I believe the Great Pyramid of Giza can provide us with some tips to help us to sustain lean from a Leadership perspective.
One of the fundamental reasons why Lean is not sustained is due to Leadership. So, we need to ensure our leaders are engaged in our Lean journey right from the start.
The Great Pyramid was built around 2600 BC with 2.3 million hand-carved stones.
There are 3 key principles coming from the Pyramid Model that can help us:
1. Purpose: The Egyptians were clear on the purpose of the Great Pyramid. Likewise, the purpose of Lean has to be clear to everyone. Every member of the organisation needs to believe in the purpose, moreso your leaders.
2. Plan: The Egyptians had a clear plan that was communicated to all key stakeholders well before anything was started. The plan revolved around what they were going to do, who was going to do it and at what stage they were involved. The same with your Lean plan. It must specifically and clearly indicate, who’s doing what and when.
3. People: There were 2.3 million stones used in the great Pyramid, not uniform or dressed but functioning well together in the right orientation & alignment. Likewise, your people are different with different skills. But only working together, can they reach the end goal.
I believe these tips coming from the model of the Great Pyramid, will help your Leaders in making the transformation sustainable.