Lean is not negotiable

Please check out this article by @SusanCarr (Susan Carr) on Patient Safety and Quality Healthcare, summarizing a recent Lean session at Atrius Health.  I am pleased, but not at all surprised, that my friends and colleagues at Atrius continue to pursue a Lean philosophy and vision.  That approach has already paid huge dividends for the patients and staff at this multi-specialty practice, and the leadership of the organization understands that you don't do Lean, you embed it into the corporate culture for everyone, every day.  Excerpts from Susan's article:

Last week I attended a three-hour presentation given by Lean guru George Koenigsaecker to Atrius Health, an alliance of community-based medical groups in Massachusetts.

In his presentation, Koenigsaecker emphasized the role of leadership in implementing Lean, pointing out that Lean requires adults to learn new attitudes and behaviors—a far more sustained and challenging leadership effort than getting everyone on board with new technology and processes. Success with Lean takes time and involves culture change. That is always challenging, but traditional Lean teaching, beginning with Toyota, did not include leadership training of the sort that interests us today. TPS was taught and fostered through mentorship, without documented leadership principles.

I particularly like the last piece of advice raised by Koenigsaecker, as part of his suggestions to achieve this end:

Lean walk-the-talk.  Practicing Lean as a way of life. It starts to affect your thinking. You are teaching and contributing to the evolution of Lean. Lean is not negotiable; it’s who you are; it’s how you do what you do.