Page 181 - How To Implement Lean Manufacturing

Planning and Goals 159

the “Promised Land.” In other words, once we get there (the future state), we will
be in the land of milk and honey. Since the goals are, by definition, attainable, this
has the effect of creating hope. Hope that the company will become “the best,”
“more competitive,” or whatever is the desired vision of the company. It is a psycho-
logical fact that there are few positive motivators that are as strong as the concept
of hope.
In addition to creating hope, properly deployed goals will have owners and clear
objectives. This then has the highly desirable effect of instilling both confidence and a
sense of ownership in those who must execute the goals. They will proceed with more
confidence when they know they are the ones who are both responsible and account-
able for the goals. Furthermore, they know that the goals are clearly an extension of the
plant goals: important to the success of the facility. For those who achieve their goals,
all these factors combine to develop a strong sense of accomplishment with the atten-
dant self-satisfaction attached to accomplishment.

The Goals and the Goal Creation Process Are Strong Motivation Tools

Consequently, through the:
• Creation of hope
• The pride of ownership
• Renewed confidence
• A sense of accomplishment

the goals become a motivating factor, spurring the organization to new levels of per-
formance.

Goal Characteristics
All goals must be:

• Written
• Challenging
• Believable
• Specific
• Measurable
• Have a deadline

Goal Deployment
Goals must be deployed in the right context, to the right owner, and with the right
expectations. The context and expectation include the expected results in the expected
time frame. In addition, good deployment will include the manager pointing out pos-
sible failure paths to avoid, and possible future conflicts that might naturally result
from attaining the goal. It is also an aspect of good deployment to reach agreement on
the available resources to allocate to the goal efforts and the consequences of achieving
and failing to achieve the desired results.