GA 441 | Strategic Visioning with Deondra Wardelle

Oftentimes, I think it's the case that and where I see value and where there's an opportunity with the direction that Lean is moving into, the future is looking at the meaning behind the methodology, and that goes back into tapping into the talent of the members of the team.

Today, I'm excited to welcome Diandra Wardell back to the show. Now, Diandra is going to be one of the keynote speakers at the upcoming AME conference that's happening October 17th through the 20th in Dallas, Texas. So if you haven't got your tickets yet to come to the conference, you need to. It's the biggest Lean conference in the world, I believe. Pretty sure that's a factual statement. And it's a fantastic event. We're going to be there. The whole Gemba Academy team is going to be there. We've got a huge setup coming. We've got to be doing live podcasts right there from the show, and we would love to see you. If you haven't got your tickets yet, we can save you 15%. Just use Gemba 15 when you register and that'll save you 15%. So, yeah, just go to ame.org and you'll learn more about that Dallas conference. But again, Deandra is one of the keynote speakers. In fact, she's going to be doing a panel and she talks a little bit about that at the beginning of the, of the episode. So that, that, that'll give you some good insight into what's going on and what she'll be talking about. But then really, the conversation just, we kind of covered many different things. We talked a little, a lot about kind of the future of Lean. And, and I was curious to get her perspective on, on what this movement is going to be looking like over the next, you know, five to 10 years. So we spent some, a good bit of time talking about that. Now, a little peek into what we're going to kind of discuss is DeAndre is also a huge, passionate fan of scientific thinking, Toyota Kata. And so that's definitely mixed in a little bit. And then, yeah, we just talked about some other stuff. She's got a process that she uses called strategic visioning experience and kind of tags along with strategic planning. And so she talks a lot about how she uses things like visioning when she's working with teams to help them plan strategically. So lots of good stuff cover a lot of ground. I think you're gonna like this one. So show notes can be found over@gembapodcast.com just look for episode four, 41 again, gembapodcast.com, look for episode four, 41. Okay, enough from me. Let's get to the show. Deondra, welcome back to the show. How are you?

I'm doing well, Ron. Thank you for having me back.

Awesome. Yeah, I'm all excited to have you back. So last time you were on was episode 158. We. It was a little while ago, but we had a nice chat then, and so I'm excited to have you back on. So thanks for coming on.

Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be back on. As a matter of fact, that interview was my very first podcast interview.

No kidding?

No kidding.

Oh, fantastic. All right, well, hey, I know you've, you know the kind of the drill and the flow of the show. We do like to get things going with our guests sharing a quote. So what do you got?

So one I. There are several quotes. My favorite quote this week is around the importance of when you're out observing the Gemba, do something to help. If you do, people will come to expect that you can help them. And we'll look forward to seeing you again on the Gemba. And of course, as we know this, the Gemba is where the action takes place. And so when we go to the Gemba, it's important to go to help. So that's one of my favorite quotes.

Oh, I love it. I love it. Fantastic. All right, well, hey, DeAndre, if in case folks didn't listen to that episode or they've forgotten if they've had a few sleeps since episode 158, tell us a little bit about yourself. Tell us about your background, how you first got involved in continuous improvement, and then what you're up to these days.

Sure. So at that time I was working in corporate America. Our very first conversation was about employee engagement. And although a lot has changed and developed since then, employee engagement is still very near and dear to my heart. So currently I am the owner of Onto the Next One consulting firm and our firm. We work with organizations in evaluating and helping to develop their strategic plan. And we call it the Strategic Visioning Experience because we look at every aspect of the strategic plan, linking it to the value stream and identifying ways to make improvements, but also focus on operationalizing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. So it's integrated into every part of the operation as part of the processes. It's embedded in the culture. And one of the main method that's used to develop processes and procedures around operationalizing deia, which is the acronym for that, is through using Continuous improvement. And so we've been working with organizations again, helping them to actualize what's in their strategic plan. And then also I have been working with colleagues in the lean community. A few years ago, we started a movement called Root Cause Racism. And the basis of that movement is understanding and linking continuous improvement to the work of anti racism and undoing injustices. And specifically focusing on the areas of health care, business, education, and the government. And helping people to understand how, looking at things through the lens of continuous improvement, recognizing that the work of undoing injustice and working towards having more equity, it is a journey. It's not a stop and a start. And that's where the linkage comes in with lean. Recognizing that that's a journey. We start where we are. There's opportunities to learn from each step that we take. There's something that we learn that guides us to the next step. And so that's where a lot of my attention and focus has been since the last time we've talked about.

Nice, nice. Yeah. You know, I really do believe, and I've said it many times on the show, and that continues improvement. It's so much more than, I mean, it's a. It's obviously important in businesses and productivity and quality and all that kind of stuff, but, you know, I really do feel like it's the great Uniter and it can and it will change the world if we can get everyone thinking, you know.

Yeah.

Thinking scientifically. I know you're a big cat of geek, you know. You know, and just really trying to, you know, we're all, we're all loaded with bias, right?

Yeah.

And we bring our bias everywhere we go. And so. But that's the beautiful thing about scientific thinking in particular, is that it really can help you, you know, just push your bias to the side and run that next experiment and see what we learn.

Exactly. And you touched on me being a cardigan. And so as you were. We're talking about how continuous improvement can be applied outside of manufacturing environments and just how we interact with one another. It's true in manufacturing, non manufacturing, wherever we find ourselves as people, we. We come to an experience with some form of bias. And two sayings that we have in the cottage community is don't be so certain and be curious. And so a part of taking on that attitude of don't be so certain, it invites us to go and see and, and question what it is we think we know and to run those experiments to figure out what it is that we need to learn. And as a result of running an experiment. Either things are going to happen the way we expect them or they won't. Either way, it's a learning opportunity to get us closer and closer to our challenge or whatever our big aspirational goal is.

Yes. Yes. Awesome. All right. Well, hey, so I heard a little rumor that, that you may be, that you may be speaking at an upcoming conference that I'm actually going to be at. And that's the AME Dallas conference. Let's see, October 17th through the 20th. So yeah, I'm excited to see you there and listen to you. So, yeah, tell me more about your keynote and, and, and maybe talk a little bit about the, the, the conference, the theme, Embracing Disruption.

Sure. Yeah. You said the AME Dallas conference is coming up October 17th through the 20th. The theme is Embracing Disruption. And what that is about is, you know, looking at what lies ahead for businesses, you know, healthcare providers and anyone in the public sector and understand that we are in a disruptive world. Talk about running experiments and things that we've learned post Pandemic. Some of us are still trying to get our footing under us and going back to business as usual. I think we can pretty much forget about that. And so with that looking at where we are with technology and where we are with inclusive thinking, where we are with diversity and equity and looking at business from a holistic standpoint of how is it that we can continue to grow, how can we continue to make an impact? So I'm particularly excited about this conference because I will be part of a keynote panel and the theme for our keynote panel. I think it's, it's okay for me. I don't get share of the spoiler alert, but yeah, I think it'll be fine. I'm sure it's fine. It's embracing cultural disruption. And so the panel will be moderated by Mark Graven and the other panelists include Sarah Boisford. She is the founder of New Collar Network and Fab Lab Hub. And Amy Gowder, she is the president and CEO of GE Aviation Military Systems Operations. And so on the panel, we are all coming in with our experiences and our perspectives about the value of elevating culture through embracing disruption. So it is going to be, like I said, out of that panel, I think we're going, I know we're going to have some lively discussion. There'll be an opportunity for Q and A. And I'm confident there will be some nuggets and some learnings and some good information that those who will be in attendance will be able to take back and immediately apply in their prospective workspaces.

Interesting. So one thing I'm always curious about when we do do sort of like these panel type discussions, do you think you guys will all agree on everything or. You know what I mean? It's like a big echo chamber. We're all like, yeah, yeah, yeah, high fiving. Or do you think there'll be some. Hmm, I don't know about that. Deondra, like, what do you think about that? What do you think?

Well, just from what I know about Sarah and Amy's work, there is. We have lot in common. And although there are differences in our backgrounds and what it is we do professionally, there is a common thread. And that common thread and that common theme around embracing cultural disruption goes back to, you know, one of the core tenets of lean, demonstrating respect for people. And so what I, what I expect to happen is we will agree, if anything, we may agree to the point where we all want to talk at the same time, because we're so passionate and are so committed to where we are in our spaces, really focusing on problem solving from the standpoint of working with cross functional teams. Again, going back and encouraging for everyone to embrace scientific thinking and embracing the diversity that exists among all of us. Not only that we talk about in conversations we've had already, the importance of evaluating practices and policies and procedures to ensure that they tie in with this theme of elevating culture and ensuring that there is engagement and a strong sense of belonging. And so what I expect to happen is for these different themes for us to share from our unique perspectives of what we've experienced, to be able to, you know, spark some really great conversation and again, have some good takeaways for those who will be in attendance.

I love it. I love it. It sounds fun. And Mark will keep you, keep you all in line anyhow. You start getting all crazy, Marco.

Exactly. I was really thrilled when I learned that Mark will be the moderator. He and I have had an opportunity to collaborate on several projects, one, of course, being the very first Root Cause Racism blog series and webinar. And he moderated that first webinar. And so, you know, he's a professional. He's a giant in the lean community. So it's going to be a good time.

Yeah, good stuff. Well, so, DeAndre, you've been at this in the lean movement for, for quite some time. And one thing that I'm always curious on, talking with folks who've been at this for a little while, is thinking about the future. You Know, I mean, none of us have a crystal ball. Nobody knows exactly what's going to happen. But, but, you know, do you have a thought or maybe an opinion on, on just maybe Lean in general or if there's any aspect of just continuous improvement, our movement on what might be important as we kind of venture together towards that long term challenge, whatever that might be.

Sure, sure. So I, I am going to use two of the words that you asked in your question. Venture together. And that is where the opportunity lies. And how it is that. I'm raising my air quotes here. How it is that we do Lean operationally within the professional space and even in the personal space. You know, when, when we think about what it is that Lean does, lean helps us to, you know, it's part of a management practice to improve efficiency and effectiveness. There's a lot of focus on the process and oftentimes I think it's the case that we may put too much emphasis on the tools and where I see value and where there's an opportunity. With the direction that Lean is moving into, the future is looking at the meaning behind the methodology. And that goes back into tapping into the talent of the members of the team. And so, you know, using those foundational core tenants of Lean, where we're focusing on continuously improving processes, but also demonstrating respect for people and leveraging and really centering around that to bolster engagement and not only that, to empower individuals and teams to let them know. Yes, if you run into a problem within your work, you are empowered, you know, because you're connected with our overall vision and mission and purpose. You're aware of the strategic plan and as you come across things in your daily work that you say, you know what, we can do this better while having that learning environment, recognizing everyone has the opportunity to contribute and how we can run experiments and we can, you know, move forward together to make whatever improvements that are necessary, not only for the sake of the external customer, those who we serve with our products and our services, but also the internal customer, and that's the employees and that's the members of the team. So now I, from even what I've noticed, and I think this has become more apparent, like I said, as we're in this post, covet space, just really leveraging on the unique talents and abilities that lie within each individual and using scientific thinking or that scientific approach to really bring that out for the good of the organization.

Yeah, yeah. And I love what you mentioned. You know, there's always been this, this tension. I don't Know, whatever word to use between within lean, like the tools of lean versus the, the people and the thinking. But, and that's what I love about personally, why I'm so passionate about promoting scientific thinking is that I always use the analogy of the horse and a cart, and the cart's got all of our tools. The horse is analogous to, say, scientific thinking. It's pulling us forward, and all of a sudden the horse stops. You like, why'd you stop? Well, there's an obstacle. I can't get around it.

It down.

You go to the cart.

Yes.

And you get your tool and the. Only the, the correct tool, just the one tool that you need, maybe two. Clear the obstacle, continue on, put the tool back. You know, and so, so often it, you know, and perhaps Gemba Academy's, you know, part of partly to blame or you are as well, as far as. We're teachers. Right. So we go out and do a, a talk on some new tool or some new concept, and people get excited and they want to practice it. Right. And so they go around looking for an excuse to. And that's okay. Right. Because they're learning. But there comes a time and a place to where let's use tools to clear obstacles that are in our way towards where we want to go.

Right, right. And, and you know, Ron, that goes back to that journey for all of us. You know, I think about early on, when I started my continuous improvement journey, it was all about teaching the tools. The first thing we have to learn is 5s and we have to learn about, you know, all the ways. And this is one of the reasons, one of the many reasons why I'm so passionate about the Toyota Kata, that analogy that you gave the horse, you know, realizing that there is a destination that we're trying to get to, and within that cart, there are all these tools. But there's no sense in getting all the tools out all at once. As you come across an obstacle, having that discernment to determine which tool to use and recognizing that, again, while we're on this journey, you know, if, if, if we're both on the horse, you know, we're having some discussion and decision about the tool.

Yeah.

And you may have one ide. Let's run an experiment and test it. In terms of analogies, I always like to use home improvement because you'll have questions about, was it lean? Is it the Toyota production system? Is it kata? Is it lean? Six Sigma, Is it agile? And I generically say continuous improvement because. And using the, you know, like I said, the home improvement analogy, if you're remodeling your kitchen and you're putting up new wallpaper, well, are you going to use a chainsaw to cut the wall? Know, you'll, you'll use something more precise and you identify the tool that you need for whatever it is that you need to make an improvement on, and then you continue on with that journey. So, yeah, and I think as. And that's why it's, you know, in the future, as we're moving and learning in this, this direction and, and journey and, and elevating the culture around Lean and scientific thinking, like I said, I, in most instances say continuous improvement because we want to not get so hung up or caught up in the different terminology that we miss the point of developing people.

Absolutely. Oh, my gosh. Just one thing that just is like, oh, it just kills me is just people getting on the social media arguing about, my CI is better than your CI. And I'm like, would you all just be quiet? First of all, get off LinkedIn.

And.

Go to your Gemba, whatever your Gemba is, you know, and help, as you said earlier, right?

That's the thing. And that's the thing that's so important with consulting. And I don't even, you know, it's called consulting, but I see myself as a partner. You know, the focus of our firm is to provide real help now. And when you're working with a CEO or a leadership team or whatever obstacle is in their way, you know, who has time to get caught up on, are we going to put it in an Excel spreadsheet or is it going to be on a flip chart? What's important is what is happening at gemba, where is it that help is needed and what can we do? What can we apply to get that help to move, to get over that obstacle and move on the journey for ultimately where it is they're trying to go.

Yeah, 100%. 100%. Hey, one thing I meant to maybe ask you earlier on, I didn't, but, but tell us a little bit about your journey. I'm curious how you got. Got involved in continuous improvement. And I know you've always been really involved in the HR training development, that space as well. So tell us a little bit about that.

So what's funny is, you know, after receiving all the certifications and the formal training, when I think back over my life, my parents, who are not knowledgeable about the theories of Lane, introduced me to Lean as a child. My siblings and I, you know, always looking for ways to improve Always looking for ways to show respect for others. You know, on when we had our chores on Saturday, it was a place for everything and everything in its place. My, my mom and dad, they were my first 5s instructors. But as, as my career progressed when I was at, I worked at an electronic repair company. And one of our first site directors that I worked with had a heavy background in lean. And so he had worked at other facilities, had had a tremendous amount of success. And he knows that I'm someone, he knew that I've always been someone who likes to think outside the box. And of course, you know, people are always near and dear to my heart and ensuring that people are set up for success and they can thrive in their role. And he asked me to help collaborate in introducing 5s to the entire facility. And as a result of, you know, learning by doing, I was like, wow, this is really interesting. And that sparked even more curiosity in learning about Lean. And then I started on that path of, well, I want to learn more, I want to become certified, because I saw how it connected to the work and I could be more efficient. Especially at one point in time, as the training manager, I wore a lot of different hats. Designing content, you know, for our learning management system, running reports, doing, you know, classes. And what I was learning, learning, I was applying it to the work to become more efficient and more productive. And it sparked even more creativity. And so that's how it started. And then, you know, from there I went to work at a printing and packaging company and ultimately was promoted to a role where I was the global Lean Six Sigma director for our division and the team at Master Black Belts and I, we had responsibility of guiding our teammates in facilities in North America, Europe and Asia through their green belt and black belt projects. And so it's it for me, the journey continues. Every day I'm learning something new. You know that you, you never arrive when it comes to practicing continuous improvement and lean, there's always something new because not every experience is the same. You can't. Although it's good to do best practice sharing. We don't copy and paste a solution from one place to another. It's always important that we evaluate what's going on in real time at that gemba and understanding you what help is actually needed. So it's been a great evolution. So from my childhood learning 5s through business chores on the weekend and then into my career when I was in, in training and even in HR roles, incorporating lean and, and it's now part of everything that I do Volunteer work, different organizations that I'm a part of, boards that I serve on. I'm going to find a way to introduce continuous improvement. Yeah.

You've drunk the Kool Aid, right?

Yes, I have.

I have, Ling, we all have. You're listening to this. You have to.

You have to. So you're in good company. You're in good company. That's right. That's right. It's so funny. We. We laugh about this at Cotton from time to time. My mom has accused me of. She thinks that I'm trying to start a kata church is what she calls it. So I'm trying to spread the good news and get it out there that, you know, there's an easier way to do things. People.

What do they always say about, you know, it's a cult when they have their own lingo and all that? And I'm like, oh, my gosh.

That's why we stick with continuous improvement.

Right? Exactly. Awesome. Hey, so I know that in your work, d', Andre, that you have, you have a process called strategic visioning experience. You mentioned it. You hinted at it earlier. You know, maybe this is similar to traditional strategic planning that we might be used to. I'm wondering if you talk about maybe the difference between your strategic visioning experience and a more traditional strategic planning process.

Sure. So throughout my career, I've. I've always worked with leaders, and I've been in a capacity myself to where strategic planning was crucial and identifying where it is we needed to place our focus and priorities. And I've always been a very visual person, and I've always been about, what is it that we need to focus on, even in doing value stream mapping events. I remember at one point in time, the team and I, we were working on a value stream mapping project, and there were like 60 potential opportunities that came out of that. And I said, this is overwhelming. This will overwhelm the team before we get into it. And so what began to happen is, is I took part in what was called a vision board workshop for a personal event. And during that vision board workshop, as the leader was facilitating the steps to build a vision board, I heard her instructions. It went in my mind, and it was translated into kata terminology. And I began to see the connection of the work we do with the steps of the kata, the improvement kata, understanding the direction and challenge, grasping the current condition, setting a target condition, and then running experiments, iterating, you know, on the way to the challenge with multiple targets. And so it just made sense to combine that mindset or that way of doing and that way of thinking with developing strategic plans. So, you know, in the typical steps that we may go through to build a strategic plan, the other element is that we're adding that visual piece piece through the vision board, having actual images where it is we see ourselves in the future, you know, visualizing what those metrics, you know, what we desire them to be, and having the mindset that we're already there in the future, we can stand and look around and see what things look like. But then stepping back to that current state, collecting data, looking at information without judgment, like, oh, my goodness, why aren't we further along? But just looking at it for what it is. It's a data input that will help us determine our next step. And so that that's the part of how we look at strategic planning with a strategic visioning experience. The other pieces of that that make it different is there is a heavy continuous improvement component, not only the kata, but, you know, kind of like what we talked about in the cart that the horse is pulling, those different tools, those are factored in. And then another element on top of that is looking at doing all of this work with what we're doing with strategic planning and understanding our priorities through the lens of diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility. So that's factored into every part of our process that is not a standoff or a standalone for the HR department or an employee resource group, but it's an active and intentional and deliberate part of every aspect of the work. And as a result of focusing on strategic planning from that standpoint and what we call the strategic visioning experience, we have alignment so that the strategic plan is not something that only senior leadership or particular group is aware of. It's not something that sits on a shared drive that's not regularly reviewed. It's not something that's in a binder that's on someone's shelf collecting dust. It becomes an integral part of everyday operations so that employees, including the most recent new hire, understands how their daily work connects to the overall plan of the organization. And then they, through continuous improvement, they have that vehicle and that mechanism in order to provide input and share ideas. And anytime someone sees themselves as part of the process and part of the solution, that helps engagement, that helps that sense of belonging, which ties back to, you know, some of the components of the work that we do to create more equitable and inclusive work environments.

Got it. Good stuff.

Yeah.

Well, I am super excited. Excited to see you, and it's not gonna be long. You know, we're Recording this in middle of August. This will come out in September sometime, but even then it's, it's right around in the corner. So if folks are listening to this and they haven't registered yet, they need to. In fact, if you use the code GEMBA15, you'll save 15% on the, on the registration fee there for, for the AME conference. But it's going to be fun. We're gonna, I mean, it's right down the road for us here. We're, we're a bit lucky, but, you know, I sleep in my own bed even, you know, probably each night. But yeah, can't wait to see you there, Deandra. And we'll have a lot of fun and, and it's just, it's going to be great to be back together and, and seeing everybody.

I agree. Because it's been. Oh my goodness. I think the last time that we saw one another in person was at Conicon 5. Maybe it's been about four or five years. It's been a while.

It's been a while.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yep, yep. So yeah, we'll have a good time. So I appreciate you coming on and hey, if folks want to connect with, with you, Deondra, what's the best way?

The best way to reach me is through my website and it's my name, diandrawardell.com that's D E O N D R A W A R D E L L E. And if there is a question, if someone has a question about the strategic visioning experience, they want to learn how that could help their organization, they can book time to meet with me also. So by visiting the website, you can connect with me through all of my social media channels, including YouTube.

Got it? Got it. Awesome. All right, well, thanks again and we will see you here in a few months.

Absolutely. Take care. All right.

You take care. All right, thanks for listening. Whether you've been on the continuous improvement journey for many years or perhaps you're just getting started, Gemba Academy is here to support. And while we're best known for our more than 1500 lean and 6 Sigma teaching and virtual tour videos, we also have a team of experienced Lean and Six Sigma practitioners available for one on one coaching, as well as a variety of Lean and Six Sigma certification options. To learn more and to schedule a demo, head on over to gembaacademy.com.