Listening

Dwight Bowen's "COMPETING" pod cast (a marvelous resource!) has a good posting on the importance of LISTENING (visit Dwight's execellent website: COMPETING). It resonated with a few things we're trying to do at Green Leaf Plants, so I commented - and reproduced the essence of the comments here. Part of what I'm hoping you'll begin to see is that "Lean" is much more than a set of tools, but is an entire approach to work and business.

We are developing a top-level plan in our strategy deployment exercises with the theme “The Voice of the Customer”. Problem statement (paraphrased): We have not been listening well. In discussion about how to capture the current situation and set targets in a simple graphic picture we had a hard time getting past the need to respond. Is documenting our listening what is important? Or, as some argued, do we need to show our response? My challenge to the group was to consider Stephen Covey’s habit #5, just as Dwight did. Resist the impulse to listen with the intention to respond, but rather listen to understand, and reflect this understanding back to the speaker (customer). Our responses are obviously vital, but they will show up in other metrics of operational effectiveness - shorter lead times, new products, improved customer interface, REVENUE GROWTH!!, etc.

LISTENING needs to come first.

If we define the problem as “NOT LISTENING”, then Dwight and Covey have given us a good lesson by reinforcing the need to suspend (or at least separate) repsonse, and focus on the listening itself.

As Dwight observes, this is built into the structure of an A3 plan. The other tie in is management by the Socratic method that we hear so much about from Toyota (and try to practice!). Rather than DIRECTING, we ask questions, and listen. What do your people know? How do they define the problem today? What is the right question to ask next to deepen our understanding. A close reading of John Shook’s “Managing to Learn” (READ THIS BOOK!) shows the challenge of NOT responding first, but patiently listening and questioning, to lead our people to deeper understanding of problems and capabilities.

Isn’t it interesting that a system (TPS) that creates such urgency in so many areas, urges us to go so deliberately with this! Take the time needed to define the problem. Listen to your people, your customers, your processes. Solving the wrong problem is no solution at all!