Hoshin Kanri: the focus on strategic goals

Hoshin Kanri (方策管理), also known as "policy deployment" or "Strategy Deployment," is a Lean that ensures that an organization's strategic goals are translated into concrete actions at all levels. It is a powerful system that encourages focus, alignment and communication so that everyone in the organization is working on the same priorities.

The goal of Hoshin Kanri is to create a "flywheel" for improvement: instead of launching many separate initiatives at once, Hoshin Kanri ensures that the entire organization focuses on a limited number of carefully chosen breakthrough objectives.

The core of the method

Hoshin Kanri uses a structured process to translate strategy into operations:

1. Setting Strategic Direction: Senior management identifies key breakthrough goals for the next 3 to 5 years.
2. 'Catchball' process: goals are communicated from top to bottom, and simultaneously from bottom to top. This interactive process, called a "catchball," allows workplace teams to provide feedback and feel ownership of the goals. This results in a supported plan that is widely accepted.
3. Implementation and follow-up: The strategy is translated into annual plans, measurable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and concrete actions. This is often captured in a visual overview, such as an X-matrix, that shows the relationship between the various goals and actions.
4. Periodic review: Regular checks ensure that progress on goals is monitored and adjustments can be made if necessary.

Hoshin Kanri is the key to preventing a strategy from remaining a fancy document in the desk drawer. It ensures a clear focus and a concerted effort by the entire organization to achieve measurable and sustainable results.

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