EXECUTIVE WHITE PAPER SERIES

MAY 2017

S t r a t eg i c P l a n n i n g U s i n g
Hoshin Kanri
! Inviting and Managing Change with Hoshin
NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI
The Prince Planning: Five Predictable Areas of Friction
By Lisa Boisvert
ON CHANGE
“People will live quietly and
Hoshin Planning invites a threats.” Working backwards,we
peacefully so long as their
commitment to a substan3al ask “What does it look like? What
old ways of life are
breakthrough in performance, a did we do?”
undisturbed.1”
! revolu3on in thinking and !
! prac3ce. Achieving the
breakthrough generally creates
The answer iden3fies the big
boulders in the path to the star.
! significant disequilibrium, a level Those boulders are the Hoshins,
! of disrup3on that allows for and addressing them represents
! transforma3onal change in an significant change for an
! organiza3on. organiza3on.
! !
! As the change
! associated with
! implemen3ng a
! Hoshin Plan
!
Des$na$on
Focus improvement (Vision)
efforts on the Road, not

proceeds,
! out here!

organiza3ons will
! Use Hoshin to
remove the big
boulders, one at likely face at least
This paper was delivered The road is usually
strewn with obstacles,
a %me.

five predictable
at the ASQ World some large, some small. The strategic plan is the
‘Road’ to the desired future
areas of fric3on.
!
state of the organiza%on.

Conference 2017 in Use Con%nuous Improvement to Star%ng Point

Charlotte, NC. remove the small obstacles on (Present Situa%on)

One – Success
!
an ongoing basis.

versus Change
! When &mes are
! good, it can be
Figure 1: Hoshin Change Pathway2 difficult to
mo&vate for a
change.
We use Hoshin Planning tools
and processes to paint a very !
Some3mes a commitment to the
concrete picture of that yellow
radical focus and disciplined
star in Figure 1. We say, “It is 3-5
processes of Hoshin is born out
years from now, we are mee3ng
of a crisis. At those 3mes, the
our performance goals, we have
organiza3on can be par3cularly
! eliminated obstacles, enhanced
our strengths, taken the right open to changing something.
opportuni3es, and deflected the !
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 EXECUTIVE WHITE PAPER SERIES MAY 2017

An early area of fric3on, ascents to plateaus. The trail behind, building encampments
though, arrives when things climbs, winds, and at 3mes is and brooding on ways to block
are good, financial measures lost and has to be retraced. the people behind them from
look good, maybe repeat People in an organiza3on geUng any further. A kind of
business is steady, employee move through change at Hoshin filibuster.
sa3sfac3on is high . . .why different speeds. Which !
change? plateau someone is standing We tolerate and support
! on you can some3mes tell by people being on different
plateaus, while at the same
3me working on geUng
everyone within one plateau
of the majority. It takes
Change Phases resources to serve people at
!   Show results
!   Evaluate process
each level of change. We need
!   Tell stories
!   Discuss future
to invest as much as possible
in those on the front plateau.
!
!   Work w/ small groups
!   Evaluate process
!   Re-allocate
!   Educate CauFous
resources
!   Coach
!   Model
OpFmism
“We did all that
Two – Pace versus Risk
!   Repriori5ze
!   Champion visibly
behaviors FrustraFon for this?
“We don’t have the What’s next?”
The degree of detail and
!   Show data
!   Communicate
consistently Resistance
people. It’s too
much.”
quality in the Hoshin plan
!   Connect to
mission
“Hey, you’re
serious.
can mi&gate your risk as you
  Tell stories
Disbelief Again, why
pick up the pace.
!
!
“This will pass. do this?”
We’ll go along
Status Quo for now.”
“Things are fine.
Why such a big
Hoshin planners use the
change?”
Annual Plan Table (Figure 3)
to flesh out the plan before
implementa3on. Adding
detail to the plan achieves at
Figure 2: Hoshin Change Pla?orms3 least three things that help
manage the change:
If we’re on a beach on a
beau3ful day, the sun is
the things he or she says, as
shown in Figure 2.
!
• Spreads accountability
shining, the waves are a ! for success of the plan
perfect size for surfing, maybe The best leaders stay agile, • Iden3fies measures,
a liOle fuller than usual, it’s trying things, like the ac3ons oTen for things that
great. The tsunami over the next to the arrows in Figure 2, haven’t been done by the
horizon might not be in our un3l something works, and organiza3on before
consciousness. In that case, moving back and forth • Specifies how the Hoshin
leaders must explain the between the plateaus will be achieved.
future condi3ons in which the
organiza3on must compete
depending on who they are
coaching.
!
Top leadership isn’t done un3l
and succeed, and why that ! it slows the process down
calls for change. It can be temp3ng to charge enough to lead the building of
! up the slopes at the pace of a more detailed plan. This will
It may be helpful to think of the fastest climber. But it can speed up the pace and lower
the change associated with happen that a group of people risk when implementa3on
Hoshin Planning as a series of are leT a couple of plateaus does begin.

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 EXECUTIVE WHITE PAPER SERIES MAY 2017

Three – Leading Edge versus things come out

Inclusion of review.
Some&mes leaders must • Ac3vi3es that
maintain protected, or aren’t working Objective Strategies Owner Metric Goal Objective Strategies Owner Metric Goal

exclusive, spaces to breed are stopped, High-Level

Objective
1.0
2.0
High-Level
Objective
1.0
2.0

innova&on. allowing
Metrics 3.0 Metrics 3.0
4.0 4.0

!
5.0 5.0

resources to
Goals 6.0 Goals 6.0

7.0 Objective Strategies Owner Metric Goal 7.0

The Annual Plan Tables are be redirected.

3.1
3.0
3.2
Metrics 3.3

cascaded down and over and • Ac3vi3es that

3.4
3.5
Goals 3.6

across the organiza3on for a are working 3.7

short period of 3me, picking up are

edits and ideas and then strengthened.
1

bouncing back up. The flow of • Process

those planning tables and the improvement
discussions around them is and project Figure 3: Catchball with Annual Plan Table4
called “Catchball.” management
! skills development is along, in a structured and
It’s at this point that I oTen see demonstrated. transparent way.
the membership on the teams • Organiza3onal succession
assigned parts of the plan plans develop, with new
change somewhat. Innova3ve people stepping into
leadership roles. FROM THE FIELD
thinkers are moved into
leadership roles, and other ! !
JOHN FRANKOVICH
members are some3mes leT Part of managing large-scale
Hoshin Planning Program
behind. change is to spread
! accountability. The first Hoshin
Manager, NV Energy
!
The fric3on can be addressed review mee3ngs can be a liOle ON CHANGE AND
with very ac3ve team tough. Deming advised us to PROGRESS USING HOSHIN
facilita3on and program drive out fear, de-personalize “If the organization is truly
management. It’s the wrong process performance review, learning and making changes
3me to step back and let things and to see failures as and executing Hoshin after
sort themselves out. Leaders opportuni3es to make an Hoshin, just think how easy
need to create the condi3ons in improvement or see a it is to do each successive
which their “A” teams can breakthrough. Hoshin, and people walk out
thrive. ! excited and skilled, and then
! This doesn’t mean tolera3ng
under-performance, though.
we do it again with more
Area of FricHon Four – Pace people. Hoshin creates
versus Review We have to make the measures. career progression
Specific, direct, and streamlined No3ce in Figure 4 that there are opportunities for people, it
review is a key success factor to no half-filled circles. A goal is builds leaders, it makes us
deploying a Hoshin fully and on either made or missed. learn together.5"
&me. ! !
! Hoshin invites clean assessment !
The Review Table (See Figure 4) of achievements. And Hoshin
review allows people to make
!
codifies the performance on
the plan. At least four great changes to the plan as they go

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 EXECUTIVE WHITE PAPER SERIES MAY 2017

Area of FricHon Five –

Outcomes versus Leadership Review
Date:
Strategy
Owner:
Strategy: 2.0
Hoshin Objec4ve:
Sub-Strategy: 2.5
Team Health Made/Missed
Actual Root Cause Corrective
Change is advanced or Strategy or Tactic
(Plan)
Goal
(Plan)
Performance
(Do)
/
(Check)
of Deviation
(Check)
Action
(Act)

thwarted substan&ally by how

well the leadership team is 2.5.1

leading and how they are 2.5.2

perceived as part of the change.

! 2.5.3

Outcomes can some3mes be

good while leadership team 2.5.4

health is bad. But that type of

leadership will be less likely to
2.5.5

be able to sustain the gains

from the Hoshin work or repeat
the process.
! !
Figure 4: Hoshin Review Table6

Alterna3vely, outcomes can be

bad, but team health be Invite and Manage Change
perceived as good. This can get with Hoshin !
a group stuck in a “too nice” ! Author
place that doesn’t achieve Well-done Hoshin Planning uses Lisa Boisvert is founding
results. change as a path to growth, principal at the consulting firm
! learning, personal
development, and the building Business Centered Learning,
Leaders need to include in their
review mee3ngs an evalua3on of a community around a LLC in Cambridge,
of their own work together. shared set of focused work. Massachusetts. More about
! their work with organizations
implementing Hoshin Planning
can be found at
www.bclearning.com
References
1Machiavelli, Niccolo. The Prince, Chapter III.
2Cowley, Michael. Beyond Strategic Vision: Effec&ve Corporate
!
Ac&on with Hoshin Planning. New York: Routledge, Taylor &
Francis Group, 2011, p. 6.
3Boisvert, Lisa. Reflec&ons on Hoshin: Guidance for Leaders and

Prac&&oners, CRC PRess, 2016, p. 101.

4Boisvert, p. 73.
5Francovich, John. NV Energy, June 20, 2014, interview.
6Boisvert, p. 182.

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