Typically, when I create an A3, I go about it a little differently by utilizing the Six Sigma principles of DMAIC. This acronym stands for Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control. The Six Sigma process improvement process(DMAIC) is closely related to the PDCA lean process. The difference is the set of tools being utilized. I believe DMAIC has a stronger set for variation and process control. The PDCA process has a more simplified version. Depending on your needs either tool applied appropriately can be utilized. Lean has a tendency to be favored initially because of the lack of measurements within most organizations and that process is a little more forgiving. The important part is that you start the process. The chart simplifies the DMAIC process:

• Define -What is important?
• Measure – How are we doing?
• Anaylyze – What is wrong?
• Improve – What needs to be done?
• Control – How do we guarantee performance?

Whether you decide to use DMAIC or PDCA for your A3 makes little difference. The tools are just that, tools. The important part is that you have flexibility to format your A3 report in any way that most effectively can tell and demonstrate your story to your team and others. Your goal is not to complete the A3 report, it is to harness all of the benefits through implementation from the problem solving that took place.

I use A3 Reporting in the marketing process. It demonstrates and recaps the thoughts, efforts and actions that took place for a particular campaign, such as advertising or public relations or even a launch. This report can really highlight the value that marketing supplies. I will be discussing DMAIC and A3 and how it applies to the foundation of the Lean Marketing House™ in the upcoming weeks.

Related Information:

Lean Six Sigma Templates for DMAIC and A3

Why use A3 in Marketing

Why do The Pillars of the Lean Marketing House™ crumble?

Lean Marketing House™ – Foundation

Technorati : A3, DMAIC, Lean, Marketing, PDCA, Six Sigma

1. Clarity, few people understand the strategies.
2. People may not be directly linked or measured by the outcomes.
3. Money, the entire process is not totally funded.
4. Management looks for quick wins versus building a platform.

Most organizations build their pillars at the strategic business unit level, in the marketing departments within the business. However, they must include and receive buy in from customers, sales and other parts of the value chain to make it work. If it is pushed down it will seem like just another program.

Once we have designed The Pillars of the Lean Marketing House™, we need to implement it throughout the entire organization. This requires careful planning and coordination with all parts of the organization. It is beyond the scope of this post to go into an entire Product Launch but we basically should know, how to organize, coordinate efforts and establish deliverables within the organization. Also, we should have knowledge of the time, availability of data and the resources needed. Another important aspect is the degree of support and funding both in time and money that management is willing to commit too.

When completed, The Pillars provide clarity, the budgetary requirements and a platform for management to buy into and support. However, it lacks the foundation needed for implementation and measurement that is required for successful deployment. We will need to integrate the Hourglass into lower level blocks or the Foundation of the Lean Marketing House™. The blocks provide the stability to the The Pillars of the Lean Marketing House™. They are made up of the tactics we will employ to move prospects from one stage to another. As we move the forward, a more formal collection and reporting system will emerge. Once we get more and more blocks working, we will begin to link the different segmented pillars together.

Building The Pillars of the Lean Marketing House™. often require continuous testing and modification to see if the process is working. This can be frustrating for many who routinely expect perfect solutions. Many times you are testing something that you never had applied or had measurements before. You will revisit your pillars, adjusting and re-aligning it to fit with the organization. It is not unusual to postpone the rollout of pillars until the first pillar is well established and working. The foundation of the Lean Marketing House™ will be explained in upcoming posts.

Related Information:

Lean Marketing House – Foundation

The Pillars of the Lean Marketing House Webinar

Duct Tape Marketing

Technorati : Duct Tape Marketing, Lean, Lean Markeitng House, Marketing, The Pillars

What this template forced me to do with this customer is to identify first his product groups or services and then his marketing delivery process. Listing all the delivery processes across the top identifies the foundation in the Lean Marketing house. As I placed an “X” in the box. It is good to identify your marketing processes it of course helps you with budgeting, but it really is the first step in moving from just a simple marketing calendar to a marketing system.

Building this process allows you to discover:

1. Each Medium you are using for your marketing.

2. The overlap of the marketing message of your different products.

3. The uniqueness of several of your processes.

4. What items happen with the most frequency, the least.

5. The time it takes for the process.

6. Where a constraint may be on a resource!

However, after really reviewing the document for a while it was blatantly obvious, which of these of processes were important and were not to the customer. HOW MUCH TIME WERE WE SPENDING ON THE WERE NOTS?

Related Post:

Is your Value Stream Mapping Backwards?

Mirror Marketing E-book

Technorati : Lean, Lean Markeitng House, Product Mapping, Six Sigma, Value Stream Mapping

There is no secret to standard work. Watch several people do the same task and see the difference. Is there much variance built into it? Why would I care about this in marketing? Just using the procedure for creating an ad or a direct mail piece. If there is a lot of variance in the production do you think the schedule will be met? More importantly, will the best use of creative time be used or are you the type that works better under pressure!!! The key to standard work is keeping it clear and simple, so staff can quickly and accurately complete their work.

When I started doing the standard work for a procedure there really was not one in place. I know it sound kind of corny, but really go to try to create an A3 report without a standard, it was next to impossible. I thought an A# was supposed to make it easier. But the old guy was right, you have to know what you are doing before you improve on it. The photo of a Standard Work Template is provided by Systems2win.

As Taiichi Ohno said – “Where there is no standard, there can be no kaizen.”

Related Post;
Lean Marketing House Foundation

5S – I did a set of stupid Videos on 5S in marketing a while back.

How much planning is enough – Use Lean and Standardize

Value Stream Mapping

Technorati : 5S, Kaizen, Lean, Lean Marketing, Standard Work

The benefits of A3 are :

1. It helps define a standard for all to use.
2. It provides a clear and concise method of reporting information.
3. Method of operation is visible and accessible to all.
4. It can promote communication, and team working.
5. It leads to a reduction of waste.
6. A continuous improvement activity.
7. It creates an efficient working environment.

So what is so special?

1. I think it has several qualities:
2. It makes you think graphically.
3. It forces you to make the story flow logically.
4. It makes you condense words.

To go about laying the A3 Report out, I have included a diagram from Systems2win for you to use as a guideline. However, another format to follow for the A3’s can vary as long as your story line stays intact. The value comes from the thinking that goes into generating the A-3 reports (as Tim Berry says, “It’s the act of creating the plan that has value”, not conformance to a specific template. If you’re familiar with the Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control (DMAIC) process it can make a great story line for most problem solving A3’s. However, using the DMAIC process you can:

Define how a particular problem was identified and why it is a problem.

Measure the current state of the problem and how the problem was investigated and Analyze what solutions were considered.

Improve the plan for solving the problem and how the Control or follow-up will be done.

The reason I encourage using the A3 in the marketing process is it demonstrates and recaps the thoughts, efforts and actions that took place for a particular campaign, such as advertising or public relations or even a launch. This report can really highlight the value that marketing supplies. However, always remember that the A3 report is meant to tell a story.

Related Post:

How do you create a scorecard?

Why do we measure?

Technorati : A3, DMAIC, Lean, Lean Sigma, Marketing Reports, Six Sigma

Lean Six Sigma Practitioners always realize that the training is what makes the processes work. Without, old habits stay the same and new habits are never developed. Nor are these new habits expanded to the greatest extent. It happens in marketing too. Marketing that works today is all about authenticity, customer touch points and the connection of those touch points. You have to be everywhere, but you also have to be you. Perfect marketing is less important because people really are seeking you. Even from an organization viewpoint, they are expecting a human and personal experience.

How do you go about creating this new wave of marketing in your organization? My advice is that you have to create a continuous learning cycle within your company. This is best done by starting out with a learning system, a structured program and a Marketing coach. This is self-serving to say the least, but it is what I truly believe.

I use the Duct Tape Marketing System as the learning system and the structured program to get someone started. I am not going to go through the entire program, you can do that here, but it will set you on the road to success and provide a foundation for you to build from. Without going through these necessary steps, you will never fully defined your marketing needs and just continue to respond to the marketing idea of the week. I cannot tell you how many phone calls I get weekly a call from an Ad Rep telling me about the next greatest deal. Please take note: It’s not about the money, it’s about the target!

Now, the coach is pretty important. I am not going to talk about that even Tiger Woods has a coach, you to keep you on track, hold you accountable and all that garbage. I am going to discuss about someone that has been there done that in the real world. I am also going to mention another cliché: Talk the talk and walk the walk. I can only talk for myself, but I will put myself up against any other coach in the sense that I walk my system. I believe in the Duct Tape Marketing philosophies. I practice them. If you think that is not true, just look at my Tag cloud on the left. Look at my Alexa score, Hubspot rating and Twitter feeds. They are better than the vast majority of corporations and certainly better than 99.5% of other coaches and consultants. Why is that? I simply follow the practices that John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing has taught me. Have I added a few tricks of my own? Certainly – Authenticity, Personalization, Differentiation and building your Core Message is what I have learned in my Continuous Learning cycle. What can you gain from that expereince? You will simply short-circuit your learning curve by having a coach on board!

Do you have Continuous Learning going on in your Marketing?

Technorati : Duct-Tape-Marketing, Lean, Lean-Marketing-House, Six-Sigma