CAPITAL: The Voice of Business Issue 1, 2015 | Page 25

GEMBA Somta Tools has done a lot of work to implement Lean in its organisation. Here, staff members are given a training session by one of Somta’s experienced international partners. As Dr Michael Ballé pointed out, training is a vitally important part of Lean thinking. PHOTO: Supplied. But it has become clear that today’s gemba walk is going to be a little different to the usual factory tour. Ballé has already cut Somta’s Lean consultant short before he has managed to get past the third slide in his presentation, a slide that details the company’s roadmap for the implementation of Lean. “No, roadmaps don’t work,” Ballé says bluntly. “We are not trying to ‘do’ Lean; we are trying to teach Lean thinking.” He explains that Toyota’s response to him when he first asked for their roadmaps was: “We make people before we make parts.” “This will sound very sad,” he says ruefully, “but I’ve spent my entire career studying that sentence.” Having a book of procedures is a ninetiestype business management strategy that has no place in today’s world, he says. “If you tried to apply that today you would kill the business. No company today can deal with all the overcost of all that bullshit.” “Today you have to compromise. You have to let go and be more inclusive, more accepting. This is not about compliance.” Some of the execs are beginning to look slightly dubious. He tries explaining that company leaders err when making the “assumption that the destination is known” . “No,” he reminds them, “we live in a Google world.” Things change faster than we can react. “You have all been brought up in an ‘extractive’ culture,” he reveals to the crossarmed executives around the boardroom table. “You try to squeeze as much as you can out of your staff, your customers, your suppliers.” “You are trained to look for static efficiencies.” “But you have to move to an inclusive culture to succeed today,” he urges. “You need to embrace.” It’s all feeling a bit Zen and there are a few p \