Mark DeLuzio Shares the Keys to Success of the Danaher Business System (DBS)

I worked at Danaher for a few years and wanted to share the successes of their famous DBS system, from the horse's mouth.  I've included links to other great resources in green text.  - Sebastian (from Belt Course, not the horse).  

Introduction

• Webinar Series Overview: The Enterprise Excellence Network conducts senior-level lean leadership webinars, with this session featuring Mark DeLuzio, facilitated by Professor Peter Hines.
• Purpose: This session aims to provide an executive overview comparing the Danaher Business System to the Toyota Production System, focusing on enterprise-wide strategies.

Overview of Danaher Business System

• Evolution: Initially manufacturing-oriented, evolved into an enterprise-wide system emphasizing policy/strategy deployment.
• Strategic Focus: Policy deployment emerged as a linchpin, aligning organizational objectives across all levels.
• Enterprise-Wide Emphasis: Goal shifted from excelling in manufacturing to becoming the best global enterprise.

Components of the System

Strategy and Alignment

• Policy Deployment Significance: Critical to transform from a manufacturing-centric to an enterprise-wide system.
• Objective Clarity: Not solely pursuing manufacturing excellence but an overarching enterprise success.
• Breaking Silos: Addressing functional barriers as hindrances to holistic organizational progress.

Learn about Strategy Deployment and Policy Deployment, which we call Strategic Planning, here:  https://www.beltcourse.com/blog/strategic-planning-overview

Stakeholder Emphasis

• Collective Wins: Shifting focus from individual function excellence to collective stakeholder success.
• Right People in Lean Roles: Emphasizing the importance of adept individuals in key Lean positions.

Learn the role of a CI Manager here, and that of an OpEx Director here. 

Challenges Encountered

Roadblocks and Misconceptions

• Learning from Mistakes: Emphasizing the significance of learning from failures for substantial growth.
• Silos Dismantling Challenges: Overcoming resistance to break down functional barriers.

Non-Measurable Improvements

• Unquantifiable Lean Progress: Highlighting the need to address Lean improvements that aren't easily measurable but remain crucial.
• Strategic vs. Non-Strategic Processes: Balancing focus between strategic and non-strategic process improvements.

Hands-On Leadership

• CEO Involvement: Stressing the necessity for CEOs and leaders to actively participate in transformation.
• Knowledge and Engagement: Encouraging leaders to immerse themselves deeply in the transformation process.

Learn more about top leadership, middle management, and front line leadership readiness and commitment here.

Values and Principles in Practice

Embedding Values into Processes

• Values Integration: Integrating core values into everyday operational practices.
• Continuous Improvement Framework: Using values and principles as the backbone for continuous progress.

Redefining Success

• Beyond Financial Metrics: Rethinking success beyond financial indicators.
• Defining Success Parameters: Importance of framing success criteria before measuring quantitatively.

Leadership Influence

• Cultural Impact: How leadership changes influenced and shaped the respect for people within Danaher.
• Employee Treatment Evolution: Changes in employee treatment during the transformational period.

Continuous Learning and Improvement

• Learning from Mistakes: Encouraging a culture of learning from errors for ongoing improvement.
• Cultural Transformation: Shifting the organizational culture towards a learning-centric environment.

Learn about how to build leadership development here.

Scaling and Adaptability

• Scaling Down Strategies: Insights into adapting the system for various organizational sizes.
• Adapting to Maturity Levels: Adjustments based on the maturity level of engagement within different organizational structures.

Learn what a World Class Operating System looks like here in different more mature companies, better structured than Danaher's.  Danaher's strength was its Strategic Planning process, not its OpEx System structure. 

Conclusion

• CEO Guidance: Advocating for customization rather than replication of existing systems.
• Emphasis on Journey: Highlighting the journey of change and continuous improvement over immediate, quantifiable results.