Written by Paul Critchley
You read that right. 0%. None. Nil. Nada.
If you’re actively practicing Lean, then you’ve probably also read other articles, blogs and claims about how 50%, 75% or even 90% of all Lean transformations fail. The authors of these diatribes will then go on about all the reasons behind such a high rate exists (disengaged management, too much lingo, yada yada yada…). If you’re really lucky, you’ll stumble across an article that a consultant wrote, in which case you’ll find that he/she will give you just enough insight into their unique solution to this issue to make you want to contact them to learn more about how they, and they alone, can save you from a most certain demise.
Welp – I’m calling BS.
Show me the data
For years I read these same articles, and for a long time I mimicked their claims in my own speech. We’ve all witnessed the effects that unsupportive leadership, an over-reliance on tools and a half- baked approach can have on Lean initiatives. In my 20+ years on shop floors, I’d seen plenty of mistakes made. So yeah – I could buy that somewhere around 70-80% of transformations fail.
But then I began to wonder; where did this notion come from? Where was the data to support such claims? I went looking, and was amazed at what I didn’t find. Most of this “data” is anecdotal. There are any number of articles that claim some high percentage of Lean failure, and after chasing them down their respective rabbit holes, many end in statements like this one from a consultant: “…these numbers are also consistent with what I see in industry, somewhere around 70% failure rate.” Okay – so maybe this high failure rate was this guy’s experience… but based upon how many inputs? What industry? And what is his knowledge base/frame of reference? I kept on looking, and only found a lot of similar language like that. Most included a statement like “according to industry experts”… ugh.
Show me the data
We can trace this whole movement back to two distinct sources: a 2007 census done by Industry Week and the MPI Group (a research company out of Cleveland), and an interview comment made by Robert Miller, Executive Director of the Shingo Prize in 2010.
In an effort to understand where all of this came from, I dove into each of these.
The IW/MPI census included just 433 anonymous respondents, which I think is too low of a sample size to draw any conclusions from. Despite the low response rate, this survey is the most often cited source by the “Lean failure” movement, with the piece most often referred to being the “only 2% of companies achieved their anticipated result” response that respondents gave. Again – context here is critical, and something we don’t get when this data set is simply referenced and not explicitly presented.
From what I can find, that’s a pretty myopic view of the survey results. In truth, when you dig into the actual results (as published by Industry Week themselves), it says that only 12.8% of companies surveyed made “no progress” towards their goals. So what’s up with the remaining 85.2%? They’re somewhere in the middle, I guess. That doesn’t say “failure” to me – it says they aren’t yet where they want to be, and that’s not bad. It’s continuous improvement after all!
So now for Robert Miller’s comment. He made it while doing an interview on Radio Lean, which is now defunct. Anyway, here’s the referenced quote: “About 3 years ago we felt we needed deep reflection. After 19 or 20 years we went back and did a significant study of the organizations that had received the Shingo Prize to determine which ones had sustained the level of excellence that they demonstrated at the time they were evaluated and which ones had not…We were quite surprised, even disappointed that a large percentage of those organizations that had been recognized had not been able to keep up and not been able to move forward and in fact lost ground … We studied those companies and found that a very large percentage of those we had evaluated were experts at implementing tools of lean but had not deeply embedded them into their culture.”
What is Lean about, really?
So first off, I didn’t read a percentage in there anywhere. And to be fair, 20 years ago I could do lots of things I can’t do anymore. Let’s be honest here – the places that go for the Shingo Prize no doubt cram for the test. It’s like every ISO audit I’ve ever done or been on – we always make sure we put our best foot forward when the auditor shows up. I’m willing to bet that this is no different. Attaining Shingo Prize-level Lean is no small (or cheap) feat, so rest assured that every person in the place is going to make sure that they aren’t the ones that cause the company to fail. Once the audit is over, everyone probably relaxes a little, too… I’m not saying that it’s right; I’m saying that it happens. I also wouldn’t categorize that as a “failure”, either. But that’s me.
I’m not a member of this massive Lean transformation failure sect, and for good reason. By definition, you’re never truly done with Lean. You can always remove more waste, engage with people more, deliver more value… and quite frankly that’s the point. Lean is about striving to be better and learning about what that takes to achieve “better” together. The struggle is part of the journey.
There are things we must do to give Lean its best chance at success; that’s absolutely true. But let’s stop making these broad brush claims about Lean failures being rampant, because they don’t help anyone. In fact, it sometimes keeps people from beginning the journey at all, and that’s the polar-opposite of what Lean is truly all about. Instead, let’s analyze what it takes to continue our journeys, and how we can help each other keep moving forward to make things better – for all of us.
About Paul Critchley
Paul Critchley is a recognized thought leader on employee engagement and continuous improvement and has helped businesses around the world achieve greater levels of success through the application of Lean techniques. A frequent speaker, he has keynoted at numerous corporate events, as well as at international conventions such as AME’s annual Lean conference and at OpEx Week. He’s also the host of “The New England Lean Podcast,” a weekly show that focuses on Lean leadership and New England-based businesses.
Paul is a former Board Member of the Northeast Region of AME, holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, a M.S. degree in Management and a M.S. in Organizational Leadership.
He is passionate about Lean and creating organizational cultures that are sustainably engaged. He co-authored his first book – The Whole Professional, A Collection of Essays to Help You Achieve a Full and Satisfying Life to bring a fresh perspective on Work/Life Balance and how individuals and organizations can work together to achieve greater levels of attainment.
