Addressing Sustainability
Progress has been made in many organizations to instill the concepts of operational excellence and continuous improvement in their workplaces. When made part of an organization’s culture, the quest for optimal performance becomes a way of thinking and a core value; it indeed becomes, “…the way we do things.”
What about progress in sustainability? The notion of a conscious effort to think longer term — to assure that the ability of future generations to meet environmental, social, and economic needs is not compromised by an organization’s current activities — requires thinking beyond profitability goals. In his book Triple Bottom Line, author Andrew Savitz described overlapping the interests of our society and the environment, in addition to business interests.
Many organizations have made a commitment to sustainability and have initiated specific sustainability projects/programs. Organizations are realizing that a longer-term sustainability view also makes strong business sense in the near term. What is needed is to instill a strong sustainability culture just as we have begun to do in the operational excellence areas.
Linking sustainability improvements to operational process improvements is one way to begin. For example, an effort to improve the flow of materials in a warehouse by reconfiguring the layout can result in reduction of transport time, reduced picking time, and reduced inventory levels (all reduction of “muda”, or waste). But the resultant reduction of forklift usage/travel can also result in sustainability improvements — minimizing energy usage, reducing hazardous materials, and minimizing the carbon footprint. What are commonly regarded as the “3 P’s” of sustainability — Profit, People, and the Planet — can be more effectively addressed.
For more details, see this great collection of Lean and Green articles (and sponsoring website): APPLYING LEAN SIX SIGMA TO THE ENVIRONMENT
Book – The Culture Code
Among the many books and articles on the subject of organizational culture, Daniel Coyle’s recent book, The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups, is worth a read.
Don’t forget the Introduction — Coyle begins by describing research conducted on small 4-person groups, including business students and kindergarteners. The research involved studying the interactions of the group members working together (or not) to accomplish a specific task. After studying many successful groups/teams, Coyle has distilled the common denominator of these groups as a set of three skills: Building Safety, Sharing Vulnerability, and Establishing Purpose.