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There are three skill sets that
great employers seek in their
new hires. Those three are:
1)
Business Strategist Mindset
– which I discussed in my
article last month
2)
Efficiency Maven Skill Set
3)
Techno Teacher Skill Set
The topic of this article is the
second skill set, that of the
efficiency maven skill set,
otherwise known as the Lean
Gene. Let’s examine how to
identify the Lean gene and
how to hire ‘efficiency mavens,’
employeeswhonaturallycultivate
an environment where smarter
processes improve value.
I’ll address why C-level thinkers
lean on Lean
while pure
operations efficiency experts
may find Six Sigma more
appealing. I’ll ask you to consider
the differences as it appears the
customer-centered leadership
team prefers one over the other.
I recently had the benefit of
listening to a C-level leader
of a large and growing global
company speak about his
company and their industry
role for nearly 90 minutes. His
company has grown consistently
since he became the key
strategist and decision maker. In
the Q&A, an audience member
asked him whether he was more
of a Six Sigma advocate or a Lean
leader. His quick and sincere
response underscored for me
the differences when hiring for
that second of three key skill-
sets, what we call an efficiency
maven. He explained that six
sigma processes do eliminate
defects, do reduce waste, do
improve quality and efficiency.
However, Lean is where we live,
and remains a cornerstone of
how to do business.
What he meant was that
adding value to the customer’s
experience, every day, is what
Lean is about; Lean gives
you the right focus. Will the
customer perceive it as adding
value? Cutting out wasteful
or unnecessary steps is the
smart step when the customer
perceives that change as adding
value.
Of course both efficiency
philosophies, LeanandSixSigma,
know the critical importance
How Do You Identify
the Lean Gene
By Dan Toussant
SOAR TO SUCCESS
/
A
pril
2017
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Business Acceleration Strategies