunity. This is management's chance to demonstrate progress
and achievement and build motivation. When recognizing team performance,
managers should make sure that achievements are linked to the closure of
gaps.
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10. Make failure for the right reasons OK. To
move people out of their comfort zones, it is crucial that the organization
let them try new approaches that they aren't good at as yet. Just as when
they rode a bike for the first time, most learners will fall down a few
times. While it is possible to set up situations where failure does not
place the organization at serious risk, maintaining the level of control
that prevents failure also prevents success. Maintaining the wrong kind
of control is a problem. That's why "It's OK to make mistakes for
the right reasons" is the message that managers must communicate to
employees. The right reasons include the difficult process of shifting
to new operational methods and measures and the trial-and-error experiments
that are necessary to identify and incorporate best practices. As long
as the organization learns from its mistakes, it's OK.
Trap avoided: Encouraging risk-averse behavior by punishing mistakes.
To tackle the big issues, individuals and teams need to take risks. Risks
exist for the individual and the organization. The goal is to mitigate
some of the perceived individual risks so that the organization can benefit.
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11. Make skeptics part of the solution. Skeptics
-- the people managers like to listen to least -- are the very people that
managers should make a point to listen to. Skeptics can highlight valid
issues in the change process, for there's usually a kernel of truth in
what they say. An effective way to handle skeptics is to put them on the
team charged with finding a solution. The welder who was critical of his
department's operating policies ended up spearheading the team that bought
automated welding equipment into his area when, two months into the process,
welding issues passed the "what matters" test. But remember that
not all skeptics can be won over. The objective when dealing with skeptics
is to make their commentary and actions constructive for the process.
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Trap avoided: Failing to manage skeptics. Managers must enter
into a continual dialogue with those who are afraid or skeptical of change.
Ideally, this dialogue should occur in front of other people. Managers
must be seen engaging in the debate over change with their skeptics. But
managers don't have to convince every debater. Even if managers can't convince
the skeptics, they are giving the people who work with them the arguments
- and confidence -- to stand up to the skeptics when managers leave the
scene.
12. Acknowledge the past and learn from it.
When management has been in place for a while, managers can enhance their
credibility by admitting to past failures. When management is new, pointing
out failures is easier and also enhances credibility. Whether past and
current efforts represent successes or failures, the organization benefits
from an open and accurate acknowledgment of the result of past efforts.
Admitting failures and telling stories that connected a mistake in the
past with precisely the one that the Pennsylvania company wanted to avoid
gave its managers tremendous credibility when kicking off the improvement
process.
Trap avoided: Snatching failure from the jaws of success. Many
workers expect the worst from improvement initiatives, because so many
of them have failed in the past. There is value in analyzing past efforts,
especially when employees are included in the analysis. It leads everyone
to an understanding of what worked and what didn't. This approach gives
the organization a chance for open, honest communication, as well as solid
ground on which to begin building a change process that has a chance of
meeting objectives. This is an opportunity for management to acknowledge
that there is always the possibility of failure, that there are no guarantees,
and that not everyone's desires can be satisfied during the process. These
admissions build credibility for management and create a framework of expectations
within which it is easier to bring people together to focus on what matters.
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Simply stated, these 12 guidelines for walking the talk can mean the
difference between success and failure for a continuous improvement program.
Whatever talk managers are trying to get employees to buy into will suddenly
be heard much more clearly if managers know how to walk that talk. When
they do, their organization's improvement potential is unlimited.
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