Hoshin Planning
Hoshin Planning
On July 20, 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong landed on the Moon, signaling the attainment of President John F. Kennedy's vision to set a person about the Moon and return him safely to earth. The accomplishment required nearly a decade of research and experimentation by NASA because it worked to get over one technical challenge after another: the ability to dock two ships together in space, the appearance of the Lunar Excursion Module, as well as the inherent difficulties of manned space travel. All these breakthroughs not just made the Apollo moon missions possible, but in addition enabled a number of other excursions to outer space.
But imagine if President Kennedy have been less ambitious? Imagine if his vision had been to send an unmanned "rover" towards the Moon, or let's say he hadn't even thought it easy to get to the moon? How many of these breakthroughs would exist today? Of course, it's hard to state with certainty, but one thing is for sure--if mankind had not set a target to land around the moon, we never might have gotten there.
Where you go, Bam !
In order to send you to the moon, the scientists at NASA had to deconstruct the President's lofty vision into smaller, attainable objectives. Quite simply, they identified what can must be in place to produce Kennedy's vision a reality, and "worked backwards from perfect" to obtain there.
The thought of working backwards from perfect isn't new. You could be knowledgeable about the TRIZ notion of the Ideal Final Result, or Stephen Covey's edict to "begin using the result in mind." Actually, during this time period of year, most of us make New Year's resolutions to be thinner, or maybe more productive, or hang out with friends and family. You are able to bet the ones who actually keep their resolutions are those who envision the best end state, and break their resolutions into bite-sized goals that they work to achieve in a realistic timeframe.
The identical concept relates to organizations as well as their strategic goals. If you have a vision--an idealized concept of your company's mission--you can break that vision down into specific strategies that will help you get from where you are how to where you wish to be in two, five, even 10 years. And there is one approach which will help you are doing this much better than any other: Hoshin Planning.
What is Hoshin Planning?
To put it simply, Hoshin Planning can be a strategic planning approach that uses Hoshin Kanri methods. Translated from Japanese, Ho Shin Kan Ri means "shining metal pointing direction"--which lends itself to a graphic of a compass, the right tool to acquire where you are going!
Essentially, Hoshin Planning provides a proactive vision of the organization's future, and encourages movement toward that goal. Many successful businesses including Toyota, Procter & Gamble and Intel used Hoshin Planning to design a perfect state for organizations. By emphasizing creating what they desire (the vision), they de-emphasize building on which they've and, in some cases, what they do not want.
At the root of Hoshin Planning is the notion that if we simply concentrate on improving the present, then all we'll ever attain can be a slightly better state of the we currently have. Think of it like this: when you're seem to purchase a home, do you focus on all the stuff you don't like about your current residence? Or do you list the qualities you would like in your dream house? Should you rogues, you are much prone to end up with a house you love!
Within an organizational sense, concentrating on creating the best future means going beyond incremental improvements to existing processes and systems, some of which might not help you attain your strategic objectives. Hoshin Planning makes it possible to dedicate resources to those processes and systems that will make it possible for one to achieve your vision.
The Hoshin Difference
In addition to working backwards from perfect, Hoshin Planning offers many other advantages over traditional Management by Objectives (MBO) planning methods. MBO plans are usually driven from your top-down without much input in the remaining portion of the organization. Consequently, the "plan" may be unrealistic, too broad, or not actionable for that average employee. Usually department heads are attributed for meeting yearly objectives tied to their specific areas. It's wise a disjointed set of goals that may move the needle for a couple metrics, but likely is not going to move the business very far toward its vision (assuming it even has one).
To the contrary, Hoshin Planning targets systems and techniques, with cross-functional accountability that depends about the success with the process, not really a specific person. Objectives are shared with employees from all of amount organization using "catchball," a participative approach that improves the workability of the plan and increases participation and buy-in. Most importantly, the plan is made around a unified vision, which means that every strategic objective moves the corporation nearer to achieving its vision. Consequently, everyone focuses their efforts around the "vital few" goals instead of the "trivial many."
Hoshin Kanri
The good thing is always that Hoshin Planning supplies a strategic planning methodology that actually works for any organization from the industry. The Hoshin approach is systematic, yet encourages creativity; it's scalable, yet holds everyone responsible for the design process as well as the results. In the long run, Hoshin Planning won't help you predict the near future. Nevertheless it can help you make the future you envision for the organization.
On July 20, 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong landed on the Moon, signaling the attainment of President John F. Kennedy's vision to set a person about the Moon and return him safely to earth. The accomplishment required nearly a decade of research and experimentation by NASA because it worked to get over one technical challenge after another: the ability to dock two ships together in space, the appearance of the Lunar Excursion Module, as well as the inherent difficulties of manned space travel. All these breakthroughs not just made the Apollo moon missions possible, but in addition enabled a number of other excursions to outer space.
But imagine if President Kennedy have been less ambitious? Imagine if his vision had been to send an unmanned "rover" towards the Moon, or let's say he hadn't even thought it easy to get to the moon? How many of these breakthroughs would exist today? Of course, it's hard to state with certainty, but one thing is for sure--if mankind had not set a target to land around the moon, we never might have gotten there.
Where you go, Bam !
In order to send you to the moon, the scientists at NASA had to deconstruct the President's lofty vision into smaller, attainable objectives. Quite simply, they identified what can must be in place to produce Kennedy's vision a reality, and "worked backwards from perfect" to obtain there.
The thought of working backwards from perfect isn't new. You could be knowledgeable about the TRIZ notion of the Ideal Final Result, or Stephen Covey's edict to "begin using the result in mind." Actually, during this time period of year, most of us make New Year's resolutions to be thinner, or maybe more productive, or hang out with friends and family. You are able to bet the ones who actually keep their resolutions are those who envision the best end state, and break their resolutions into bite-sized goals that they work to achieve in a realistic timeframe.
The identical concept relates to organizations as well as their strategic goals. If you have a vision--an idealized concept of your company's mission--you can break that vision down into specific strategies that will help you get from where you are how to where you wish to be in two, five, even 10 years. And there is one approach which will help you are doing this much better than any other: Hoshin Planning.
What is Hoshin Planning?
To put it simply, Hoshin Planning can be a strategic planning approach that uses Hoshin Kanri methods. Translated from Japanese, Ho Shin Kan Ri means "shining metal pointing direction"--which lends itself to a graphic of a compass, the right tool to acquire where you are going!
Essentially, Hoshin Planning provides a proactive vision of the organization's future, and encourages movement toward that goal. Many successful businesses including Toyota, Procter & Gamble and Intel used Hoshin Planning to design a perfect state for organizations. By emphasizing creating what they desire (the vision), they de-emphasize building on which they've and, in some cases, what they do not want.
At the root of Hoshin Planning is the notion that if we simply concentrate on improving the present, then all we'll ever attain can be a slightly better state of the we currently have. Think of it like this: when you're seem to purchase a home, do you focus on all the stuff you don't like about your current residence? Or do you list the qualities you would like in your dream house? Should you rogues, you are much prone to end up with a house you love!
Within an organizational sense, concentrating on creating the best future means going beyond incremental improvements to existing processes and systems, some of which might not help you attain your strategic objectives. Hoshin Planning makes it possible to dedicate resources to those processes and systems that will make it possible for one to achieve your vision.
The Hoshin Difference
In addition to working backwards from perfect, Hoshin Planning offers many other advantages over traditional Management by Objectives (MBO) planning methods. MBO plans are usually driven from your top-down without much input in the remaining portion of the organization. Consequently, the "plan" may be unrealistic, too broad, or not actionable for that average employee. Usually department heads are attributed for meeting yearly objectives tied to their specific areas. It's wise a disjointed set of goals that may move the needle for a couple metrics, but likely is not going to move the business very far toward its vision (assuming it even has one).
To the contrary, Hoshin Planning targets systems and techniques, with cross-functional accountability that depends about the success with the process, not really a specific person. Objectives are shared with employees from all of amount organization using "catchball," a participative approach that improves the workability of the plan and increases participation and buy-in. Most importantly, the plan is made around a unified vision, which means that every strategic objective moves the corporation nearer to achieving its vision. Consequently, everyone focuses their efforts around the "vital few" goals instead of the "trivial many."
Hoshin Kanri
The good thing is always that Hoshin Planning supplies a strategic planning methodology that actually works for any organization from the industry. The Hoshin approach is systematic, yet encourages creativity; it's scalable, yet holds everyone responsible for the design process as well as the results. In the long run, Hoshin Planning won't help you predict the near future. Nevertheless it can help you make the future you envision for the organization.