'Why Bother?: Why & How to Assess Your Continuous-Improvement Culture' Earns Shingo Publication Award

LOGAN, Utah — The Shingo Institute, a program of the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University, has awarded Chris Butterworth, Morgan L. Jones, and Peter Hines the Shingo Publication Award for their book, Why Bother? Why and How to Assess Your Continuous-Improvement Culture.

“Receipt of the Shingo Publication Award signifies an author’s significant contribution and practical application to the body of knowledge regarding organizational excellence,” says Ken Snyder, executive director of the Shingo Institute.

Why Bother?: Why and How to Assess Your Continuous-Improvement Culture focuses on the importance of creating an internal assessment program to periodically assess the maturity of an organization’s transformation journey. It discusses the best approach to designing and implementing an assessment program that focuses on defining and assessing ideal behaviors.

Oliver Ardesi, Lean and Change Office Director at STMicroelectronics, said, “Understanding how to shape our culture through behavior formation and key behavior indicators (KBI) was a great eye opener for us at STMicroelectronics. In this book, Chris Butterworth, Morgan Jones, and Peter Hines reveal not only the why and what, but also the how to take this journey.”

“The approach to driving continuous improvement is simple and clear in Why Bother, which describes how to define and assess your organization’s unique culture,” said Cheryl Jekiel, Founder of Lean Leadership Center, Inc. “Numerous case studies in the book reveal ways to best measure and drive key performance behaviors. They also describe how the processes work and illustrate the benefits that are created from assessments.”

The recipients will receive their award at the Awards Gala during the Shingo Conference in Provo, Utah, USA on May 23, 2023. The conference is a two-day event featuring keynote speakers and interactive break-out sessions designed to provide ongoing knowledge, insights, and experience for organizations in pursuit of operational excellence. To learn more about the conference, please visit https://shingo.org/events.

To order your copy of Why Bother?, please visit https://shingo.org/books. All royalties from book sales go to fund the Black Dog Institute’s work in improving the lives of people impacted by mental illness and suicide. Royalties will be directed towards education and awareness activities and supporting innovative research into new clinical solutions.

If you’d like to learn more about the book, you may view a webinar on the topic given by Chris Butterworth at https://youtu.be/mh_89ARRiJE. A short article about the book can also be found at https://shingo.org/articles published on February 17, 2022 titled, “Why Bother With a CI Culture Assessment System?”

About the Shingo Institute

The Shingo Institute is home of the Shingo Prize, an award that recognizes organizations that demonstrate an exceptional culture that fosters continuous improvement. Part of the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University, the Shingo Institute is named after Japanese industrial engineer and Toyota adviser, Shigeo Shingo. Dr. Shingo distinguished himself as one of the world’s thought leaders in concepts, management systems, and improvement techniques that have become known as the Toyota Production System.

Drawing from Dr. Shingo’s teachings and years of experience working with organizations worldwide, the Shingo Institute developed the Shingo Model, which is the basis for its several educational offerings, including workshops, study tours, and conferences. Workshops are available in multiple languages through the Institute’s Licensed Affiliates. For more information on workshops, affiliates, or to register to attend the Annual Shingo Conference, please visit www.shingo.org.