by Jacob Raymer, Shingo Academy Member and Shingo Faculty Fellow
For over 20 years, I've helped companies focus on building and aligning their systems, empowering their people, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. When I talk about the concept of key behaviors, it's initially met with nods of agreement — they get its importance. However, this is quickly followed by looks of uncertainty, as if they've heard of one, read of one, but never seen one in the wild. The concept of integrating a behavior focus brings both wonder and hope — is there a better way to achieve results?
When evaluating performance, organizations often face an overwhelming amount of reports, metrics, and analytics. One crucial tool among these is the Key Performance Indicator (KPI), which has long been used to monitor and assess various aspects of operations at the organizational, departmental, and front-line levels. The widespread use of KPIs demonstrates a commitment to data-driven decision-making, performance improvement, and achieving goals across all levels of the organization.
Measuring results will always be essential for organizations, as it tells us what outcomes need to be achieved. However, it does not describe how those results should be achieved— that's where behavior comes in. Focusing on maintaining the right behavior is key to driving predictable, long-term performance. Unfortunately, very few organizations clearly define the behaviors that are expected and behaviors that are unacceptable. This lack of definition leads to behaviors such as workarounds, firefighting, and so-called heroic efforts. When the emphasis is solely on results, an unwritten message is sent that it doesn't matter how results are achieved; rather, they may be achieved by any means necessary.
When the Shingo Institute introduced behavior into the assessment of world-class organizations in 2006, it marked a pivotal shift in understanding sustainability and long-term success. This new perspective went beyond the recognition of exceptional results and metrics. Behaviors highlighted the critical role that human behavior plays in driving organizational excellence. The behaviors we observed provided insights into the written and unwritten values, norms, and attitudes that shape organizational culture. It emphasized the importance of alignment with core values and principles.
The apprehension to add behavior to the organizational language often comes from not knowing how to effectively establish and integrate key behaviors into the organizational fabric. If you find yourself in this boat, it's time to step out of your comfort zone. Embracing a bit of 'optimal anxiety.' It's about challenging ourselves to look beyond the comfort of familiar results and begin to understand the transformative power of behavior. This journey isn't just about achieving success; it's about redefining how we get there. Achieving results in business is essential; without them, businesses simply cannot survive. I'm not suggesting that we make results secondary. Instead, it's about adopting a 'both and' rather than an 'either-or' mindset.
While working with the Shingo Institute at Utah State University, I found myself working with a visionary team (Robert Miller, Randy Cook, and Shaun Barker). At a time when Newsweek acclaimed the Shingo Prize as the 'Nobel prize of manufacturing,' We were honoring global benchmarks for operational excellence.
However, in 2005, a troubling pattern emerged: some Shingo Prize recipients faltered in sustaining excellence a few years after being honored. This necessitated a critical reevaluation of our assessment process. We discovered our criteria was heavily focused on tools and results— organizations boasting a surplus of Lean tools and impressive outcomes scored high yet were unsustainable.
Realizing the need for a paradigm shift, we spent over a year researching and architecting the Shingo Model. It wasn't just a checklist but a holistic framework encompassing results, tools, systems, and principles. This Model broke new ground by integrating Shigeo Shingo's teachings into three foundational dimensions: Enterprise Alignment, Cultural Enablers, Continuous Improvement, and Results.
The real challenge we discovered was in quantifying the intangible: behavior. Tools and results were straightforward, binary conditions. Behaviors demanded a more nuanced approach. This led us, in 2006, to introduce 'Key Behavior Indicators' (KBI) — a concept that quickly became the new lexicon for excellence. Yet, we recognized its potential to be far more than a fleeting trend; it was a cornerstone for enduring organizational success.
Our journey into the depths of behavioral importance taught us to anchor behaviors to principles, universal truths that transcended industry and geography. This principle-based approach to behavior became our compass, allowing us to evaluate organizations worldwide confidently. The insights gained and learned from this experience are the foundation for this article, offering leaders a guide to engrain these principle-based behaviors effectively into the organization.
What distinguishes your organization from others is not merely the systems, methods, or specific formulas you use to create your products or services. Your competitors probably employ similar processes and techniques. The real source of your uniqueness lies in your people—the individuals who make up the teams and workforce. To maintain a competitive advantage or to 'stay ahead of the curve,' ultimately comes down to how well you engage with and utilize your most valuable asset: your workforce.
What distinguishes your organization from others is not merely the systems, methods, or specific formulas you use to create your products or services. Your competitors probably employ similar processes and techniques. The real source of your uniqueness lies in your people—the individuals who make up the teams and workforce. To maintain a competitive advantage or to 'stay ahead of the curve,' ultimately comes down to how well you engage with and utilize your most valuable asset: your workforce.
When I ask CEOs, “What keeps you up at night?” two key responses always surface:
When leaders begin to discuss the value of bringing a behavior-focused mindset into their organizations, it sparks a few difficult conversations and questions. This is the starting point. Begin to explore these questions with your team—ask them with an open mindset:
A clear message and understanding of the importance of behavior must be accepted and embraced by leaders. The ‘why’ plants the seed for changing ‘how’ we behave.
Anchoring behavior to performance, purpose, and principles ensures it is meaningful and relevant to the organization. This is what separates good behavior from ‘key behavior.’
To influence behavior effectively, challenge existing beliefs and adopt new mindsets. Systems play a crucial role in reinforcing these beliefs and shaping mindsets over time.
To create momentum, behavior must be a key part of the design of systems and processes. This purposeful connection to systems increases sustainability and long-term impact.
Measure behaviors that matter. While all behaviors should be measurable, not every behavior needs to be measured.
Integrating behaviors into the organization can be challenging, yet it can be achieved by following a few key steps. These steps help guide effective deployment and increase the success of bringing behaviors to life.
Key Behaviors (KB) are behaviors connected to purpose, performance, and principles. Key Behavior Indicators (KBI) are the KBs that will be measured.
When we introduced behaviors into the Shingo assessment, our intention was to measure them. The assessment teams look at behavior through the lens of measurement categories such as frequency, duration, intensity, and scope. The misstep for most organizations is that they feel they have to measure every behavior just as an assessment team would. The truth is organizations will have more KBs than KBIs.
Almost every organization has some way to document and identify their company values. Placing them on the back of the ID badge or motivational posters is a good start, but bringing those values to life requires more effort than just visualizing them. Our systems should reinforce them. They need to be part of daily leadership conversations.
I often hear, 'Without margin, there is no mission.' This statement is true; we need to achieve results to be competitive. However, the deeper question we need to ask is, 'Are we getting the results with the behaviors behind our values?'
Behavior is the core element of your culture. Shifting or improving your culture requires shifting or improving behavior. Behaviors are immediate indicators and create predictive outcomes, whether positive or negative. How we get results matters, and this is the difference between fulfillment and frustration.
Behavior focus is a journey that starts with asking, ‘Why does behavior matter?’ For those who discover the answer, the reward is staying ahead of the curve. These leaders and organizations have found power in not only achieving results but also in how they achieve results.
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