Hoshin planning is a process that focuses organizational efforts on the few things necessary for success. It is a planning process that allows an organization or team to plan and execute strategic, organizational breakthroughs. And it communicates all of this on a single page report.
“The future should not be a vague concept and strategy should not be a monstrous task in which we take pride in complexity. Strategy can be simple.” Bradford, Duncan, and Tracy
Key questions you will need to ask and answer.
- What do we need to do? We call these Breakthrough Objectives.
- How should we do it? We call these Projects.
- Who is responsible? These are the Owners and Resources.
- How are we doing? We call these Due Dates and Measurements.
Why Hoshin Works.
- It is vision driven
- It aligns the entire organization around a set of common breakthroughs
- It links high level objects with low level activities
- It provides a review system that is linked to implementation
- It is adaptive and self-healing
Advantages of Hoshin Planning.
- It is data driven
- It is focused on the vital few
- It is responsive to abnormalities
- It is Logically sequenced
- It is collaborative
- It is strong on accountability
- Details are left to the team
- Meetings are better
- Hoshin updates are short, efficient, and effective
- Everyone knows what will be discussed
- Communications is simple and clear
- The form is the agenda
Hoshin planning provides a process whereby everyone knows what direction to go. The steps in the process are as follows:
Step 1. Organization Mission
This is your briefest, broadest Ends statement. It answers the question “How will the world be different as a result of our being here?” It is something you define prior to the start of the planning process and should not be changed quickly or easily.
Step 2. Breakthrough Objectives
These are your strategic priorities or intent. It answers the questions, “What are the things we need to do right now or we will fail?” They represent a new or intensified direction you need to pursue. A Breakthrough Objective is something that did not exist before.
Step 3. Projects
Projects are planned, scheduled and controlled activities. They have manageable time, budget and quality constraints. They are outside the course of everyday activity, they go beyond the ordinary. They are not repeated—a project happens only once. They are the activities that help you reach your Breakthrough Objectives.
Step 4. Responsibility
Owner: The individual on the team who is responsible for the timely completion of the protect. There can be only one owner.
Resource: Individual(s) on the team who have agreed to assist the owner.
Step 5. Measurements
This is something tangible about the project that can be measured in an unambiguous way.
Step 6. Due Dates
These are timely goals for completion of the measurement.
Note: Unless a process is written down and made visible, it will be virtually impossible to evaluate how well it is being implemented by the team.