Lean Conversations: A Look at Workplace Performance from the Artists’ Perspective
May 10-12, 2017 Reseach Workshop: Cincinnati, Ohio and Georgetown, Kentucky
What Can We Learn About Lean from an Arts Perspective
Lean is a way to design human relationships and conversations in an enterprise as well as improve work processes. Lean thinking has largely been interpreted through the perspective of engineers and social scientists. The goal of this workshop was to observe and interpret Lean thinking through the “eyes” of an artist. This was also an opportunity for a group of artists to gain knowledge of the Lean way of thinking, improving their day-to-day work environment.
On May 10 and 11 several Lean professionals engaged with workshop participants from the artist community (Theater, Arts Administration, Performance Studies, Music Education, Fine Arts, Graphic Design, and Fashion Design) who dedicated two days to Lean learning and invested a third day on May 12 participating in a facilitated workshop discussion. The discussion tapped the insights of the artists, who together made observations about Lean thinking from a different perspective than most in the Lean community of professionals.
A record of this workshop is documented in Lean Conversations: The Energy of the Creative Ethos in Your Life and Work, written by Tom Richert. John Shook, former Chairman of the Lean Enterprise Institute, called this work a “new, tough, exciting, promising and important matter.”
Lean Players
Day 1 – May 10, 2017
The artists were introduced to Lean thinking through conversations with several Lean professionals that are working directly and helping others to work with Lean principles and practices. The morning began discussions with Robert Martichenko and Karyn Ross. It concluded with the team dividing into two groups and experiencing the differences between batch and queue and pull-based continuous flow; and learning the importance of balancing work in a process. This was done through a production simulation building planes using three different sets of rules and conditions.
In the afternoon the team watched Niklas Modig’s Efficiency Paradox TED talk and then spoke with Niklas about his observations researching Lean at Toyota and elsewhere. That was followed by discussions with Tom Richert and Bryan Wahl. Near the end of the afternoon the team played the Parade of Trades simulation to understand and discuss the impact of variation on a production system. The day ended with a plus-delta.
Day 2 – May 11, 2017
The day began with a viewing of Niklas Modig’s Lean on Yourself TED talk followed by viewing a video explaining the Lean Transformation Model developed by the Lean Enterprise Institute. Both were catalysts for a spirited discussion, cut off only be the need to board a bus to Georgetown, Kentucky, for a tour of the TMMK factory. The team was met by David Verble, who spent time orienting the team toward an effective approach to observing what is happening in the factory.
Following the 1:30 tour the workshop team again met with David for a discussion about their observations and questions. It was then back on the bus to the UC campus.
Day 3 – May 12, 2017
Friday began with a discussion between the team and John Shook. Among the topics discussed was the observation that arts and spirituality played an important role in the thinking behind elements of the Toyota Production System; and that this was missing from present day expressions of Lean. What followed was a discussion designed to pull from the workshop artist participants their perception of Lean thinking. This was achieved through a LEGO(R) SERIOUS PLAY(R) methodology session led by Joanna McGuffey. The artists were taken through the process of using models to dig deeply into their own thought processes, and then developed shared thinking model to be able to articulate ideas and discussion about Lean thinking as they understood it.
What Was Learned
Observation 1
There is tension in Lean thinking as expressed that comes from apparent inconsistencies and from the zeal which some express for the Lean approach. While the degree to which Lean thinking places importance on the individual is admirable, and the Toyota plant tour provided an example of Lean thinking working across a large group of people, there is a significant challenge in most enterprises to getting all people to commit to Lean thinking practices, and without such commitment it is not clear how it can work. In a Lean thinking environment work flows like a ballet, but how many people can or want to dance.
Observation 2
Lean thinking has roots in Arts and Spirituality and a focus on having a universal sense of purpose related-to the good of humanity. While the 30-year incubation period at Toyota might have integrated technology and capitalism into these roots, evidence of the influence of Arts and Spirituality is limited, and becomes even more diffused as the Toyota Production System becomes diffused into the broader, and very process-improvement focused, world. One thing that the current state of Lean thinking appears to do is to focus on value designation on one constituency – customers – and one period of time – the point of delivery.
From an Arts and Spirituality perspective value is timeless and may take a lifetime or more to incubate. There is a continuum between this timeless value perspective and the human need for delivering time-specific value.
Observation 3
Lean is a way of thinking in search of a language. There is a language – it just does not appear to adequately communicate all that is intended. For example, the PDCA cycle is defined as a step-by-step process, and yet there is much fluidity in the Do and Check spaces between Plan and Act. There was discussion around Lean thinking supporting innovation and yet the language is much more focused on production (not necessarily manufacturing) process improvement and the connection to innovation is less apparent.
There isn’t a sense that qualitative experiments are equally or maybe even more important than quantitative experiments. The Arts has much it can contribute to Lean thinking. The language of the Arts is much broader, and integrates not only emotion, but also the development of psychological states, toward intended purposes. If we can integrate Arts thinking into Lean thinking we can begin to work more effectively within the continuum of timeless value and time-specific value.
Workshop Artists
Rebecca Bromels
Prior to joining the College-Conservatory of Music Rebecca served as director of engagement of ArtsWave, the Greater Cincinnati region’s local arts agency and the nation’s largest community campaign for the arts. Prior to working with ArtsWave Rebecca worked for twelve years at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. As managing director for eight seasons, she worked to broaden the company’s base of support and provide resources for its innovative productions of Shakespeare and the classics. She has also directed plays for Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, the SERIALS project at Know Theatre of Cincinnati, New Edgecliff Theatre and St. Croix Festival Theatre in Wisconsin. Rebecca holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Performance from Texas Christian University.
Michelle Conda
Michelle is an Associate Editor for Clavier Companion magazine with her specialty in the field of andragogy—adult learning. She is a founding member and on the Steering Committee of the National Group Piano/Piano Pedagogy Forum. National conference participations include the Steering Committee of the Adult Learning session of Music Teacher’s National Association, Steering Committee of the Carnegie Hall Achievement Program and Steering Committee member of The National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy. She lectures locally and nationally. Michelle’s articles have appeared in Keyboard Companion, Clavier Companion, Yamaha Key Action, American Music Teacher and Piano Pedagogy Forum. She is also the author of Sensible Piano Skills for the College Age Musician, a guide to learning piano for students studying other music performance disciplines. At UC she is head of the Keyboard Division and chair of Secondary Piano and Piano Pedagogy programs, she heads the Communiversity piano program. Michelle is a frequent collaborator with the Cincinnati Community Orchestra.
Steve Hegge
Prior to his current position, which includes working with arts faculty to obtain grants for creative work, Steve worked as grants manager for the Cincinnati Art Museum. He has a Masters Degree in English from Idaho State University. Steve was born and raised in northern Kentucky, near Cincinnati. His interests in reading and writing, as well as his concerns for literacy and passion for volunteer work influenced his career choice. His work experience includes a year teaching English at Nation University in Thailand. Steve has authored a collection of personal essays/prose poems titled Bowling Green Dreaming. From his perspective art is primarily a solitary pursuit, especially forms such as writing and painting. He does believe there are possibilities for collaboration in all art forms.
Jesse Lawrence
Jesse’s arts background includes a major in theatre and psychology from Drury University. He also has a sports degree, with his athletic focus being swimming. He currently works as a Project Manager and Marketing Coordinator for the University of Cincinnati Research Institute. He came to Cincinnati to be with his boyfriend whom he cites as a major influence in his life. He sees himself as able to integrate pursuits that may appear to be opposed to each other, as evidenced in his experience as both college athlete and theater major. The work ethic in each contrasts, with one focused on feeding the body and the other focused on feeding the mind. With swimming, the competition is the most stressful part of the season. Working in theater, preparation, rehearsal, and learning a character are the most stressful parts. Jesse performed in a production of The Full Monty in 2017. He lives near Cincinnati with his boyfriend.
Bryan Smith
Bryan is responsible for developing and directing course design programming and workshops to support and promote learner-centered pedagogy university-wide, which includes engaging in faculty outreach and strategic planning to enhance Center impact and meet university goals. He has a Ph.D. in English and Comparative Literature and Master Degrees in Fine Arts and Creative Writing. Bryan’s work has been published in several literary publications.
Kathleen Spada
Kathleen has a graduate degree in writing studies from Northern Kentucky University, and is in the PhD program at the University of Cincinnati for composition and rhetoric studies. She is a writer and she teaches writing at the University. Her background includes work in customer services, sales management, market research, consumer behavior, production planning, graphic design, and creative writing. She lives in northern Kentucky with her family.
Matthew Thomas
Matthew is a Freelance Graphic Designer located in Cincinnati, OH. His current clientele includes Cincinnati Christian University and Aspen Roofing & Siding LLC. Prior to starting his own business, he worked as a Cover Designer for Author Solutions: A Penguin Random House Company. Also known as Verbatim, Matthew is a local Hip Hop Artist and Spoken Word Poet. In December of 2011, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Graphic Design from the Art institute of Indianapolis.
Lean Players
The following people met with the workshop participants to provide them with an immersion into Lean thinking.
Robert Martinchenko
Robert’s entire career has been committed to third party logistics. Beginning his journey in transportation and warehousing, Robert has spent over 20 years learning and implementing lean and operational excellence with a focus on end-to-end supply chain management. Early in his career, Robert recognized the unmet logistics needs of lean manufacturers. A globally recognized thought leader in lean thinking and end-to-end supply chain management, Robert is a senior instructor for the Lean Enterprise Institute and the Georgia Tech Supply Chain & Logistics Institute. Robert has written several business books, two of which were awarded the prestigious Shingo Research Award. He recently co-authored Discovering Hidden Profit, detailing the operational framework to connect the four core processes of business strategy, product life-cycle management, sale and marketing, and supply-chain operations in order to maximize customer value at the lowest possible total cost.
Deborah McGee
Deb is responsible for all aspects of LEIs onsite education programs including speaking engagements, standard and customized training programs, and other activities to support onsite capability development. Prior to joining LEI, Deb served as a Project Manager for 13 years with a Boston-based manufacturing & technology company. She brings a practical understanding of lean thinking and application having contributed to enterprise and shop floor process improvements, product line development, and organizational growth through teamwork and complex problem solving.
Niklas Modig
Niklas is a researcher at the Center for Innovation and Operations Management at Stockholm School of Economics and is one of the leading authorities within lean and operational excellence. He has been living for extended periods in Japan and reads, writes, and speaks Japanese fluently. From 2006 to 2008, Niklas was a visiting researcher at the “Center of Excellence – Manufacturing Management Research Center” at University of Tokyo where he researched together with professor Takahiro Fujimoto who is the leading Toyota researcher of all time. As the first and only foreign researcher in the world Niklas was given access to conduct a in-depth study of Toyota Motor Corporation’s most high-performing service systems. He has spent thousands of hours inside Toyota trying to understand the depth of their philosophy.
Tom Richert
Tom began his work with lean principles in 2000. In addition to using lean approaches on projects he also helped develop and deliver a corporate-wide training program for a large construction management firm. His lean experience as a project manager includes building projects in New England and California. His work as a lean coach includes working with project teams throughout the U.S. in their implementation of design and construction practices, helping them reduce project schedules by working together more reliably. In addition to working as a project manager for a range of owners, Tom has also worked as the lead cost estimator for a multi-billion development program, and presented a number of research projects on using a lean approach in public transit to several international transportation conferences.
Karyn Ross
Karyn is a purpose-driven consultant and lean coach, and the coauthor of The Toyota Way to Service Excellence: Lean Transformation in Service Organizations. She has taught organizations in sectors such as financial services, HR, transportation and retail how to use creativity combined with Toyota Way principles and tools to make sure that every customer receives exactly what they want, when they want it, right the first time. She is passionate about teaching teams how to use creativity to discover and deliver the solutions that will satisfy customers on an ongoing basis. A practicing artist, with an MFA in Sculpture, Karyn’s specialty is developing a team’s creativity and critical thinking skills so that they can continuously solve problems and innovate, a powerful combination for delivering service excellence.
John Shook
John Shook is recognized as a true sensei who enthusiastically shares his knowledge and insights within the Lean Community and with those who have not yet made the lean leap. John learned about lean management while working for Toyota for nearly 11 years in Japan and the U.S., helping it transfer production, engineering, and management systems from Japan to NUMMI and subsequently to other operations around the world. While at Toyota’s headquarters, he became the company’s first American kacho (manager) in Japan. His last position with Toyota was as senior American manager with the Toyota Supplier Support Center in Lexington, KY, assisting North American companies implement the Toyota Production System. As co-author of Learning to See John helped introduce the world to value-stream mapping. John also co-authored Kaizen Express, a bi-lingual manual of the essential concepts and tools of the Toyota Production System. In his latest book Managing to Learn, he describes the A3 management process at the heart of lean management and leadership. John is an industrial anthropologist with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee, a master’s degree from the University of Hawaii, and is a graduate of the Japan-America Institute of Management Science. He is the former director of the University of Michigan, Japan Technological Management Program, and faculty of the university’s Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering. John is a sought-after conference keynoter who has been interviewed on lean management by National Public Radio, Bloomberg News, The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, and numerous trade publications.
David Verble
David has been a performance improvement consultant and leadership coach since 2000. Prior to that, he worked for Toyota in North America for 14 years, first as an internal change agent and later as a manager of human resource development at the plant and North American levels. He has been on the workshop faculty of the Lean Enterprise Institute for eleven years and has done presentations and workshops to support a number of the LEI affiliates in the Lean Global Network. David has worked with clients in manufacturing, healthcare, finance, and higher education in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. His work focuses on supporting clients in process improvement, development of lean management systems and practices, strategic thinking and problem solving, and leadership coaching for managers and executives. David is a partner in the Lean Transformations Group and is based in Lexington, KY, where he works through Verble, Worth & Verble.
Bryan Wahl
As a practicing architect, Bryan enjoys putting things together, creating stories, and teaching others throughout the design process to reach their goals. The design process inspires him to create, going beyond the building and shaping the environment. As a good listener, he absorbs and analyzes information first and then translate it into a design. By leading conversations through which designs are conceptualized, refined, and developed detail is uncovered and clarity is gained to achieve desired outcomes. Bryan has been leading the design effort on his firm’s first lean project, which is also the first Integrated Project Delivery project for the Cleveland Clinic.
Workshop Discussion Leader
Joanna McGuffey
Unconventional Works was founded to help people build quality relationships in the workplace, invest deeper in their organization’s mission and to be more fulfilled as part of a team. Joanna helps teams make changes in the workplace to increase morale and productivity. She works with leadership teams to help define their culture, believing it ripples far beyond its leadership. It reaches throughout the organization to clients and beyond. Joanna is a Certified Facilitator of the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® methodology and provides workshops designed to fit specific challenges, including understanding the perspective artists have toward Lean thinking. She has a Fine Arts degree from California State University and her experience includes work as an art instructor.
Workshop Sponsors
Lean Construction Institute is a non-profit organization, founded in 1997. The Institute operates as a catalyst to transform the industry through Lean project delivery using an operating system centered on a common language, fundamental principles, and basic practices.
The Lean Enterprise Institute, Inc. (LEI) is a nonprofit education, publishing, research, and conference organization with an action plan. LEI works to develop hypotheses about lean thinking and experiment to see which approaches work best in the real world. Its mission is to “Make things better, through lean thinking and practice.”
Lean Project Consulting is a leader in the lean transformation of the building industry. The company has supported countless companies, projects, and individuals on their path toward continuous improvement.
Breaking the status quo to build better businesses, period. Unconventional Works uses big picture strategy to inspire and empower growth and productivity in the workplace. Where typical thinking habits and meeting structures tend to be ineffective, we bring balanced critical and creative solutions.
David Verble is a performance improvement consultant and executive coach having previously worked for North American Toyota for fourteen years as an internal change agent and later as the Manager of Human Resource Development. His training and experience have focused on performance improvement, Lean systems and tools, facilitation of strategic thinking and problem solving, coaching, delivery of instructional and organizational development interventions.
