Habits

“Curmudge, in our conversation a couple of weeks ago we noted that the Shingo Prize people felt that organizations whose Lean transformation efforts failed had focused too much on tools (how) and not enough on culture (why).  Do you agree with their assertion?”

“Not entirely, Julie.”

“What!  When you see all the world-renown Lean leaders listed as members of the Shingo Academy, how dare you not agree fully?  You are just an old geezer working in his gulag…er…bedroom.”

“Pardon the disrespect, m’lady, but I think that many of those organizations whose Lean journeys got lost in the woods just didn‘t work hard enough.  Specifically, too few people hardwired the Shingo guiding principles, supporting concepts, systems, and tools, i.e., they didn’t become habits.”

“Well, it’s not because you and I didn’t talk enough about hardwiring. Five years

ago we listed some ways a Lean program could fail, and we tackled hardwiring on 8/12/11 and 8/18/11.  People either don’t read our postings, or they are as forgetful as you are.”

“That being the case, Julie, we’d better return to the fundamentals.  When something is hardwired, it becomes a habit.  A habit is something that we do automatically, without thinking, in response to a cue.  Following the cue is the routine followed by a reward.  There are good habits like brushing your teeth after breakfast and bad habits like smoking.  With smoking, the cue might be second-hand smoke, the routine is smoking the cigarette, and the reward is the effect of the nicotine and its metabolic products in one’s nervous system.”

“It seems to me, Curmudge, that someone whose organization aspires to win a Shingo Prize or achieve a Lean transformation would want to learn about habits.  Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit (1) would be a good place to start.”

“I agree.  Here are a few quotations (exact or paraphrased) from the book:

‘When a habit emerges, the brain stops fully participating in decision making.’

‘To change an old habit, you must keep the old cue and deliver the old reward, and insert a new routine.’

‘New habits are created by putting together a cue, a routine, and a reward, and then cultivating a craving that drives the loop.’

‘Keystone habits are those that when they change, other habits also change.’  Continuous improvement is an example of a keystone habit.

‘Keystone habits encourage widespread change by creating cultures where new values become ingrained.’

‘During turmoil, organizational habits become malleable.’

‘Peer pressure promotes social habits that encourage people to conform to group expectations.’ “

“It’s evident that habits are essential in our everyday lives, including one’s work in health care.  Although you don’t know diddly about health care, Old Guy, perhaps together we might conjure up some examples.”

“I promise that next week we’ll talk about habits, health care, and the Shingo Prize.  But before we wrap things up today, I’d like to share a personal observation.”

“Although most habits develop over time, I understand, Curmudge, that a significant emotional event, which you experienced, can create a habit instantaneously.”

“A young woman driving a big piece of ‘Detroit iron’ made a left turn and hit my Mazda head-on.  I would have been killed if I had not been wearing my seat belt.  Although it was mid-afternoon, she could have seen me more easily if my headlights had been on.  Now, day or night, as soon as I turn the key in the ignition, I turn on the headlights.  The memory of that single, traumatic event triggers my habit.”

“So what does your personal anecdote have to do with the world of commerce and health care?”

“It suggests, Julie, that if someone has sufficient authority and can issue a command forcefully enough, he can instill a habit in a direct report in an instant.”

Kaizen Curmudgeon

(1) Duhigg, Charles.  The Power of Habit.  (2012, Random House)