The cartoon above illustrates the challenge perfectly. Toyota's success with Lean wasn't built on a training package — it was built on years of practice, coaching, and repetition, embedded from day one into how they run the business. For most SMEs, that ship has sailed. The business was up and running long before CI was ever considered. So the question becomes: …Now what?
Recognise That You Need CI in Your Business
The first and most important step is simply to acknowledge it. Most SMEs — typically 30 to 100 people — reach a point where they can no longer operate in start-up mode. The informal systems that got them here won't get them where they need to go.
You can buy CI knowledge by hiring experienced personnel or engaging consultants, and both can achieve short-term goals. But the risk is significant: those initiatives become their initiatives. When they leave, so does the CI. The ethos never embeds into the organisation.
Get the Vocabulary in Place — Starting at the Top
In every instance where I have been asked to revitalise a CI programme, the major failing of the previous initiative has been lack of — or only passive — support from the senior team. Passive support sounds like: "I'm all for CI, but it doesn't apply to me."
If the senior team does not understand the concepts or the language, CI will never embed. Before anything else, train the senior managers in the basics. Emphasise that they must be active supporters, not passive bystanders, and make clear what the role of a sponsor looks like in practice.
Finally, make CI part of the senior team's weekly and monthly metrics. What gets measured gets managed — and what gets managed stays current.
Identify Champions and Align Sponsors
Once the senior team is onboard, identify local CI champions — people on the ground with the credibility and enthusiasm to lead initiatives. Train them to a level where they can drive change, not just participate in it.
For every initiative, align a senior team member as its sponsor. Make sure initiatives involve the right mix of levels and departments, and train all participants in the specific concepts associated with that initiative. Over time, as initiatives multiply, broader and broader groups receive the foundational training — organically, through doing.
Formalise Training — With Consistent Themes and Language
Training is where most organisations get lost. What kind? Who gets trained and to what level? Formal belt certification or initiative-focused learning? In-house or external? Online or in-room? And critically — how do you know if it's working when many Lean initiatives don't show up directly in the financial results?
The answer is not to avoid formalisation — it is to do it right. Whether introductory (Yellow Belt equivalent), intermediate (Green), or advanced (Black), training must use consistent themes, language, and formats across the board. Use interaction, assignments, and assessments to test competency as you go. And with all formal programmes, insist on a real project being completed as part of the curriculum.
Danaher built an entire library of tools and methods around their Danaher Business System. Most SMEs don't have the time, money, or expertise to replicate that — but they don't need to. Start with what is pressing. Build the library as you go.