For more than 50 years, organizations of all types have struggled to achieve lasting benefits from the many tools and programs associated with various continuous-improvement initiatives. In fact, the notion of continuous improvement is largely a misnomer -- for many organizations, continuous improvement has been anything but continuous. Responding to this challenge, Hearing the Voice of the Shingo Principles chronicles key insights that went into development of the Shingo Model for Operational Excellence at Utah State University.
While responsible for the Shingo Prize at USU, the author observed that even recipients -- theoretically, the best of the best -- were experiencing this same up-and-down phenomenon. It was as though many of these organizations were reviewed on their very best days but then started declining from that point forward.
To build long-term credibility of the Shingo Prize, the author and his team had to understand what was causing such wide variation in results and make certain they were only recognizing those organizations that could demonstrate sustainability of improvements over the long term. They found that sustainability depended less on application of the tools for improvement than on embedding principles deep into the culture of the organization from top to bottom and side to side.
This book helps leaders understand their role in building sustainable cultures of enterprise excellence - That is, how to keep the entire enterprise focused on guiding principles that will change beliefs, behaviors, and the overall mindset. In addition, managers will learn how to align systems with principles so that they drive ideal, principle-based behaviors - the goal is for every leader to realign their values with the voice of principles and become an example so that every associate becomes self-motivated to continuously improve every aspect for which they are accountable.
About the Author: Having served for 8 years as the Executive Director for the Shingo Institute located at Utah State University, Robert D. Miller recognized the need for and guided development of the Shingo model, as it is now constituted. Additionally, as the Executive Director and the seasoned line executive on the Shingo staff, he oversaw the development and learning pedagogy of all Shingo courses. During these years, he was responsible for the development and certification of many of the growing affiliate instructors. Under his leadership, the criteria and process for effective and honest organizational assessment evolved significantly.
His greatest interest and capability lies in working with the leaders of some of the best US and global companies to assist them in understanding the Shingo model, the principles and their application, and in building sustainable cultures of excellence. Upon taking my retirement from Utah State University, he created Arches Leadership -- a fully certified Shingo affiliate organization.
Miller is the principal advisor and owner or Arches Leadership LLC. The goal of Arches Leadership is always to build competence in the people and organizations that we serve, such that they become independently capable of executing and sustaining themselves over the long term at a much higher level of performance.
