How adopting a lean corporate culture inspires creativity

Minimizing waste and increasing value are two of the main tenets of lean construction practice. Reducing waste is more easily accomplished, as it can be measured, it is usually physical and quantifiable in time and money, and the results are usually immediately apparent. What is more challenging to demonstrate is the idea of increasing value.

It typically requires an extended time period to see the results of increasing value through efforts and ideas — and these results can be hard to measure. Further to this, there’s the greater challenge of creating a work environment that nurtures value creation.

In the Last Planner System®, the principle of Respect for People is the keystone for developing a value creation environment. Unfortunately, this isn’t always easy in projects executed with time, contract and delivery being the main areas of focus — where planning and getting things done trump discussions on trust, empowerment, empathy and creating a forum for ideas and innovation.

This reality is a barrier to value creation, and the situation is made worse by a fear of failure and making mistakes — which inhibits generating ideas and making suggestions. Further, we’re conditioned to think that a better idea may even be an insult to someone or a superior because it is counter to “the way it’s always been done.” Who wants to be seen as a troublemaker challenging the status quo?

In a room of ideas, there will be some that are better than others — and it’s often through the combination of thoughts that breakthroughs occur. This requires a positive and collaborative environment where trust and appreciation for each other is the expected behavior.

I’m often asked if inspiration can be taught. While there are tools for creative thinking, inspiration comes from an informed state of mind that is clear and prepared for brain patterns that allow insights, observations and aha moments to materialize.

It’s truly a wondrous phenomenon, and it’s this state or culture that needs to exist in a team or a room situation. So, what are some simple ways to take a step forward in moving toward this culture? Here are five to consider:

1. Declare an environment for continuous improvement. Foster a culture where all team members are encouraged to identify and suggest ideas for improvements. This iterative process ensures that value is continuously added throughout the project life cycle.
2. Use collaborative planning methods such as the Last Planner System to improve communication and coordination among all stakeholders. This helps in having conversations and generating ideas about how to do things in a better way.
3. Adopt integrated project delivery ideas to promote teamwork and shared goals among all parties involved in the construction project. Align the interests of the owner, designers and contractors, thereby reducing waste and enhancing value.
4. Use visual management tools to track progress, manage workflows and communicate important information. This helps in identifying issues quickly and maintains a focus on value-adding activities and ideas.
5. Instill an all ideas are good ideas mantra to guide behavior in the team. There must be no fear in making suggestions and putting forward ideas for improvements.

As an industry, we need to break from the adage it’s good enough, so why change it? and remove the barriers to suggesting ideas for improvement and adding value. In fact, we need to promote and encourage new ideas and ways of working to make things safer, more enjoyable and more productive on the jobsite and in the office.

So, what are the key ideas for reducing and totally getting rid of fear around adding value? How can you build a team that’s constantly looking at ways of improving? In my experience as a design educator, there were several challenges in undoing the linear pathway of thinking among incoming university students. Here are three suggestions:

1. Educate them on creativity and the techniques and tools to think of ideas. It was always interesting when they would have one idea that was so great, they were then challenged to come up with another one or multiple ideas.
2. Illustrate that many good ideas are possible by changing the emphasis on specific project criteria. A project driven by cost measures will often have different outcomes versus when it’s driven by architectural design intentions or integrating sustainability elements.
3. Demonstrate that fear of failure is an impediment to generating ideas and dampens inspiration. The education system’s focus on “how wrong a student is” sets a pattern of fear about making mistakes and exploring alternative solutions.

Learn how the Nialli™ Visual Planner cloud-based software can help your team work more effectively.