Implementing Hoshin Kanri: How to Manage Strategy Through Policy Deployment and Continuous Improvement

This book focuses on the implementation of Hoshin Kanri. It is a response to most books on strategic planning that tend to downplay the implementation and only describe the fully implemented planning process. The power of this book originates from a project in which a team of five professionals over a period of three years implemented Hoshin Kanri in 14 companies; results were drawn from 130 workshops with leadership teams. The project team subsequently ran several accelerators inside large and small companies as well as public institutions. All these experiences together form the implementation focus of the book. Moreover, the organization of the book mirrors the message of its scientific thinking, which is also the basic principle of Hoshin Kanri: Chapter 1 focuses on the basic analysis—Is Hoshin Kanri something for your organization? Chapter 2 addresses the ambition—What is the vision for strategy work in your organization? Chapter 3 presents the conditions needed for effective strategic work. Chapter 4 discusses the choice of implementation strategy and your role as the change agent. Chapter 5 describes how Hoshin Kanri works when implemented. Chapter 6 addresses coaching/mentoring and the Kata philosophy. Chapter 7 presents important analytical tools. Appendix 1 describes the journey made by a medium-sized construction company. Essentially, this book describes in a concrete and structured way how you—the change agent—can use Hoshin Kanri in your organization to tackle large and complex challenges.

Table of Contents:
1 WHY WORK WITH STRATEGY ACCORDING TO HOSHIN KANRI? 2 HOW DO YOU RECOGNIZE A HOSHIN KANRI ORGANIZATION? 3 ARE YOU AND YOUR ORGANIZATION READY? 4 STRATEGY FOR INTRODUCING HOSHIN KANRI 5 HOSHIN IN HOSHIN KANRI 6 KANRI IN HOSHIN KANRI 7 EXTENDED DISCUSSION AND ANALYTICAL TOOLS 8 Some concluding remarks

About the Author :
Anders Melander is an associate professor in business administration at Jönköping International Business School. Anders researches and teaches strategic change, business development and strategy work. He has extensive experience in business development and action-based research, especially in collaboration with small and medium-sized companies. David Andersson has worked with strategic development for two decades in the role of leader and consultant, both professionally and as a volunteer. His focus is on creating an ability to change. Over the past five years, David has worked together with researchers at Jönköping University on developing effective methods for strategic development processes. Fredrik Elgh is a professor of product development at the School of Engineering, Jönköping University. Fredrik has held various management positions in the area of education and research for more than a decade. He has a great deal of experience of research and development work in close collaboration with the industry, and he has worked actively with Hoshin Kanri for five years. Fredrik Fjellstedt has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and economics with a focus on strategy and leadership. Fredrik has over ten years of experience with regard to lean thinking, leadership development and Hoshin Kanri at Toyota. He is the first person outside of Japan to become a Master Trainer in Toyota’s eight-stage problem-solving method, and he has coached over 1,500 leaders. Today, Fredrik works as a consultant with a focus on Hoshin Kanri. Malin Löfving has a PhD in production strategy and works as a project manager at Träcentrum Nässjö Kompetensutveckling AB. Malin has previously researched manufacturing strategies and taught at the School of Engineering, Jönköping University.

Review :
The book showed to be a great source of inspiration to owners and top management and we now truly believe we are on our way to implement a strategic planning process that is custom made for us. -- Per Antonsson, CEO Tapflo Group (Tapflo is a global pump manufacturer known for innovative solutions) The social services is in an endless competition for labor. To attract younger employees to our organization, we must offer a working environment where we value employees’ ideas and engagement. For us, Hoshin Kanri has been a method to accomplish this. Following the HK principles and practical guidance in this book we have developed our own management system. A system that we are very proud of and will continuously develop. --Stefan Österström, Head of Administration, Social services Jönköping municipality (The Social services employ 5,000 individuals and serve approximately 14,000 citizens) This book is supportive as well as inspiring and it serves to strengthen our strategy process at Scania -- with focus on synchronization and catch-ball. It is excellent because it combines the theory of Hoshin Kanri with real case studies. -- Åsa Dubois, Business Development Manager at Scania Corporate Management & Venture Business (Scania is a global truck manufacturer with 50,000 employees in 100 countries) This book is important for C-level officers who want their organizations running at full capability. It illustrates how organizations can operate in accordance with the vision and the strategy. The book gives many insights including the fact that both Lean and non-Lean companies can be in the same starting point with Hoshin Kanri." -- Juha Tammi, General Manager, Lean Association of Finland Real and sustainable end of pipe results can only be achieved if all layers of the organization are aligned and focused on common goals in terms of safety, quality, delivery, and costs. Constant communication and alignment when moving towards these goals and targets is essential for everybody in the organization. David, Fredrik, Malin, Anders, and Fredrik present this in a very clear and practical way. This book is an absolute must for leaders who want to bring their organization to the next level in a clear and systematic way. -- Wiebe Nijdam, oversees and initiaties new ways of working within Rijkswaterstaat for the renovation and replacement of outdated infrastructure (Rijkswaterstaat is the executive organization of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water management)