Tower-Bridge[1]You have probably heard the phrase – a picture is worth a thousand words.  It is certainly quite true.  Trying to describe a situation or improvement during a Lean Healthcare kaizen event is much easier through pictures.  The Lean tool of visual controls leverages this principle by clarifying through use of pictures.  However, just as Yogi Berra states, “You can observe a lot just by watching”.  While a picture is better than words, nothing beats seeing it for yourself. 

I was reminded of this last week during my first visit to London, England.  I had seen pictures of the famous sites, but was blown away in my short visiting time squeezed in between Lean Healthcare work.  Nothing will replace the memories of seeing Trafalger Square, Big Ben , and London Tower with my own eyes.  I tried to bring back pictures to describe the experience to my family (who did not accompany me on this trip).  However, I could not muster the emotion of the experience through my iPhone photo gallery. 

This principle applies equally to the Leadership teams that we coach during a Lean Transformation engagement.  It was telling this week to hear a team member from a Kaizen Event Team say how refreshing it was to see a hospital “O” on the floor during improvements.  It is easiest to truly understand the care being delivered to patients by watching it happen.  Getting leaders out of offices and into “gemba” (Japanese for actual place) is a key component of Leading in a Lean environment.  You might find you can observe a lot just by watching.

This week’s article was written by Tom Stoffel, a director & consultant for HPP. Before joining HPP, Tom served as President of Transformation Group, Inc,. Tom developed TGI Healing Healthcare – a brand of Lean Healthcare training tools designed to share lean principles through hands-on learning. Tom has led healthcare organizations in both the development of high-level Lean Strategies down to hands-on implementation of Lean in a clinical setting. Tom has achieved the levels of Certified Lean Specialist from the Business Improvement Group and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), along with being an ASQ Certified Quality Engineer. These certifications build on an Engineering Degree from the University of Michigan. Training experience includes Lean, Quality, and Leadership Training, as well as serving as an Adjunct Faculty Member at Waubonsee Community College.