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Hansei

June 15, 2015 business, business model, Leadership, Lean, Lean Thoughts Comments Off on Hansei
Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota, testifying before the US House of Representatives
A lot of Lean practitioners dislike the use of Japanese words.  However, some concepts don’t easily transcend culture.  Hansei is one of those.
Hansei, commonly translated “time out” (as in giving a disobedient child “time out”), is a much deeper concept in the Japanese culture. It means to reflect on and acknowledge one’s mistake (or one’s success), seek it’s root cause and resolve to improve.

As with time out, Hansei almost always requires withdrawal from others so as to go inside oneself, to discover not only what went wrong, but why (root cause).

Equally important, Hansei for a mistake requires contrition and resolve.  After getting to the root cause of the problem, one expresses sorrow and resolves to change for the better (Kaizen).  The key here is preventive measures to avoid this problem in the future.

With a success, one seeks to know the root cause so as to repeat, and improve on, it.

Similarly, Hansei-Kai is Hansei done by a group.  It bears all the same traits of personal Hansei, but is conducted as part of a larger group.

So what? How does Hansei apply to business?  Let’s put this concept in context.

BACKGROUND:  On August 28th, 2009 Toyota became the center of news, when a Lexus ES350, driven by an off duty California Highway Patrolman, accelerated out of control and killed all four occupants.

What made this crash front page news was that the events leading up to the crash were captured in a 9-1-1 call from the driver’s wife.  Coverage of what was later called “Sudden Unintended Acceleration,” or SUA, grew world-wide, badly tarnishing Toyota’s reputation as one of the world’s safest and most dependable auto makers.

Waive for a second the fact that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had been investigating similar problems with Toyota vehicles since 2002 and, in each case, exonerated the auto manufacturer (http://www.safetyresearch.net/toyota-sudden-acceleration-timeline).  Within Toyota, the problem was taken much more seriously.

Although never recorded, what appears to have occurred within Toyota was Hansei-Kai.  What leads me to say that?

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT & CONTRITION:  On February 24th, 2010, Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota, stood before the U.S. House of Representatives and “profusely apologized and took personal responsibility” 1for the sudden acceleration problem that led to the recall of millions of Toyota’s vehicles.

Mr. Toyoda went on to state, “I extend my condolences from the deepest part of my heart.” 2

ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS:  In a prepared statement to the U.S. Congress, Mr. Toyoda cited as the root cause of the SUA problem not poor design, nor poor craftsmanship, nor poor maintenance, nor operator error.  Instead, he said, “I would like to discuss what caused the recall issues we are facing now. Toyota has, for the past few years, been expanding its business rapidly. Quite frankly, I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick.”3

RESOLVE:  In the end, Toyota recalled almost 10 million cars and began an internal campaign to rededicate itself to safety.  Although not publicly stated, it is presumed that care in future growth was one of the many Kaizens within the leadership team of Toyota.

This kind of response doesn’t come from speechwriters or “spinners,” but from deep introspection.  In short, while never acknowledging that they had done so, it is evident from their actions that Hansei-Kai led to Toyota’s deeply insightful acknowledgement, contrition, root cause analysis and resolve.


[1] An Apology From Toyota’s Leader, The New York Times by Micheline Maynard
[2] Ibid
[3] http://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/feb/24/akio-toyoda-statement-to-congress

Opinions: Sensei vs. Certified?

July 3, 2016 Leadership, Lean, Lean Thoughts, Lean Training Comments Off on Opinions: Sensei vs. Certified?

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Opinions: Sensei vs. Certified?

There is a question that has been buzzing around my head for months.  It’s been like the proverbial bee in my bonnet. It’s this: Is a Lean certification really the equivalent of training received under a Sensei?

Here are my thoughts.

Certifications:

  • VETTING:  Are a great help in allowing Human Resource professionals to “vet” a candidate right from their resume. Using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software, HR professionals can quickly winnow down the field of candidates to only those with certifications.
  • STANDARD WORK:  Create a form of “Standard Work,” ensuring a semi-uniform[1] amount of knowledge across a body of people.  It should be noted, however, that there are many sources of certifications and no standard which they need to meet, no accrediting body that oversees each certifier’s curriculum and tests, few if any formal feedback mechanism between employers and certifiers.
  • ASSURANCE:  Give individuals and employers a sense of assurance that the individual has passed the rigors of learning Lean.  Some even require the student to submit a portfolio demonstrating the student’s application of what they have learned.
  • PHILOSOPHIES AND PRINCIPLES:  May test the student’s understanding of the philosophies and principles behind the tools they’ve learned.  It cannot, however, test how ardently the student believes those things, nor how deeply the student has thought about them and allowed them to inform the student’s subsequent application.
  • SPEED OF CERTIFICATION:  Are relatively quick to get, achieved within a few weeks to a few years.  For this reason, they are not gained as a natural consequence of doing one’s job, unless one’s job is to get a certification; hence, certifications are rarely gained while doing one’s job, but as an extracurricular activity.  It is left to the student to make any associations between what they have learned and how it applies.

 

Sensei:

  • CULLING:  In order for Human Resource professionals to understand how advanced an applicant’s knowledge is, they would need to know the Sensei and the Sensei’s standards.  This would take time and time is the enemy of all in our world of fast-paced business decisions.  As a result, Sensei-trained individuals get culled from the candidate pool by the OCR process.
  • NO STANDARD:  There is no Standard Sensei, so uniformity of training is hard to measure without a standard test.  Since Sensei-taught students are expected to stay in the company where they are taught, this is not a problem.  Their Sensei has prepared them for the jobs they will perform.  As the student matriculates, it is still within the organization where they have worked and served under their Sensei
  • HIGH STANDARDS:  A Sensei not only teaches skills, but observes their application, making corrections until the skills are performed flawlessly.  Sometimes, Senseis are relentless taskmasters, holding their students to a very high standard, not just a minimum required to pass.  When the Sensei accepts the student’s work, that work carries the Sensei’s seal and their reputation.
  • MORE ROUNDED:  As the student becomes more learned, the Sensei imparts the reason why one does something, as well as the knowledge of how to do it.  In this way, they infuse the philosophy behind a skill, giving the student a far more rounded experience.
  • IMMEDIATE ASSOCIATIONS:  In business, a Sensei works with a student as the student performs their job, much like the old master-apprentice relationship.  So, the student learns at work and can make immediate associations between what they are being taught and how it applies to their work.

 

Here is what I know.

  • My knowledge of Lean has matured over time in two observable ways.
    • Continuous Application of my knowledge has led me to discover new meaning behind some of the seemingly simple facets of Lean; e.g. I originally thought that Gemba only existed in manufacturing. In fact, it is the real place anywhere the activity-under-study takes place, whether that’s an office, a lab, a surgical theater, an accounting bay or a welding booth.
    • Deep introspection (Hansei) has led me to discover new truths hidden within what I thought I knew; e.g. after contemplating the deeper implications of Toyota Principle #1, it became evident why financial decisions should no longer be based on ROI alone. [2]
  • Too many see Lean as a way to drive out waste. In fact, it’s a business system. Waste can be driven out anywhere in the organization, but only senior leaders can alter the business system; hence, Lean requires full buy-in from the top.
  • Lean requires a cultural shift in most organizations. Again, one can create a more enlightened department, but when another department is feeding you bad information or WIP, and they are unwilling to change, who arbitrates? Ultimately, if not the most senior leader, then no one.
  • Lean cannot flourish in an organization that is fragmented or dominated by silo leaders. It requires alignmentfrom top to bottom on doing what is right for the company as a whole, as it serves its customers.
  • Gains made using the tools cannot be sustained unless the entire management team supports them.

Here is what I deduce.

The things that I know came from years of living Lean. How do you certify that? How can you clinically say that a student has the ability to steer an organization’s leaders to embrace a Lean business system? Sure, they can have the knowledge, but can they persuade the leaders? Can they transfer their knowledge to others? Can they lead by doing?

If you ask me to write or speak my responses to the questions above, I can do it without ever having to test my response. I can say whatever gets me the certification. In my opinion, the proof of one’s ability comes from observed application by an authoritative source, not from portfolios submitted in support of one’s attested knowledge.

That leads me to assert that Sensei-trained students are far better candidates than “certified” students.

Those are my thoughts on the matter and I’m sure my bias is evident. Having said that, Lean is about change and I need to be open to understanding if one can be successful in ways to which I have not been exposed. I welcome your thoughts.

……………

[1] There is no one certifying body, and not all certifying organizations evaluate the same way, leaving one to wonder if all certifications are really as valid as all others.

[2] Return On Investment (ROI) typically examines how quickly one can recover their investment. The implication is that one invests only for selfish reasons: financial gain.   Lean would have us wisely do what’s right for the customer’s, our employee’s, our supplier’s and our community’s welfare.

Toyota Principle #14: Learning Organization

July 3, 2016 Leadership, Lean, Lean Thoughts, Toyota Principles, Uncategorized Comments Off on Toyota Principle #14: Learning Organization

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Toyota Principle #14: Become a learning organization through relentless reflection (Hansei) and continuous improvement (Kaizen). 

This principle is a lot more complex than it first appears. First off, we need to understand what it takes to be a learning organization.

A learning organization is one in which employees feel their thoughts are welcome, respected. That doesn’t just mean that they are allowed to express their thoughts, but that their thoughts are welcomed, weighed, and either acted on or feedback given.

What does continuous improvement mean?   It starts with the belief that every task can be performed better: more simply, less costly, with higher quality, etc.

Continuous improvement is absolutely dependent on an idea-friendly  environment.

People only recommend improvements when they feel their recommendation is welcome and that something will come of it.

Of course, not every recommendation is worthy of implementation, so leaders need to provide feedback, explaining why it was not used. That leads to learning and improving the improvement process.

Something else that is critical to continuous improvement is relentless reflection. Think of this as the kind of thinking that takes place when you’re in the shower, meditating or running. It involves examining a problem or opportunity (different sides of the same coin), and trying to devise a workable solution.

This reflection isn’t a one-and-done activity.  It’s  relentless.

Some martial arts use a teaching system called Shu-Ha-Ri. It is also used by Toyota and provides the basis for continuous improvement.

This three-part system begins in the Shu phase, when a master teaches a student how to perform a scripted task (Standard Work). As the student performs the task, the master oversees and provides feedback. The master doesn’t just provide instructive feedback. They are also accountable for the quality of the student’s efforts.

When the student is able to perform the task correctly every time, the master backs off, allowing the student to work unsupervised for periods of time. The student is now accountable for the quality of their own work.

This Ha phase is the first time that the student can express creativity in the performance of the task. Although the form is still inflexible, the student may make small adaptations to the rules. The master has ultimate say over the outcome of the adaptations.

By the Ri phase, the student is performing the task instinctively, without thought. They are working on muscle memory. Totally unsupervised, the student is free to improve on the entire task. This is when the student may become part of the continuous improvement cycle.

Because changes in one part of an organization can affect the outcome elsewhere, change in a Lean institution isn’t undertaken willy-nilly. Even in the Ri phase, the student cannot change Standard Work on their own. Instead, they are encouraged to offer suggestions based on their deep understanding of the rules and form of the work.

It’s sometimes easy to see successful organizations as the result of a single giant leap forward.  Rarely is that so.

While Lean institutions also pursue major breakthroughs, their ongoing success is dependent on every worker making hundreds of small improvements in what they do. The average number of implemented improvement suggestions at the Georgetown, Kentucky Toyota plant is 11. Eleven implemented improvements every year by every employee.

I am always astounded to learn that some organizations don’t even have a mechanism for inputting suggestions. The average number of implemented improvement suggestions in most organizations is less than one; a fraction. Can you see why learning organizations have an advantage?

Imagine if every employee in your organization had 11 implemented improvement ideas each year.   How would that change your products, your processes, your service, your customer’s appreciation of you?

Toyota Principle #9 – Grow leaders

April 15, 2016 Lean Thoughts, Toyota Principles, Toyota Way Comments Off on Toyota Principle #9 – Grow leaders

iu-14Toyota Principle #9 – Grow leaders who thoroughly understand the work, live the philosophy and teach it to others.

 

With Principle #9, we start to see how important culture is to the Toyota Way.

To begin, note the verb used in this principle: “grow.” Toyota might have used words like “promote,” or “advance,” or “hire,” words that convey selecting already special employees … but they didn’t. The implication is to remind leaders that there are qualified candidates within their own organization, if they will just nurture them.

The verb “grow” isn’t passive either, as in watching growth take place. Rather, it is active, implying nourishing, cultivating and, yes, pruning, subordinates so as to draw the best out of them.

Further, because “grow” implies that one advances internal candidates (rather than hiring from the outside) it has a huge impact on employee morale. That is no accident. Creating an environment of high morale is critical to establishing a culture in which continuous improvement and continuous learning can flourish.

Imagine working in an organization where you feel your leaders aren’t just providing direction, but actively looking to strengthen and improve you. Picture an organization where leaders see it as their job to guide you in becoming your best self.

When you know leaders desire to help you optimize your knowledge and talent, you relax. You stop worrying about job security and take a different mindset toward your work. As you relax, your mind switches its frequency of operation from Beta wave thinking to Alpha wave thinking. It’s like a car shifting to a higher gear.

When a person’s brain switches from Beta to Alpha wave thinking, it becomes more creative and more open to seeing new possibilities, more aware of what’s really going on around it, and more open to suggesting improvements.

So, “growing” your employees not only benefits the employee, but the whole company.

Let’s look at the 2nd clause of the philosophy: “understand the work, live the philosophy and teach it to others.” This is some powerful stuff.

In my post on Hansei (https://gettingtolean.com/?s=hansei#.Vwljtsd9HC4), I stated that, in his testimony before the US House of Representatives, the President of Toyota attributed the Sudden Unintended Acceleration problem associated with their vehicles not to poor design, nor to poor craftsmanship, nor to poor maintenance, not even to operator error.  Instead, they said: “Toyota has, for the past few years, been expanding its business rapidly. Quite frankly, I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick.”

In short, Toyota President, Mr. Akio Toyoda, was saying that Toyota had temporarily lost sight of principle #9 and grown faster than its leaders could understand the work, live the philosophy and teach it to others.

Studies have concluded that it takes no less than three years in the same position for a leader to fully learn their position and begin to mold potential successors. I personally think five years is a better standard. The point? It takes time to allow humans to mature in any position.

During that time, leaders not only learn the work involved, but also learn how the Principles affect that work. As they perform their job within those principles leaders are simultaneously teaching them to others, both through word and deed.

Recapping: Good leaders GROW their subordinates. They deepen and strengthen the bench of people who report to them, while creating a pool of promotable candidates for their own or other jobs.