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This podcast offers business solutions to help listeners develop and implement action plans for lean process improvement and implement continuous improvement projects, cost reductions, product quality enhancements, and process effectiveness improvement. Listeners come from many industries in both manufacturing and office applications.
Patrick Adams 00:05
Our strategic plan, you know, is no longer valid. So do we just turn around and go back? No, of course not. We come together as a team. We figure out, how do we traverse this challenge? How do we make adjustments based on what's sitting in front of us? It
Katie Anderson 00:19
goes back to the behaviors in a process, learning mindset, rather than outcomes. Only sometimes things change in the environment, and we may need to adjust the goal. Is that goal still the right goal for the organization, given the change in the environment? Or is it we just need to change our plan on how we get there. If we're only setting goals that we think are achievable, we're not actually pushing ourselves into like a learning Well, learning space, knowing that it's okay not to always achieve the target, but it's about how we're how are we learning our way forward is more important.
Patrick Adams 01:00
Hello and welcome to this episode of the lean solutions Podcast. Today I am talking with my friend Katie Anderson, and we're going to be chatting about strategic planning. It is halfway through the year, and it's time for us to to check ourselves and to look back and go, Okay, how are we doing? Because if we need to make an adjustment, we don't want to wait until the end of the year that could, because that's too late, right? So it's time for us to do a little check in here on where we're at from a strategic planning perspective, and ask ourselves if we need to make any adjustments. So before we do that, though. Katie, welcome to the
Katie Anderson 01:34
show. Thank you, Patrick. I'm so happy to be back on the show and always continuing our conversations. I
Patrick Adams 01:41
love our conversations. Katie, you've been on the show a number of times, and it's always good to have you back, because you create, you bring this fresh perspective on all these different topics that we don't necessarily hear all the time. So it's always good to hear not only your perspective, but also as you continue to make these trips back to Japan, and you're you're working with all of these different individuals who are on these Japan trips with you, and hearing all these different stories. You bring that perspective into the conversation. So it's always good to have have you back on the show. Hey, for those that are listening in for the first time, I'd be surprised if nobody knows Katie Anderson, but if they are listening for the first time and they've maybe not heard one of your past episodes with us, or they're not following you on LinkedIn, or they've never been on the Japan study trip, can you just give our listeners a little quick background on who Katie is and what what it is that you do
Katie Anderson 02:38
absolutely so I am Katie Anderson, and I am the author of learning to lead, leading to learn lessons from Toyota leader, my favorite books of continuous learning, and it's celebrating its five year anniversary this month in 2025 which is I can't believe, and I am passionate about helping leaders create high performing organizations by connecting purpose and process and people to get the results. And I, as you know, as you know, Patrick, I had the incredible opportunity to live in Japan for a few years, and now that's where how I deepen my relationship with 40 YEAR toyota leader isa Yoshino, as well as now leading my executive Japan leadership looks like my Japan leadership experiences the trips to Japan you've been on. And I like, I'm about to have my eight cohort, which is amazing and just really love I really consider my purpose is to connect the hearts and minds of people around the world so that together we can make it a better place. So excited to be continuing our chain of learning here together. Oh, and I forgot, yes, I have a podcast too, chain of learning, which Patrick has been on, and I wrote the forward to Patrick's amazing book as well. So we are steeply connected. And yeah, I'm excited to dive into some of these key concepts about how we can get those strategic results and lead with intention,
Patrick Adams 03:59
absolutely. And yeah, so let's just dive in. I mean, I'm actually based on what you just said, I'm curious to know what, what does strategic planning look like in Japan? Or maybe you can pick one specific maybe you're not. I can't say your favorite company, because I know they're all your favorite but pick one organization or one company. I guess it doesn't have to be in Japan. But I let's pick one and just give us an overview of what does strategic planning look like, although I am very interested to hear if it's different in Japan with companies. So
Katie Anderson 04:33
yeah, great. And I think what's really important is to sometimes in the West, we have this like strategic planning is just like an activity that happens once a year, right like, and maybe you're starting to think for you know, we're the middle of point of 2020, 2020, 25 right now, and thinking about 2026 but are we actually not just looking at outcomes, but looking at the process? So, you know, the best laid plans never go exactly as we think, and so we have to. Check and adjust along the way to say, is this going how we thought and what adjustments we need to make? So this is a really important distinction of like strategic planning and looking at things more from a process holistic standpoint. And I think some organizations in Japan have done this more effectively, including Toyota, and other organizations that have learned from Toyota or came from that same plan, do study adjust or Plan Do Check Act mindset when Deming came to Japan and really embedded that into the management culture there, which is where the check adjust or the study adjust, part of the learning cycle is deeply embedded in their strategic planning and execution process, which is commonly known in Japan with the with the Japanese words Hoshin Kanri, which is about management and direction, right? And so it's about, are we going the right direction, and is our plan getting us there? So that is an important distinction, I think, is that we that we have to have that check, adjust part of our planning process, and it's ongoing. It's not just a once a year activity. It's ongoing
Patrick Adams 06:03
absolutely so. And I'm glad that you brought that up, because with many organizations that I meet with, I find the same thing where it almost seems like it's a once, one time a year thing where they all do this off site at the end of the year, and they get together with their leadership team, they have some really good discussions. And I'm gonna take it away from that, because I know some of those are very valuable and they're necessary. I know that. But to your point, like, if you're just doing that, if it's like, oh, it's the annual off site, and it's once, and then we never hear anything throughout the entire year, it's like, we come back around the next year. It's like, Okay, how did we do that's probably not the best way to do strategic planning. Would you agree,
Katie Anderson 06:45
for sure? I mean, the first part, which is the planning part, that's great, like, where are we going? What's our best thinking on how we're going to get there? But again, if you just come back at the end of the year, like, you just, like throwing darts, then like, Oh, we're surprised if we got the results or didn't, or what, what changes we need to make, and that is such an important distinction of we need. And something else I want to clarify, too is that, and I see this is a challenge in the organizations I have worked for and now with. So when I was an internal, you know, change leader and an executive, as well as when I am working with organizations now and helping their leaders be more effective with strategy is that we mix up strategy and management or a general operations. And so from the strategic standpoint, we have to get back to, you know, what is going to differentiate you in the market. And then what are those strategic levers you're going to to pull? And then how do you keep the business going as well? So sometimes we just mix up all the things that need to happen to keep a business running with the things that are going to strategically move us forward into the future and continue to grow and bring value to our customers. So that's a really important distinction as well as that, we tend to put all of that into one like plan, but there are actually different types of thinking and different types of activities we need to
Patrick Adams 08:07
do, sure well. And I'm glad that you mentioned Voice of the Customer too, because that's another miss that I see a lot of organizations. You know, they show up for that one time a year for that fall strategic planning session, and no one has talked to the customer, and nobody knows what the customer really wants or what's valuable to the customer. And when we say customer, that could be an internal stakeholder, it could be an external stakeholder, but what are the things that are important to the customer? And you know that's that's something that should be collected ahead of time or during the event. I guess if you're doing it as an event. It should be something that's definitely part of developing your strategic plan for the next year, or for the next three years, or what, however you're putting that plan together. A lot of organizations, I think, miss that, and I even think about a nonprofit organization that I'm currently working with where we are doing stakeholder interviews with, from an internal standpoint, it's employees and volunteers, and then it's board members, and then from an external standpoint, it's the members that they provide, that they do work for, so that the mission of the nonprofit organization that we're meeting with actual program, people that are in the program, and then also community members that know about the organization and the impact that it's having in the community. So meeting with them, having some focus group conversations prior to strategic planning. And then we also have a like a survey that we do with you know all of them as well to gather that information. So all of that voc information is available when the team comes together and goes, Okay, let's talk strategy, and where do we go, and where are gaps, and what's the next three years look like, and what's the next year look like? That voc is so. Important in developing that plan, it can't just be what the 10 people in the room or the five people in the room say, it's gotta be, you gotta access the rest of the organization, right?
Katie Anderson 10:10
Well, right. Otherwise, we're making a lot of assumptions, right? I'm the chair of a nonprofit board as well, and just a month and a half ago, we had our annual strategic planning retreat as well, and we did the same thing. Had a lot of interviews that were done with our, you know, the customer, stakeholders and more. And that was really invaluable insights to help us just check our assumptions as board members on is this going, you know, are we? Are we making a lot of assumptions about what's what's going on? So then we can use our problem solving, and you know, our our expertise as business leaders, to help the organization really think through the strategic plan. And you know, one of the things you're talking about here is that concept of reflection, the study apart, right? So we're studying happens, not just once. So the check adjust is also that is getting the interviews and talking to the people who are connected to the business or recipients of your products and services and more, is part of that reflection that really that studying, studying part that's going to help inform us on what adjustments do we need to make to our strategic plan or, you know, our operational plan, and then, then we can actually put together the plan. So it's really helping us understand the gap, maybe, of where we need, where things are today, and the insights that that's providing to where we need to be going, and that it will help us be so much more effective.
Patrick Adams 11:36
Absolutely, yeah, for sure, a lot of times we, you know, for organizations, they're creating a, you know, a long term vision. They're developing maybe a three or a five year. They're creating a one year, and then maybe they're breaking that down, which I would definitely recommend, don't just create a one year and then come back a year later and say, how'd we do? Like, let's break that one year down into more tactical whether it's 90 day action, quarterly actions or or quarterly SMART goals that are going to lead you to your one year. But then, you know, for us at lean solutions, we're not waiting in six months even halfway through every quarter, we're meeting and we're discussing, okay, how did we do within the last quarter? Are we on track or off track? What do we need to do this next quarter to get us back on track if we're off track? But even that, even from a quarterly perspective, we're breaking that down into weekly meetings where we're asking ourselves, How are we doing on our 90 day actions? Are we on track or off track? And if we're off track, we're making adjustments on a weekly basis. We're not waiting until the end of the quarter to look back and go, Oh crap, we missed it. No, we're making those adjustments on a weekly basis. And so I don't know, talk a little bit more about that, Katie, about the importance of reflection and adjustments as you go, versus waiting and being more reactive at the end,
Katie Anderson 13:00
right? For sure. And this, this speaks to the importance of, like, a management system, and connecting the different levels of system together, right? And so there's at the closest point to the work there should be check and just on how things are going on a daily, weekly basis, towards, you know, those towards those goals, so that you really at the process level can be making those greater adjustments as you move up to, you know, more, I guess, cross functional areas. Then how are those connecting together? And so maybe those are not at that same level of frequency, but they maybe it's at a monthly and then a quarterly basis, so that there is, like it's building, building the picture together, of all that, but absolutely, like, there's, there can be daily reflection, you know, that's, it's the same, the same concepts like, how are you making the work visible? Are we on track? Are we off track? What adjustments do we need to make? And that should be happening daily at the front line for work. And then it's saying, Okay, how is that contributing to, you know, our what we need to be doing to deliver value for our customers, you know, at the department level, so super, super important. So it's also not to say that, like, you know, the senior executives should be doing daily reflection on every metric that there is. But how are they getting visibility to what's happening in the organization and understanding how that's all coming together from a process metric standpoint. So at the end of the year, you're not, you're you're not surprised whether or not you're, you know your end outcome metric has been hit or not. So those, you know, those process measures are really those levers you can, you know, the steering wheel, you can adjust more quickly.
Patrick Adams 14:36
Yeah, yeah. And speaking of executive leaders, do you have any thoughts around one of the challenges that I always see with organizations is they have a hard time cascading those goals down through the organization. And you know the frontline workers, or, you know, the tool room or the the emergency department, or whatever it is, has a heart, they have a hard. Of time making the connection all the way up to the the overall organizational goals or the long term vision. Do you have any recommendations or thoughts around how to make that connection and create alignment through the organization?
Katie Anderson 15:14
Oh, I can reflect on some of my past experiences, both when I was working in organizations and then, you know, now, in the last decade working, you know, helping, helping leaders, I see one well, one is, I think we assume people understand by hearing things once or twice. So there can be, really, you know, one of the most senior executives that has worked at Panasonic was the right hand, you know, man for literally, the founder of Panasonic, when he spoke to one of my groups in two of my groups in Japan, and he says executives have to be 1,000% committed, convicted on the goals and their behaviors, because that every, every layer of the system you go down or, you know, connect to it like diminishes by half. And so you have to be so clear on that direction. You know, I talk about this in my book, learning to lead, leading to learn the senior leaders role is to really clearly set that direction and be really convicted on that and then making sure that you're that you're just, you're keeping it simple and communicating those, those top priorities on it, and connecting it on a human, a human perspective and the why behind it, then it's the responsibility of having those conversations, what is often called in English, catch ball. So the one of the effectiveness of Hoshin Kanri and how it differs from maybe more of a typical strategic planning and deployment approach is that it's not just top down. Of course, it has to be set by the top and that understanding like, where do we need to go? But it's about having conversations at each level of leadership about, okay, this is where we need to go. How can your department contribute to that? And what, what you know, what's feasible and like understanding, are we overburdening a certain part of the system, right? Like I remember, gosh, it was 15 years ago. One of my last internal roles, we were getting started with Hoshin Connery and trying to make a shift in how we were doing strategic planning. I was working on a large healthcare system, and one of the things we did is we put butcher paper around a huge conference room and asked everyone to put all of their projects and their priorities and their strategic things up on, you know, it was in a massive room, and then all the departments that were expected to contribute to that. And it was a very visible way to say, one, we have, like, 100 things or top priorities going on in this organization. And two, there are some departments like it, or, you know, whatever, or facilities that were so overburdened, there was no way it was impossible to actually achieve any of those. So we have to get be 100% convicted on where to go, and then be really clear on what the vital few from a strategic perspective of what we need to be doing. And so executives, that's the hard work of like, what, what is, what is the essence of what we need to do. And then the difference between deploying and setting goals, like, where do we need to be, versus work? And I see that happening a lot too. Like, there's already, like, we're gonna just do this thing, so we're just deploying all this work into the system, but not necessarily from a goal standpoint. So it's sort of just, there are some things that you have to do, like, you know that that are coming, and it is work that's going to be deployed, but really differentiating, what are the what our goals versus tasks, or a big project that you're pushing into the system, yeah, so
Patrick Adams 18:44
those are absolutely
Katie Anderson 18:46
are differentiating, but from a senior leader getting really clear on where do we need to go, constantly communicating it and asking those questions, how does, how does your department connect to this? Or how does your group connect this, how can you can contribute, and there can be different ways, and especially for support functions, it's not always a direct connection, but they're enabling other parts of the organization to then deliver on that
Patrick Adams 19:12
absolutely, I think another, another concern that maybe leaders need to think about too, is scope creep, because a lot of times you come out of even if you do the work to figure out what your capacity is and what what should we be working on, and what should we not be working on? And do I have the right amount of work to fill my team's time? You get two weeks, three weeks, eight weeks past the planning time. And now all of a sudden it's like, oh, well, can you also work on this? And, oh, by the way, this kind of fits over here. Can you throw this on your plate too? And then all of a sudden, it's like, you know, from a priority standpoint, that thing that was so important at the strategic planning session is now on the bottom of the list. You know. Three months into the year, because you got all these other things that are the hot priorities that popped in because of this, that and whatever, and that can be a challenge for organizations. And do you have any recommendations or thoughts on, how do you control something like that? I mean, that's a I know that's a big question. There's a lot of that's a hard thing to answer in the time that we have here. But, I mean, how do we I think, I just think about, maybe it's revisits like, you know, coming back around on a monthly basis or quarterly basis, to go, how did we do this quarter, and how can we adjust? You know, but I don't know. I don't know that there's an exact answer for that. But any thoughts
Katie Anderson 20:42
there? Yeah, I Well, I agree with you, and I think this goes back to where we started our conversation. Is that, you know, when we put together a plan, we have certain inputs, but things change throughout the year, like new things happen. You know, new changes in the market happen as well. So that's where that we have to have that hansei, which is the Japanese word for reflection and self reflection, to say, what do we need to change and adjust and then make a choice, like knowing that we can't just keep adding so what do we need to stop or pause and to put more urgent attention onto something else? Or how is this shifting the plan we put together? And so it's, it's about continuing to look at level loading, you know, our organization. So when we we're going to add things or adjust the focus, we also then to need to look at the work as well. So true, interesting. As we were talking Patrick, I actually pulled up my book, because I talk about the importance of, or the differentiation between typical strategy execution and planning versus Hoshin. Conry, Mr. Yoshino, actually helped in what early part of his year career at Toyota, was working for the senior executive team, the President and the executives, to help them manage the Hoshin, or strategic planning and execution process. And he learned so much by working with, you know, with the executive team as the as a more junior support person. And what he always talks about that, you know, the Hoshin Connery is not just the boss saying, here's the target, go do it. It's about conversation and discussion. And so getting back to that real concept of catch ball. And also, you know, have a framework here too, which you know people watching on the video can go see, or if you have the book, it's on page 124 talks about that connection between the different levels of levels of system that we are talking about, and how reflection has to be embedded that study adjust has to be embedded at different time periods, at every level, as You get down to that front line as well. And that reflection is not the thing at the end, it's actually the beginning, right? And so we reflect on, how did we do last year, get those voices of the customer, what things do we need to change? The concept of hansay of reflection is something that is the most important in what we do. And this is gets back to when we were talking about the challenges we are in a Do, do, do, or maybe a plan, do plan, do plan, do culture and where we're missing out on the real acceleration of being able to achieve our goals is that we're we often feel, don't feel like reflection and studying is productive, right? Like so we fill our calendars with lots of doing and meetings and actions and being reactive. But really, when we can take more time and carve out that time and make sure we don't miss it, we are going to get smarter and actually be able to more the better course correct of all these things you said. If things change in the market, or something new comes on, or we're we're not meeting the target that we thought we're going to actually get when, quote, unquote, there faster and better. Otherwise we end up just throwing darts that we thought might hit the target at the beginning of the year.
Patrick Adams 23:51
That's right, yeah. Now I think there's, there's a couple of really important points there that you mentioned. The first one being level loading and then also making sure that you're you're making adjustments to stay aligned with your true north or your long term vision or whatever it is. But the level loading piece is so important because so many times in organizations, leaders just go, oh, you know, here's our adjustment. Let's just add these three more things to the plate versus, like what you said, where, yeah, okay, we have priorities have changed. Here's three more things that we need to be working on. Well, what's going to come off the plate then? Because we can't just keep adding more things and think that our team is going to be okay. We have to be willing, as leaders to to to make those adjustments accordingly and say what's going to come off the plate. But also, even as younger leaders or or individuals in areas of the organization, you need to be willing to also push back a little bit and say, Hey, I'd love to work on this other priority. But. What's going to what's going to come off the plate. We need our organization. We need organizations to move in a direction where that communication channel is open and you can you have trust and and you can have those those hard conversations to make the proper adjustments, to make sure that you're level loaded and you're not overburdening your team or yourself as as the year goes on. And then the other thing about making adjustments that you mentioned is keeping keeping everything aligned in the right direction. How important is it that leaders are willing to like if things change throughout the year? How important is it that that leaders say, Hey, I know that we made this as a as a strategic goal for the year, but things have changed. Like, you know, covid happened, or whatever, things out of our control. There's a ship stuck in a canal, whatever it is like, how important is it that leaders are willing to say that we're going to pause this or this is not a priority anymore. We're going to make an adjustment. Because I think a lot of times, leaders get stuck and think, well, because we made that a goal, now we have to stick to it. We can't adjust the timeline. We can't adjust the goal. We're just going to keep pushing forward and try to make this happen, even though, you know, something out of our control has happened that makes sense, like
Katie Anderson 26:21
it does. It's like, it's critically important. So, you know, I'm thinking back just on our recent my the nonprofit organization I work with, like, we're talking about how the the mission for the organization that should be pretty constant for a long term, like, the mission doesn't change, sort of the vision for the next 3040, years, like, shouldn't change as well. Now the strategy about how we're going to move there in a 510, year mark that can change. And certainly, the plan that we put in place that we think for this next year to get us to that next level of where we need to go has to adjust based on what's going on in the world. Otherwise, we're just like, you know, pretending that things aren't, you know, I'm covering my ears and my eyes, like, pretending that things haven't changed. And, you know, we know this from other parts of our life, right? Like, yeah, you had a, like, a roadmap to get somewhere, but all sudden, you know, like, traffic's diverted. You give you keep going forward. You're, you're gonna get, you're gonna get so it is so critically important, and for senior leaders in particular, to recognize those changes and then to call the space for having that discussion and leading the way by saying, we what do we need to change? What have we learned? Like sometimes, if it's a crisis, as we had with covid. There wasn't time, but you saw people reacted very quiet quickly. That got a lot of alignment, because it was, you know, there was, there was no choice in making a change there. But we, we had, we being able to first start with holding that space, just have that reflection and say things have changed in our environment. Now, let's use our best thinking about what do we need to adjust or do differently, or some of it the same to be able to to get to where we need to go? And it may be that we need to change our, you know, that next target or that goal, because that's actually not, you know what we're going to be able to achieve right now or do. And it's important to have those like understand too, the distinction between that direction or that long term goal, the challenge you need to overcome, should really be set by what's needed, not just what we think is achievable, but then the plan to get there in the next sort of interim target that can move based on what we're learning. You know, I remember one of the best pieces of advice that Mr. Yoshino gave when we were teaching some classes on Hoshin Conry. I This is before the pandemic. We were traveling the world and talking about senior leadership. He said, You know, it getting getting stuck in being perfect is actually, you know, it's not good. So it's better to set a the a target that you think is directionally correct, and then start learning your way towards that. Start doing and learning. The important point there is learning your way forward. And if you're not having those check and adjust, you're not learning your way forward, you're just kind of like seeing that target is immovable, so you need to be directionally correct, but the specificity of each individual goal and target may have to be adjusted based on what's going on.
Patrick Adams 29:22
Yeah, so true. So true. I think I've talked about this before, but there's a non another nonprofit organization that is very dear to my heart, that we do backpacking trips with teenagers. And I think, again, I think I've talked about this before, but there was a time where we were hiking on the pictured rocks National Lakeshore, which is up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, beautiful area to hike on, up on Lake Superior and there was a point where we came to a trail, or we were on the trail, came to a point on the trail where there was this big tree that had fallen over the trail. So. And of course, the the the teen stopped, and they turn around and look at US leaders and like, what do we do? Well, do we just turn around and go back because a tree fell in the middle of our you know, our path, we're heading to the end of the trail that the next trailhead, so now there's a tree in our way. Does that mean we just turn around and go home? Does it mean we shut our doors on our business because something fell in our way? Our strategic plan, you know, is no longer valid. So do we just turn around and go back? No, of course not. We come together as a team. We figure out, how do we traverse this challenge? How do we make adjustments based on what's sitting in front of us. And I think so many organizations don't do that. They don't take the time. They just either throw their hands up, or sometimes leaders just say, No, you're going to continue forward. And, you know, try to get through this thing. But the leaders that actually say, let's put our heads together. Let's look at our plan, and let's make some adjustments based on what has happened in front of us here. So, you know, for us, the teenagers, put a plan together around how to get around this particular tree and get back on path and head down the path like it's a simple example. But again, there's so many, so many leaders out there that won't do that for whatever reason. And I think it's a it's a huge miss the you know, they create their SMART goal, and they think, well, because I have a due date on this now I can never change that due date. Well, why is that? Why can you not change your due date? You know? Now you have to have good reason to change it, like a tree fell in front of my path. So now I have to make adjustments. Can't just come to a meeting and say I'm changing the due date because I took a week off, right? There's gotta be good reason. But I think adjusting goals and adjusting priorities based on what is happening should be a part of our regular, you know, regular cadence of discussions and learning and adjusting along the way,
Katie Anderson 32:02
absolutely. And I love that example. I've heard you share that before, and it's just so tangible. We get it when we hear it that way, and because sometimes it gets very abstract when we talk about business and all the all the other elements, we also have to think like this is especially for the executives listening and HR is we have to think about how we're creating our like compensation programs, like bonuses, if they're tied to immovable goals in your and people are compensated if only if they achieve that goal or not, is actually reinforcing an outcomes only culture, rather than a process learning culture. Because when I talked about last year with my the CEO of this, the nonprofit that I that I chair, that I'm the board chair for, we talked about, yes, we need to set the goals, but what's important is, as you said, Patrick, sometimes things change in the environment, and we may need to adjust the goal. So like, one of the things we're evaluating on you on as the executive, is you sharing your thinking, keeping us informed, and then sharing your thinking about you know, what adjustments need to be made? Is that goal still the right goal for the organization, given the change in the environment, or is it we just need to change our plan on how we get there that's still the right that's still the right goal, because we need to achieve that for to be able to deliver what we need to for our, you know, for the customers and clients. And so it's about having that conversation. So it goes back to the behaviors in a process, learning mindset, rather than outcomes only. And we have to think about this, the, you know, the structures we have internally in organizations, and are they rewarding, actually the right behaviors that we're wanting to see as well. And you know that the SMART goal, you know, the the a is, like, Is it achievable? And again, if we're only setting goals that we think are achievable, how we're not actually pushing ourselves into like, a learning like a learning space and or achieve, like, truly accelerating growth or innovation or improvement. Because if we already know that we can do it like that, that actually is, like, it's kind of decelerating the rate of improvement and change. And so that's where this, having this, knowing that it's okay not to always achieve the target, but it's about how we're how are we learning our way forward is more important, and that's a huge distinction about how we set targets and goals in our organization. Is it truly based on what's needed, not just what we think is achievable? And then how are we responding or rewarding to people when they you know, and how they're leading towards that goal. So those are really, really important things for organizations to be reflecting on. Are of how are the systems and structures within the organization actually inhibiting or creating the environment that will really allow that to thrive? Like. You know, truly the process thinking and having those conversations? Yeah, no,
Patrick Adams 35:04
I love that you brought that up, because even obviously, like a long term vision, we have no idea how we're going to attain, how we're going to achieve that even a three year, or even a one year, I would say, you know, we really should be stretching ourselves to the point where we're asking ourselves, like, I don't even know if that's possible. How are we actually going to make that happen? Well, we don't need to figure out how to make that happen. When we back that into our first quarter and we're looking at the next three months, maybe now we're within you know, what an improvement kata would say, your Thresh threshold of knowledge. Okay, maybe I can see how we could get to this point in the next 30 days, or the next 90 days, or whatever the number is, and that's going to move us a little bit closer to that 12 month goal. And that's what the that's what's important now for those organizations that go and try to create let's put a whole tactical plan together for the whole 12 months and what we're going to achieve over the I think that's that's going a little bit too far, because you don't know, you don't know what's going to happen three months from now. You don't know what's going to happen six months from now. So you have to have these smaller increments, whether it's 30 Days Weekly, that you're making adjustments along the way to keep yourself on path, knowing that at 12 months, we're looking to achieve this, and at three years, this like that keeps us aligned. It gives us direction. But those small adjustments are happening weekly, monthly, you know, quarterly, at the latest, right?
Katie Anderson 36:36
Yes. And this is where the real, like the real essence of the word agile comes right? It's the agility to make adjustments. And in this is how Lean Thinking got taken to a software development world where, like, what they called waterfalls, like you created your plan and you just keep executing on that. You're not getting any customer feedback, you're not making adjustments. You're just keep on, keep on, keeping on without really understanding. Versus the word agile reflects this conversation we're having is that it's about making it's about testing, making adjustments, reflecting, you know, continuing to say, what do we need to do differently, getting the inputs. And so this is where organizational agility comes in. It comes from having a clear goal of or a vision of where we the destination, of where we need to go, and then creating our best laid plan and adjusting it along the way. And that happens through structured reflection and hansay inputs, and being willing to say, Wow, what we thought was the best plan is actually not the best plan, and having the humility to to recognize that that's okay, and that's actually, that's actually great, right? That's that's helping us get there,
Patrick Adams 37:49
absolutely, yeah, for sure. Speaking of executive leaders too, we've, we've talked a lot about executive leaders, and also just about the not just executive leaders, but I'm assuming there are many leaders that are listening right now, decision makers, executive leaders, and I want to speak to them right now briefly, so if an organization does not have any strategic planning in place, because I know there's a lot of them out there. Come across them all the time. They do no strategic planning whatsoever. We're halfway through the year right now. Do they have any like, Do you have any recommendations? Should they not take action right now? Should they think about 2026 but at this point? Or is there something they can do to like, just, I guess, finish the year? Well, what do you what do you think?
Katie Anderson 38:41
Well, there's, there's always time and place to start. And, you know, even six months is like, let's say, Okay, where do you need to be by the end of, you know, the end of this calendar year. And start experimenting with the process of saying, Well, where are we today? Where do we need to be? So target, actual gap is the is the problem or the opportunity the problem to solve? And so then start thinking, okay, what are some things? What are the a few critical things that we think are going to move the needle between where we are today and where we need to be? And now is the time to start doing that reflection for the coming year. So this is going to give you inputs as well into then, more formally, starting a more structured process. And there's some great resources too to help you on this. But to also know it doesn't have to be this huge, complex thing. It's first getting clear on where do we need to go, getting some of those inputs. Patrick suggested, the beginning, the voice of the customer and the partners, and then starting to put in some structured learning time for you and your team, and that will start building the habit that will help you get better at building a more structured, intentional strategy, deployment process.
Patrick Adams 39:53
Awesome. I love it. Great, great tactical steps that anyone can take right now, so don't wait. Eight until 2026 you can make the plan now. You can cascade that out. Get started right away. The other thing that I think executive leaders can think about so Katie, you were one of our keynote speakers at the Lean Solutions Summit in this last year, and you loved it so much that you said I'm coming back. I don't care what I'm doing, but I'm going to be there. And this year, we're actually going to be experimenting with what's called the executive experience. And it's the name of it is elevate. It's a program specifically curated for executive leaders. In fact, we are surveying any people, any executive leaders, that register for the event, to with some questions, and then the answers to those questions are actually going to be how we develop the curriculum or the it's not even going to be a curriculum. It's there's not there's not a teaching, it's not a coaching. It's a it's an experience. It's a it's an opportunity for executive leaders to come alongside other executive leaders, we're going to guide some discussions around some key points that are important for leaders at that level, when they're leading in an organization that that it has a continuous improvement culture or is moving in that direction. But this is going to be a curated kind of this almost like a VIP experience for executive leaders at the Lean Solution Summit in September, and you're going to be a part of that. So there's a couple leaders you Billy Ray Tilo, who keynoted last year, that are coming back to help guide and be part of this executive leader experience. Can you tell us a little bit about maybe what people can expect when they're when they come to the summit and experience this, this part,
Katie Anderson 41:44
well, first and foremost, like anyone listening to the podcast, I highly recommend coming to the Lean Solutions Summit. I really just the the conversations and connections and learning were astounding, like fantastic. And I truly said to Patrick, I'm coming back no matter what. And I'm really excited for this executive leadership track and the collaboration with teal, Tila Schwartz, Billy Ray Taylor, and yourself as the guides and facilitators of this of this learning cohort of executives. And you know, as you're describing, we're we're do, we're practicing what we preached around getting the voice of the customer. So we're going to build the experience around the needs of you, the executives who are coming to this so that we're holding a container for you to really learn and come out also with some actions and behaviors and clear steps that are really going to help set you up for you know, the achieving the success that you need in your organization, regardless of what that is. And our intention, too, is to build connections like this collaborative cohort, where you really can continue your learning beyond the time together in September. It's like creating like this peer network of other executives that you can continue to share your challenges and your successes together and learn your way forward to success in your organization.
Patrick Adams 43:10
Love it. It's going to be an amazing experience. I'm super excited for it, among other things, at the summit, but I don't want to miss the opportunity also, for those that are listening in that have not been to Japan yet. So Katie, one last thing, can you just give us, like, where? Where's, what's your next trip coming up? How can we get into it? Because I know there are people listening that want to go. How do we get involved?
Katie Anderson 43:35
In addition to the executive leadership experience, you know that I I've been leading now, as I mentioned, eight cohorts. I've had 130 leaders, from executives and executive teams to groups, from organizations to individual change leaders and practitioners and consultants join me on this immersive experience. Patrick's one of them. And it is not just, oh, this incredible, transformative week in Japan, which everyone who comes with me says it is, but it's the pre trip learning I bring together. You know that all that learning, that enrichment and follow up too, to make sure that you're embedding what you've learned in into the organization. It's really special to Mr. Yoshino now joins us for the full week, assuming his health is is continuing. Well, he's 81 years old, so Carpe Diem now is the time to get time to spend together on the bus and over meals, and really gives you a chance to get away from the daily work, to see something inspirational about how leaders are truly leading with the heart, starting with purpose and people to get those results. And I one of the things I love the most, in the same way that I'm excited about leading this executive track with Patrick for the Lean Solution Summit, is bringing together cohorts of leaders from around the world to create community and to learn together, and that that connection continues even beyond the actual trip. So I'm whole. I have a few spots left for. November of 2025 and I have just opened enrollment, and have spaces already filling up for May of 2026, and you can go to my website, Kbj anderson.com/japan, trip, or just google me, and you'll find that as well. So lots of you can hear Patrick on my podcast to talk about all the things that he learned and all so go to chain of learning. I forget which episode, but it was one of the early episodes there as well. Yeah,
Patrick Adams 45:25
definitely a must do experience. You know, speaking from someone that has been there, even today, it's been a few years now, I'm still on the WhatsApp chats, and I'm still conversing with people that I was on the trip with and the value that it brought to me as a leader is it's priceless. So anyone that's listening, I would definitely recommend jump in on the November or the did you say May or March? May may
Katie Anderson 45:53
have Yeah, a few spots November, now's the time Get ready. Go talk to Mr. Yoshino about strategic, strategic planning, and in May of 2026 and you know, I'm so passionate about this, and love curating this experience, the container of learning, going to Japanese companies, talking to their executives, and also having some really incredible cultural experiences as well.
Patrick Adams 46:17
Love it well, we will drop a link to all of the things talked about today into the show notes. So if you want to reach out to Katie to get some more information, her website will be in the show notes, as well as a link to more information about the about elevate the executive experience coming up at the Lean Solution Summit in September. And then we'll also drop a link to the Japan study trip. If you want to register for the November or the May dates or have questions, you can reach out to Katie directly. So Katie, thanks again for being on it's always amazing to have you on the show. Obviously, you brought a ton of value to everyone that's listening, whether they're in executive role or just or anywhere in an organization, any leadership position. I think it's important to understand Hoshin and strategic planning and how what is our role in that. So thank you for bringing a ton of value to us today. Appreciate you being on Thanks
Katie Anderson 47:10
Patrick, and thanks for everyone listening. Looking forward to hearing how you're applying some reflection and learning in your life and work as well.