Site Manager, Syngenta

2. Alistair Conn
Site Manager
Syngenta, Huddersfield

3. A Decade of Improvement at Syngenta:
From Tools to Principles, and Beyond

4. No Shingo Award
• We have no Shingo Award – we’ll probably try for one in the
near future.
• We’re on a journey.
• We’ve seen up to 50% increases in output due to Operational
Excellence.
• I’ll share some thoughts from our journey so far.

5. • World leading agribusiness.
• Helping farmers grow and protect crops.
• Seed production and Crop Protection products.
• Helping farmers feed the world.

6. Huddersfield Site
• Top Tier COMAH site.
• 100 year history.
• Manufacture pesticides, to
help farmers control insects, weeds and diseases.

7. Huddersfield Site (2)
• High margin products, but …
• Competition from Far East led to
site closure fears around 2005.
• Opportunity to take charge of our
own destiny.
If you drive performance, then
cost, quality, capacity, safety
and morale all follow.

8. Nothing Bad About the Past
• Their hard work earned our present.
Never criticise a predecessor – you don’t
walk in their shoes. Donald Rumsfeld
• VUCA world – Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous.
• What’s good enough today will not be good enough next year.
• Big Margins = Big Target.

9. Tools → Systems → Principles
I can’t understand why people are
frightened of new ideas. I’m
frightened of the old ones. John Cage
• Our journey has taken a ‘traditional’ route of
discovery.
• Started with focus on Tools & Techniques.
• Gradually developed to Systems & Processes focus.
• Eventually we appreciated the importance of Guiding
Principles.

10. Tools & Techniques
Tools are not for improving the process. Tools
are for making the problems visible and helping
people think how to solve them. John Shook
• Started in local areas - easy to train.
• Good results – gathered lots of low hanging fruit.
• Attractive to senior managers who then want more.
• But not sustainable
• Limit to low hanging fruit.
• Application tends to be very locally focussed, not systemic.
• Becomes harder and harder to get results – not motivating.

11. Systems & Processes
• No overall benefit if one department’s improvements in
flexibility and adaptability are simply off-setting another
departments unreliability.
It doesn’t really matter how well you play
when you’re playing well, what matters is
how well you play when you’re playing
badly. You’ve got to have a standard you
can hit. Martina Navratilova

12. Systems & Processes (2)
• Needed to think systemically – a holistic view.
• Engagement was key – especially across departments.
• Needed to help departments get to know more about
each other and work more closely together.

13. Engagement Examples
• Task Forces
• Tiered Daily Meetings
• Work Shadowing
• Open Days
• Tuesday Discussion Sessions
• Annual Strategy Events
I don’t like that man. I must get to
know him better. Abraham Lincoln

14. “Jobs On Our Site in 50 Years Time”
• Success led to recruitment – in particular restart of
Apprenticeship Scheme.
• A long term vision.
• Focus on providing full careers for the next generation, as
others had done for us.
• Created a strong sense of community.

15. Principles
People are working so hard to be sure
things are done right, that they hardly have
time to decide if they are doing the right
things. Stephen Covey
• The importance of Guiding Principles in keeping us on
track – ‘despite changes in weather’.
• The appreciation of the difference between Leader and
Manager.
• The powerful effect of a clear Mission, Vision and
Strategy – combined with good Alignment.

16. Servant Leadership
• We realised that the Leadership Team was now the biggest obstacle to
success.
• We can’t make any product, we’re not experts.
• We need to ensure that everyone has the resources and support they
need to do their job properly.
• We need to change our behaviour and live the principles and values in
everything we do.
God gave us one mouth, two
eyes and two ears. We should
use them in proportion.

17. Enterprise Excellence Program
• Completed 5 workshops out of 6.
• Biggest team based Leader
Development we’ve done.
• Hugely valuable.

18. My Role Now …
Whether you think you can, or
think you can’t, you’re usually
right. Henry Ford
• Make sure bad things don’t happen.
• Make sure everything we do adds value to achieving
our Mission.
• Make it look as though it doesn’t need me for it to
happen.

19. Any Questions?