ABSTRACT
The objective of this chapter is to provide a formal guide for developing the Improvement Strategy and Vision, crafting communication protocols that build and reinforce stakeholder engagement. Most organizations have not begun their Lean Six Sigma and prior continuous improvement journeys with this formal process. In the interest of expediency, they have opted for a more train-the-masses, shotgun approach to improvement. While this may not seem like such a big deal, a formal Improvement Strategy and Vision makes the difference between motion versus progress, activity versus results, and intermittent or failed versus sustainable continuous improvement. Why? The Improvement Strategy and Vision provides the fact-based alignment and prioritization mechanism between business strategy and strategic improvement. Too many organizations have approached their continuous improvement initiatives like a blind wine tasting with inexperienced critics. Blind tastings do in fact serve as rites of passage in the exams for both the master of wine and the master sommelier degrees. For everyone else, blind tastings are nothing more than a fun form of ritual hazing. The results have little to do with the quality of the wine and weigh more on the perceptions of the questions being asked. In terms of continuous improvement, lack of a formal Improvement Strategy and Vision creates a similar ritual hazing by which organizations interpret the improvement strategy based on leadership signals and perceptions or individual perceptions. The Improvement Strategy and Vision is a living objective process; it should be reviewed periodically to keep the organization focused on improving the highest-impact opportunities. The remainder of this chapter provides guidance about how to reset the course of improvement in this unpredictable economy.
