The whole is greater than the sum of its parts
If your business relies on consultants, contractors, vendors, and suppliers to deliver your products and services, their lack of focus on continuous improvement can significantly hamper your attempts to build a continuous improvement culture. If you’re really trying to build a continuous improvement culture, you need to engage your partners and suppliers on your journey. This blog covers why and five steps to get you there.
How do you get leaders to model a behavior of continuous improvement if they don’t know what it looks like?
If your leadership doesn’t know “what” it looks like, then a good chance is they’ll never be able to model the operating styles or behaviors required of a continuous improvement culture. Field trips (or tours) to places that can demonstrate quality activities can be an effective teaching method and good team building event. If you think outside of the box, this can be a very valuable developmental tool for your leadership along your journey. This blog examines ways to accomplish this.
http://ngs.edu/2014/06/27/building-culture-continuous-improvement-developing-leadership-tours/
Train your leaders first to change the culture
Oftentimes we get leadership support to an initiative to change the culture, but they don’t have the actual skills to implement the changes they’re supporting. Before you can expect your front-line employees to live a culture of continuous improvement, you have to develop your leaders, managers, and professionals. Everything we’ve discussed over the past six blogs have built to this. See how building a culture of continuous improvement starts with developing leadership and professionals.
Strategy is only the start of continuous improvement
The strategy to build continuous improvement culture involves an equal portion of measuring, improving, and changing work. This model is further fueled by a level of employee commitment and innovation. In this blog, we will explore the various facets of the model I use at a high level.
http://ngs.edu/2014/06/13/building-culture-continuous-improvement-fully-understand-continuous-improvement-culture-model
The efficiency of your organizational structure has a broad-reaching effect in your organization
We’re now several weeks into this discussion on building a continuous improvement culture. However, at this point in your journey, it is important to ensure you are properly organized to effectively build what you desire. Explore this and past blogs to identify if you are ready to take the next steps.
Building a Continuous Improvement Culture begins with the development of a strategy. This blog continues our discussion with National Graduate School. In this blog, I provide a strategic framework to help you develop your own culture change. Although I can’t tell you everything you need to develop–I can help you better understand the strategic steps you need to take and why you need to take them.
http://ngs.edu/2014/05/27/building-culture-continuous-improvement-crafting-continuous-improvement-strategy/
Everyone always wants to blame the failure to set a culture, or a bad culture, on leadership. Leaders are responsible for setting the culture, but it takes more than leadership. That being said, learn how leader set the environment that allows for a continuous improvement culture.
We talk about “culture” all the time and there is often a misconception of what culture is. According to Gallup, 30% of the US workforce is can be considered engaged in their work. A Continuous Improvement Culture depends on an employee based that is engaged. Building and Sustaining and Quality Culture had over twice as many sessions as three of the other theme and focus areas at the recent ASQ Conference, which presents it as one of the most important aspects in quality today. Continue on my journey with National Graduate School as we explore my Continuous Improvement Culture Model and discuss ways to drive this culture into your organization.
http://ngs.edu/2014/05/08/building-culture-continuous-improvement-culture-building/
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
I am now a weekly guest blogger with National Graduate School. Please check out my blog there.
Follow us as we explore how to build a culture of continuous improvement.
Building a culture of continuous improvement isn’t easy and can take a considerable amount of time. However, it’s very possible and results can be felt within weeks of embarking on the journey. Over John’s 25 plus years of experience, he’s developed a model rooted in strategy and designed to build this culture in any organization. Join John and National Graduate School as we weekly explore this model and ways to drive this type of culture. We look forward to your thoughts and inputs along this journey, so join us and watch for our future blogs about once a week with the tag line “CIC.”
http://ngs.edu/2014/05/01/building-culture-continuous-improvement/