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If you’re like most managers I know, the word “planning” probably doesn’t exactly get your heart racing. Let’s be honest – planning is kind of boring. It’s time-consuming and tedious, full of long meetings and nerdy analysis. But as much as we’d love to avoid it, planning is critical. A company without a plan is like a ship without a rudder – drifting aimlessly until it crashes and sinks.
So planning we must. But surely there’s a better way than the traditional methods that lead to overly complex plans stacked with wasteful activities. Enter lean planning. Lean planning techniques help strip away the waste and create streamlined plans that maximize value to customers. Intrigued? Read on to learn more about how lean planning can revolutionize your processes.
Lean planning brings the power of “lean” to planning activities. For those unfamiliar with lean, it’s a methodology originally developed in manufacturing that focuses on maximizing value while eliminating waste. Lean examines processes end-to-end to identify and cut out activities that don’t directly contribute value.
By applying lean concepts to planning, organizations can streamline bloated planning processes. Lean planning has five key principles:
Lean planning takes a ground-up approach. It relies on input from employees closest to the value creation process and the customers. The goal is to co-create plans that focus on achieving operational excellence.
Adopting lean techniques can significantly improve your planning processes and outcomes. Let’s look at some of the benefits you can expect:
Eliminates Waste
Lean planning eliminates unnecessary steps that don’t directly deliver value. For example, bloated approval processes, excess documentation requirements, and redundant communication loops are trimmed. This saves time and resources.
Focuses on Customer Value
Lean planning centers planning activities on what customers truly value. This creates plans that align to customer needs rather than internal considerations.
Promotes Continuous Improvement
The iterative approach of lean planning ensures plans are continuously evaluated and improved. This gradually optimizes planning processes and plans.
Streamlines Decision Making
Lean planning improves information flow by engaging frontline employees. Better insights lead to faster and higher quality decisions.
Reduces Risks
The waste reduction and iterative approach of lean planning minimizes chances of huge failures. Changes are small and incremental.
Improves Employee Morale
Employees feel empowered and motivated when involved in planning. They gain greater ownership over implementation as well.
The benefits of lean planning are substantial. It leads to plans that maximize value delivery while minimizing resource requirements. Next, let’s look at some techniques to get started with lean planning.
Here are some proven techniques you can apply to make your planning lean:
Value Stream Mapping
Map out your current planning process end-to-end. Identify steps that directly create value along with non-value adding waste. Eliminate any waste you can.
Kanban
Use a Kanban board to visualize your planning workflow. Limit work-in-progress at each stage. This smoothens flow and prevents bottlenecks.
Set-Based Design
Develop multiple alternatives in planning rather than deciding on one option early. Evaluate options gradually based on learning. This reduces rework.
A3 Thinking
Summarize plans on a single A3 size paper. This template distills plans to only the most critical information.
Visual Management
Use visual indicators and displays to show status of planning tasks and processes. For example, use color coding and metrics boards.
Standard Work
Document standard processes for repetitive planning activities. This promotes consistency and continuous improvement.
Root Cause Analysis
When problems occur, conduct a root cause analysis to find systemic issues. Address these root causes to prevent recurrence.
Daily Standup Meetings
Conduct short daily standup meetings for planners to share updates. This aligns the team and resolves impediments quickly.
Retrospectives
Run regular retrospectives to review what went well and what can be improved in planning. Take action on improvement opportunities.
These techniques will help you streamline your planning processes leveraging lean principles. Consider starting with higher impact techniques like value stream mapping and visual management.
Here are some tips for effectively implementing lean planning in your organization:
Get Leadership Buy-In
As with any major initiative, getting leadership buy-in is critical. Help them understand the benefits of lean planning and how it aligns with company goals. Have them actively sponsor the initiative.
Train Employees
Conduct training workshops to educate employees on lean principles and planning techniques. This builds capability and gets them excited about the changes.
Start Small
Don’t attempt a major overhaul of the planning process right away. Start with a pilot on a small project or area of planning. Learn and demonstrate results before scaling up.
Continuous Improvement
Keep enhancing your lean planning approach iteratively. Refine techniques and introduce new ones gradually that provide the most impact.
Involve Customers
Engage customers to get their input when mapping value streams and designing plans. This helps focus on value delivery.
Show Quick Wins
Demonstrate some quick wins and results from early pilots. This builds further momentum and adoption across the organization.
With a thoughtful approach focused on capability building and incremental change, you can make your planning processes lean, efficient, and customer-focused.
As with implementing any new approach, you are likely to face some challenges on your lean planning journey:
Resistance to Change
People are often comfortable with existing planning processes and hesitate to change. Involve them early and share benefits to obtain buy-in.
Lack of Understanding
Employees may lack knowledge of lean principles. Conduct training and highlight successes to build understanding over time.
Inconsistent Execution
Planners may revert back to old ways occasionally. Develop standards and audit processes until new behaviors are habitual.
Difficulty Sustaining
Lean planning requires discipline and commitment. Leadership involvement and ongoing training helps sustain momentum.
Measuring Benefits
It can be tricky to quantify benefits from lean planning. Define metrics like planning cycle time, output, and value delivery.
Scope Expansion
Be careful about expanding the scope too quickly across the organization. Go step-by-step to ensure proper adoption.
Discuss these challenges upfront and develop mitigation strategies. Being prepared will help you drive lean planning at scale successfully.
Lean planning techniques offer a structured way to eliminate waste and streamline your planning processes. This leads to plans that maximize value for customers and optimize resource utilization.
Some key takeaways include:
With leadership commitment and disciplined execution, you can leverage lean planning to create plans that help achieve operational excellence. The time and effort invested will pay dividends through enhanced customer satisfaction, lower costs, and better financial performance.