Precocious
kids ask it. Scientists ask it. Philosophers ask it. Inventors ask it.
‘Why’?
It is
the question that lies at the core of the principles of Lean. And it is a question
that I have adopted as my personal mantra as I bring ‘curiosity’ in every
aspect of business and life! It pushes me to ask “Why?” in anything that I see,
anything that I experience - “Why do some transactions or processes perform so
well? Why do others not?” “Why is this clients’ method of operating failing?”
“Why is this client experiencing losses?” Over and over and over – “Why?”
And Lean and Six Sigma have always had the answers. Every day in
our lives, in our business, in our operations and in customer interactions,
there are opportunities to bring Lean thinking to drive improvement and value.
The examples are all around us – a hiring process that takes too long, a customer service process that does not resolve a problem
the first time round, delays and unnecessary money-wasting hold-ups. The Power
of Lean thinking lies in the fact that it addresses all these questions –
delivering utmost value from a customer’s perspective while consuming fewest
resources. Powerful Lean principles such as ‘reducing lead time’, ‘reducing
waste’ ‘driving continuous improvement’ ‘improved quality’ impact customer
satisfaction and customer results positively – no matter what the situation is…
always bringing in positive business outcomes such as increase in market share,
reduction of costs, increase in profits - driving competitive advantage…each
time, every time.
In fact Lean is a
culture – the way we work, the way we do things, the way we deal with problems.
Lean is all about creating an integrated system – a process – where it’s no
longer about having efficiencies in individual silos…it’s about how all silos
work together efficiently to bring in unprecedented value, end to end – bring
in agility and flexibility.
But nothing works
or makes sense unless it begins from the customer’s point of view. This is
all-important and sacrosanct when one begins the process of attacking any area
of improvement or opportunity. Never forget this. It is the way a leader has to
think, it is the only way to successfully run a business. You have to know what
your customer wants, ask all the ‘whys’ and then constantly look for causes
that, when attacked and addressed, will drive improvement.
Our world is
changing, our clients’ business needs are changing, processes are changing – and
there are trends that are impacting not only the way our clients are thinking
about the industries they are in and the customers they serve, but also how
they run their businesses. As companies
continue to operate in a volatile, uncertain and lower-growth world, they are
forced to completely transform their businesses by making them more nimble,
with cost structures that are lower and much more variable. They are looking at
adopting digital technologies, implementing new business models, creating new
organizational structures, and making their processes more intelligent. And
above all – they are looking for partners who can help them navigate their
transformation journeys. Partners who truly understand their domain, their
industry, their specific processes, the inter-linkages, the risks and the
leverage points in the business. In other words, someone who aligns activities
to business outcomes and speaks their language…helps them improve and grow in
this ever-changing world…and this is exactly what ‘Lean’ thinking helps us do!
We launched Lean Digital last year - this is our unique
approach that reimagines our clients' middle and back offices to generate
growth, cost efficiency, and business agility. The feedback we are beginning to
receive is that Lean Digital is a game changer that builds on our strength of
using Lean principles to drive disruptive improvements. At Genpact, this launch
has been the culmination of many months of building our digital smart
enterprise process frameworks and getting a number of our key project and
improvement leaders trained on specific Lean Digital capabilities. We now have
a digital certification program for Black Belts and Master Black Belts that we
are also taking to clients. For example, at one of the largest global banks,
our Lean and digital experts are designing automated solutions leveraging new
technologies for underwriting, customer service, and fraud detection, all
critical areas for the bank and its customers. We are getting great initial
feedback on the way the teams are reimagining the solutions and how other
banking processes will run in the future. These are industry disruptive!
What is
the richest reward for me at the end of the day? When a customer says - “We
need you to help us reimagine our business, dramatically change outcomes –
disrupt everything, redesign our process
and show dramatic improvements; no one knows better than you, work with us and
I will pay for it” - there is no greater testimony to success than that. Lean defines
us, it’s in our DNA and culture. It is a way of thinking for all our employees;
it is a way of running a business. It is constantly looking for root causes
that, when attacked, will drive improvement.
And it
continues to make us ask ‘Why?’ – At its core it’s asking questions and
listening
As long
as we continue to question, and push and reach and aspire and work harder and
do better – so long will we continue to reap the benefits of Lean. And as I
have often said – there is no better and more important quality and behavior
that I think is needed in today’s world than ‘CURIOSITY’!
I will
continue to be intensely ‘curious’, and I hope that you continue to be that way
too.
Good
luck – and keep questioning the universe!