Office Kaizen: Transforming Office Operations Into a Strategic Competitive Advantage

After nearly 4 years experience as a 6 Sigma Black-belt leading projects centered on the commercial side of a Fortune-500 enterprise---sales, marketing, marketing services, customer service, HR, etc.-I was pleased to see the emphasis on implementation tactics at the level where most of the detailed work of an organization gets done. It fills the gap left by bigger programs.It is not so much a "How to" book as it is a "WHY to" book of logic meant to motivate and provoke thought. It fills a gap where other, bigger name programs can fail to deal with the sustaining power of changing human behavior. But with Office Kaizen there appears to be a proven path forward. Much of the 6 Sigma work I have seen in transactional projects often fails to meet expectations and truly improve outputs in ways that last longer than the `official' measurement period. Such projects often encompass arenas of business activity in which no formal process map has ever existed, even less the mere idea that a process exists. Lacking a consensus understanding of work flow, it follows that NO standards for output exist; NO metrics are captured to qualify those standards; little consideration for the customer's expectations of quality is built into the process; and clearly NO discipline is needed where there is NO process structure. Not surprisingly, little sense of ownership is evident. It's a steep slope that only leads to status quo and mild, but constant chaos! Modifying the human aspects of process change is often challenging for 6 Sigma methodologies that better fit finite manufacturing, logistical and similarly tangible processes. In my experience of completing `soft' projects, 6 Sigma methods simply don't have as many tools for dealing with the level of granularity and immediate application at the individual behavior level as are found in Office Kaizen. The proposed methods directly treat the realities of getting work done at the molecular level. Regardless of all else done to improve business process, there is still a key implementation step remaining- changing the human behaviors embedded in work processes. Visual displays (PVD's), Lean Daily Management Systems (LDMS), 20 Keys and the whole treatment of `surface waste' are very instructive for the business leader seriously pursuing process improvement. That leader will greatly benefit by reading the logic, described by Mr. Lareau in "Office Kaizen", that clarifies the reality that the enabling key to all change in business process is leadership. Sustainability only derives from leadership---leaders who understand that improvement really comes from the bottom up; and that procedure by procedure, paper by paper, person by person, load by load, part by part, and day by day improvements converge to yield sustainable gains. The LDMS assures that change endures. And leadership assures that LDMS and other LEAN office procedures endure. Their focus on reducing waste via correct structure, discipline and power of ownership, all

Office Kaizen: Transforming Office Operations Into A Strategic Competitive Advantage by William Lareau (co-owner of Implementation Services, a management consulting firm specializing in implementation) is a solid and imminently practical guide to streamlining and maximizing the efficiency of routine and exceptional office operations. Individual chapters adroitly address minimizing and eliminating wasteful redundancy, provide pointers to keep in mind when planning mentorship and training programs, and descriptively explain the SLIM-IT system for achieving positive change. An excellent all-around cost-cutter, in terms of both time and money, Office Kaizen is especially recommended for the novice office manager, and has a great deal of value to offer even the more experienced business administrator or supervisor.

Dr. Lareau's book is clear, readable, strategically oriented and detailed enough to get anyone with common sense off and running. Lean management, including lean office management, requires a discipline that can only come from confidence that the approach is on target - right management structure, right information to the right people at the right time, right teamwork and tools and metrics, etc. Office Kaizen provides that confidence, showing how to get the fat off and keep it off.

Finally, someone has written an understandable, comprehensive, and useful guide to implementing lean manufacturing methods, tools, and tachniques in white collar environments! Waste is just as rampant in paper-based and automation-driven office work processes as it is on factory floors, but not nearly as visible. And there is far less experience in designing and implementing lasting and effective productivity improvement programs (lean-based or not) among professional management in such environments. Thus the challenges of running successful lean improvement programs in offices are significantly greater than in manufacturing. Thank you, Dr. Lareau, for writing a book that explains well how to plan and make the journey from the philosophical to the practical in lean office projects. The author does a good job of establishing a foundation for lean thinking by first describing the strategic philosophy of lean in the context of such office workplaces. Building on that foundation, he then takes the reader through a well-reasoned "how to" exercise in constructing the real world elements required to design, launch, and drive a lean white collar program to be successful. As in his previous book, LEAN LEADERSHIP, Lareau stresses the importance of an executive oversight committee that is directly and continuously involved from start to finish. If anything, his imperative that such strong leadership involvement is critical for success rings truer in discussing office-based lean efforts than in manufacturing environments. This book is a "MUST READ" for anyone contemplating the migration of lean tools and techniques to white collar work groups, and I highly recommend it.

William Lareau has found a way to really open an organization's eyes to the breadth of improvement ideas and waste elimination opportunities that exist within the office areas of most corporations. He demonstrates in his inimitably frank and honest way a veritable plethora of tools and techniques that can be brought to bear on some of the most basic issues that confront office personnel, from the top executive to the lowliest clerk. His clarity of thought and innovation cannot leave anyone in any doubt as to what benefits could be realized through the use of his "Office Kaizen" toolkit: Office Blitzes, 20 Keys, Metrics, and Lean Daily Management. This concise guide to what I would term "Lean in the Office" brings the highest level of clarity to the task of waste elimination. He has brought to life, using some of the most basic structures, the concept of instilling control and discipline into an area of business that has historically had none. Keep up the great flow of innovative ideas, William!