Define Lean by Behaviors, Part 3: Experiences, beliefs, behaviors, and lean
In Part 2, we explored the importance of behaviors. In this part, we examine how to create those behaviors.
Experiences create our beliefs which drive our behaviors. So, if behaviors are so important, what do we do about it. We can certainly dig much deeper into this topic than in this blog post, but the simplest definition is that our experiences determine our beliefs, and our beliefs determine our behaviors. If we want to change our behaviors, or those of people around us, then we need to create experiences that affect how we think. We cannot just think our way to lean behaviors. We need understanding, practice, and internalization.
While getting into the methods for creating those experiences will be for another deep-dive, the important aspect is that you need a deliberate effort to change behavior. It requires more than will. But start with yourself. What experiences do you need to have? You need a teacher, to learn, to understand.
You need to practice, like any skill from riding a bike to tax law, requires practice. This is the reason that doctors talk of practicing medicine, and why Mark Graban titled the book he edited Practicing Lean. We are all practicing.
And we need reflection. Like a great quarterback or soccer manager or pitcher who watches film of themselves for self-evaluation and improvement, we must do that for our practice so that we understand not just what works and what doesn’t, but why. Have a plan, because experiences create our beliefs which drive our behaviors. But, which behaviors really matter? And have you created experiences that drive understanding, practice, and internalization.