It is a widely debated topic, “What is the best way to start my lean journey?” You will hear everything from, “It doesn’t matter, just start,” to “You have to start in the bathroom.”

I am personally a huge advocate for starting in the bathroom (or common areas), but if push comes to shove, I will concede just doing something is always better than doing nothing. 

What isn’t discussed about starting this crazy lean thing is the leadership required. And it does take a heck of a leader to rally a bunch of people around cleaning toilets. Perhaps, as the leader, you’re not there yet. So now what? Don’t start till you’re the Tony Robbins of your work shop? That’s one option, I suppose. However, I’d like to put forth yet another concept I just recently came across.

Looking good
I was visiting a friend who runs an unbelievably lean company. I was walking around, and we were just chatting away, cameras and mics off. I made a comment, “I’m so jealous of how good your factory looks,” then he said something so profound, yet simple. In all the lean books, seminars and courses I have digested over the last 30 years, I have never once heard this. If you’re reading this, it’s your lucky day, your about to get information you won’t find anywhere else.

He looked at me and said, “Half of lean is interior design.”

I stood there frozen for what felt like hours, I’m sure it was less than a minute. I had a zillion thoughts racing through my mind. Immediately, slide shows of all my favorite factories started playing in my head. The one thing they all had in common: They looked awesome.

I couldn’t believe it, but when I internalized what was said and snapped back to the present moment, It was like I had blinders on the whole time, and they just got ripped off. I started looking around through this new lens. I couldn’t unsee it.

Everywhere I looked was touched with impeccable interior design. Color coordinated walls, nice cabinetry, accent panels, and for the first time ever, I’m noticing plants strategically placed in the office. For 30 minutes I ran through the factory pointing out all the “interior design.” My friend patiently followed me around just nodding his head smiling. 

More than processes
I know personally, I have always thought of lean manufacturing as just good processes. But a quick comparison of my factories and those of my mentors revealed a missing element. I have never been anything close to a designer, I’m lucky if I can match my socks in the morning. And my factory reflected that. Good processes, but it looks like crap. I never took any stock in making the interior walls perfect, the ceiling or the floors. I just set things up and got them running. 

One of my favorite Henry Ford sayings is “run the experiment,” so I decided to take this new knowledge and apply it to our common areas and see what happens. No sooner did I get back to the factory than I called an interior designer to come help with our office, breakroom and bathrooms. 

Within a few weeks construction started. We mostly chipped away at it on weekends, so it took longer than if we hired a construction crew. However, we elected to tackle it with in-house labor. We are about 95% complete right now, and if I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe it. 

Powerful effects
The effects of having what I consider a stunning breakroom and office on me personally have been staggering. I love walking in there. I’m personally sweeping and dusting things daily, and I’m proud to call it my office. I look forward to guests and customers visiting us now. Whereas before, it was just such a boring typical room. 

What about the effects on the team? More people are sitting in the breakroom talking at lunch now, which is nice to see. And to date, I haven’t once had to ask someone to clean up after themselves. A beautiful environment inspires people to keep it that way. We have since added kanbans for all the drinks and snacks people could want. We have even gone as far as to put 15 sets of slippers by the front door. So, if your shoes or boots are dirty, you can take them off put on some slippers and keep the floors nice and clean. 

What about the effects on our guests? This could be the coolest thing. I accidently saw it because my desk faces the break room. We had a consultant helping us with some software. He didn’t heed the slippers at the door and was probably just being a normal person. He walked in and sat at the table with my team. As the training was going on I saw him look down at the mess by his feet. He then looked around the room, then glanced by the feet of my people. Then, he casually walked over to the kitchen area, grabbed some paper towels and cleaned the floor where he was sitting. 

I could hardly believe my eyes. That would never have happened if the office wasn’t perfect. And at that moment it all started making sense.

The moral of the story is if you want to be lean, look lean! As you evolve your learning, fix processes, do all the things that come to mind when we think of lean, it will all be easier, and people will naturally do the right thing if the environment is as perfect as you want your processes to be.

Get your team rallied around just looking lean, that’s something everyone can participate in immediately as you grow and learn together. 

I had mentioned this in a previous article, but I wanted you to know what happened and what a change it made in our lean journey.