There is a pretty high failure rate with Lean. I’ve seen studies that said 76% of continuous improvement efforts under deliver, and I’ve heard anecdotal stories from Lean bloggers that claim upwards of 90% of implementations fail.

The truth is that it is hard to pin down precise numbers, as the people vested in studying Lean are also the people that want it to do well. Knowing that the failure rate is rather high means that there is not a lot of incentive to spend copious amounts of money on doing a scientific study. But it is clear that Lean is hard. And it is also clear that the is a substantial number of companies abandoning their Lean efforts.

So, what are the indicators that a company has the potential to do well with Lean, or any continuous improvement efforts, for that matter? The following list of success factors are indicators that a company has a good shot at making Lean stick.

A Committed Top-Level Leadership Team

When the senior leaders are attending continuous improvement meetings, showing up for training, educating themselves, and adopting leadership practices like policy deployment, it is a great sign. Above all else, I look for commitment from leaders when assessing a company.

Investing in Lean

There’s an old expression in Lean that says something like “reach for your brain before you reach for your wallet.” The premise is that Lean should use creativity to make improvements without spending a lot of money.

That’s not exactly true. You have to invest in the tools and equipment to make improvements. You have to get the right training materials, or spend time developing them yourselves. You have to get people who know what they are doing in the building, whether it is hiring a full-time person, getting a consultant, or sending people to training.

The bottom line is that Lean is costly in time, effort, energy, and manpower, and even in dollars. Companies that scrimp on Lean are tripping over dollars to save nickels.

Adopting Policy Deployment

If I could only give a company one tool to use for a Lean implementation, policy deployment would be it. It clarifies what the expectations are, splits the workload, makes sure short-term activities support long term goals, and aligns the workforce.

People will figure out everything else, but without a ‘North Star’ to guide you, it is hard to make good progress.

Focusing on Culture Rather Than Tools

Companies that ‘get it’ look at Lean tools for what they are: tools. The goal is never to use a tool. It is to accomplish something, and tools are a means to do that. When organizations focus too much on simply deploying tools throughout the organization, they miss the big picture. But those that try to alter the way people look at their jobs and how they view improvement have a much greater likelihood of being one of the few companies that succeeds.

Involving Everyone

Continuous improvement works best when the whole organization is on board. Companies that are likely to be successful have knowledgeable staff at their frontlines.

They won’t likely be perfect in everything, but the will most likely have been in a kaizen event at some point in the early year or 18 months. If they have not been a team member, they would have at least had some input and would know what the teams are and what they do.

They will have an understanding of how goals are set, and what their team’s role is. They will be focused on metrics and will be engaged during morning stand-up meetings.

The point is that nearly everyone in the company will be impacted by Lean and will be impacting the culture.

Resistors are Removed

One of the hardest things to do, and one of the bigger indicators of commitment is the removal of those people who show no inclination to get on board with the new way of doing things.

I am always reluctant to list this as a success factor, as it is not something you should actively go out looking to do. You don’t improve your odds just by finding someone to fire.

What this means is that the company has to have the courage of its convictions. The belief that creating a continuous improvement culture is the right path has to be so strong that it will not tolerate people who actively try to get the company to stray off course.

This is most common in companies that have grown rapidly and have a handful of people who were with it from the beginning. They remember how things used to be, and don’t recognize that the old ways don’t work anymore.

Nobody should be fired without a chance to get on board. But it can take a lot of effort to convert someone. Some of those that don’t get on board can be convinced to leave. Offering early retirement. Transferring them to a different division with less commitment to Lean. Even helping them find another job.

But the truth is that few managers regret taking action, once it is time. Most regret not taking it sooner.

Patience

We’ve become accustomed to instant gratification. Most likely the longest specific goal anyone ever voluntarily works towards in their personal lives is a college degree. 4 years in a company is an eternity. Look back 4 years in your company, and think of how different things were, and what the company was striving to do.

My belief, from years of continuous improvement experience, is that the biggest reason companies fail at implementing Lean is that they abandon it too soon. It takes a long time to build the right structure and get people trained. Changing a culture is not an overnight task.

Companies that begin their new business system development with a realistic view of what to expect, timeline-wise, have a much better chance of success. This is the success factor: Having a realistic timeline that people are bought into.

Supercharged companies can possibly get to a steady state of Lean in around 3 years, but it will still be rough with a lot of new concepts still to roll out. Most companies take closer to 5 or more years to get to that point. It is easy to give up.

It is a lot easier to give up if you are unrealistic going in. If you expect to be a Lean company in 18 months, and 3 years later you are still plugging along, abandoning is more likely.

Burning Bridges

Companies that fully commit to a new way of doing business burn bridges behind them. They don’t hedge their bets and dip their toes in the water. When they make a change, they charge forward. They don’t keep the old methods, just in case things don’t work out. They commit to making things work out.

Companies that exhibit these traits and actions are well situated to becoming Lean. But just having some of these blocks checked isn’t enough. It will take work. It will take time.

But with determined leaders and a committed team, these factors paint a rosy picture.