| | |  | Games and Simulations | Home » » » Getting the Right Things Done: A Leader's Guide to Planning and Execution | | | | | | | Description: | | For companies to be competitive, leaders must engage people at all levels to focus their energy and enable them to apply lean principles to everything they do. Strategy deployment, called hoshin kanri by Toyota, has proven to be the most effective process for meeting this ongoing challenge. In Getting the Right Things Done, Pascal Dennis outlines the nuts and bolts of strategy deployment, answering two tough questions that ultimately can make or break a lean transformation: What kind of planning system is required to inspire meaningful company-wide continuous improvement? How might we change existing mental models that do not support a culture of continuous improvement? Getting the Right Things Done tells the story of a fictional midsized company, Atlas Industries, that needs to dramatically improve to compete with emerging rivals and meet new customer demands. While Atlas had already applied some basic lean principles, it had not really connected the people and business processes so that the company could dramatically improve. Something was missing: a way of focusing and aligning the efforts of good people, and a delivery system, something that would direct the tools to the right places. The book provides readers with a framework for understanding the key components of strategy deployment: agreeing on True North for the company, working within the PDCA cycle, getting consensus through catchball, the deployment leader concept, and A3 thinking. It links action to theory and reminds us that lean tools are only the means to an end, not ends in themselves. It takes a step-by-step instructional approach to the strategy deployment process. Through this unique combination, Getting the Right Things Done balances the human and technical dimensions of making strategy deployment a vital part of the daily culture of any company. | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Pascal Dennis | | Paperback:
| 230 pages | | Publisher:
| Lean Enterprise Institute | | Publication Date:
| January 31, 2007 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0976315262 | | Package Length:
| 9.6 inches | | Package Width:
| 6.7 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.9 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.3 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 14 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 14 customer reviews )
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10 of 10 found the following review helpful:
 Strategy Deployment Over Simplified?Feb 16, 2009
By M and G
This is the 3rd hoshin kanri (strategy deployment) text I've read (on top of other readings). It's also the 2nd book by this author I've now read too. Having loved his "Lean Production Simplified" book, so much, I was somewhat disappointed by this book.
Pro:
+ Simple and easy to read
+ I liked his use of A3s, a topic that I have relatively little experience
+ There are interesting Socratic Method-style chapter summaries, phrased in the form of questions... nice touch
+ Good linkage to PDCA
+ Shingo Prize Winner (2008)
Con:
- No index at the back of the book (please add in next edition)
- Out of print
- A narrative, a style that while easy to read tends to be less informationally dense (contrast to Jackson's, "Hoshin Kanri for the Lean Enterprise").
- Limits topics to planning of goal execution like Bechtel did in "Management Compass"
- "True North" examples could be greatly improved in my view... all compasses point to magnetic North. If compass is an analogy for intuition then hoshin kanri methods help us find our way in spite of this strong, traditional/common pull to a similar, but ultimately divergent path.
- For me, offered too little on how the system might work
Bottom line: Strengths of this book may also be its weaknesses. Might be good as an introduction to hoshin kanri, but seems overly simplified to me and not to my taste. Perhaps expectations were set unrealistically high on my part given his brilliant text, "Lean Production Simplified." Hoshin is a tough topic to write about, and it still suprises me how deep this topic really is.
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
 Strategy Deployment SimplifiedMay 08, 2007
By Craig Henderson
Pascal Dennis covers the basics of strategy deployment extremely well. He explains the concepts, methods and tactics used by Toyota to maximize improvement. His extremely practical description of strategies "as stories that engage" and his clear explanations of similar concepts make the complex subject matter accessible to everyone. The book is easy to read and the words he uses are very effective. For example, when he explains how "translation" makes strategies "real" to employees at every level of an organization or when he describes the "Catchball" process as a "scrubbing" process where teams "toss ideas back and forth" to create plans that are realistic and acheivable. Mr. Dennis is a former Toyota employee and accomplished author. I find his advice highly credible and recommended his book.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
A Clear and Concise Introduction to Strategy DeploymentApr 13, 2007
By Mr. Ross Maynard
In "Getting the Right Things Done" Pascal Dennis offers an introduction to Strategy Deployment (Hoshin Kanri). The book is written as a "novel" with plenty of information sidebars. It is clear and easy to read (a feature of Mr Dennis' books) - a brilliant introduction for the beginner. What is more, the book is packed with example "A3" strategy and action plans to give you a real feel for the system (with blank copies available to download). Interestingly, and in contrast to a number of lean consultants I know, Dennis suggests leaving organising into Value Streams until after the framework of Strategy Deployment is successfully implemented. This is to get people used to the PDCA structure before the upheaval of reorganisation, I guess. Not a bad approach, though, to my mind, Value Stream mapping and other tools will also provide lots of valuable input to the Strategy Deployment process, even if people aren't yet formally grouped into Value Streams.
Nevertheless, this book provides the ideal introduction to Hoshin Kanri in a clear, straightforward and readable manner. It is suitable for beginners at all levels in the organisation.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Good InformationJan 11, 2012
By Brandon
This book is full of good ideas on how to implement and develop a business strategy (or for that matter, any group project's strategy). It has many graphics that help push that idea. It presents the majority of the information as a story of a struggling company who hires a new manager that becomes the hero by changing the management climate (by refocusing priorities). The downside to it is that there is a lot of 'fluff' in the story and the story is idealized (all the workers seem too patient and open minded, the 'hero' that brings all these ideas to the business is 'too good' at his job, etc). The story, although it does provide a good example of how to use all the information in the book, really just acts as filler between the real nuggets of gold. The information is very good, the story is a little too much.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Outstanding book - very practical & powerful!Dec 09, 2007
By George Bernwanger
After reading this book I got a lot of great ideas to plan next year's goals & also improve my overall department's effectiveness.
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