One of the challenges of teaching and consulting is resisting the temptation to give people the answers. Honestly, I like giving people the answers. It feels genuinely helpful, and it provides a nice ego boost. But according to this article on Time’s “Time Ideas” site by Anne Murphy Paul titled “ Why Floundering is Good,” [...]
The key points addressed today (Day 3) at the Toyota Kata seminar were: The PDCA cycle – small experiments that the “learner” develops to advance toward the target condition. The coaching cycle (or kata) – an introduction to the role of the coach, and how coaching is structured in practice. A fairly brief discussion on [...]
Mike Rother and Bill Costantino have shared a presentation titled “Toyota Kata Unified Field Theory.” I think it nicely packages a number of concepts in an easy-to-understand flow. I want to expand on a couple of points but first listen to the presentation. (Yes, it has a sound track, to be sure to hit the “Play” [...]
A common topic of discussion in many companies is how to document and share what has been learned as they improve their processes. The most common approach is some kind of database (either online or on paper) that documents the various “best practices” solutions to various problems. They might, for example, show the before and [...]
I am in another 3P type of event this week. One of the cool things is how the act of physical simulation, even a crude one, drives out ideas and insights. Limitations are challenged, possibilities are expanded.
Tommy raised an interesting question in his comment to Internalizing Outside Knowledge. He said: In my company we are working with the developing people concept. Our objective is to make ourselves redundant, but it is hard. What are the best ways of developing people? How do you do it? How do you do it indeed? [...]
Continuing on a theme – a kaizen event should be primarily about learning, using the real-world improvement opportunity as a vehicle. Outside consultants (some style themselves as “sensei”) can be a good way to bootstrap this process by bringing in existing experience so you can develop your own more quickly. (Full disclosure here – Right [...]
Learn to be thorough before working on speed. The speed will come naturally with competence. Every coach in the world gives some form of this advice to her students. This is true for athletics, for music, for any skill we are trying to develop. Yet when planning kaizen events, we tend to forgo this advice, [...]
“3P” is not a Toyota term. The workshop structure was taught by Shingijutsu and is now being propagated by people who learned it while working in their client companies. The most visible characteristic of 3P, the Production Preparation Process, is the idea of creating quick and dirty mock-ups of the product and the process. These [...]
Mike Rother forwarded this link to an article by Bruce Hamilton in Quality Digest with the observation that “the lean ship may be turning.” The key point is that people learn what they practice. And if you practice kaizen every day, you learn kaizen. But if you practice something else every day, you learn that. [...]