Happy Independence Day – Lean’s Freedom Lesson

Today, we celebrate Independence Day in the US. The 4th of July is an extremely patriotic holiday where we celebrate the independence of our country. People celebrate with family and friend gatherings, barbecues, parties, games, food, fun, festivals, parades, musical events and fireworks.

Freedom is not just the natural right of every human. It is the state of mind that enables people to create the greatest and the most inspiring things. The spirit of freedom gives us the power to conquer new heights, whether it is a real mountain peak or a bold business challenge.

Lean is all about finding better ways to do things, so that they require less effort, less time and fewer resources. It is not about cost reduction – penny-pinching, cutting investment, taking out people – it is about finding better ways to get work done. It is about developing a mindset, methods, and tools to identify and eliminate waste in all its forms at every opportunity. It is about freeing up resources because you no longer need to use them.

Lean manufacturing provides your workforce the freedom that they need to own and maximize their productivity. In a Lean production plant, the "freedom to control one's work" replaces the "mind numbing stress" of mass production. Armed with the skills they need to control their environment workers have the opportunity to think actively, even proactively to solve workplace problems.

Lean is more than the traditional metrics of improved efficiency, reduced costs and increased throughput. The people-centric approach to the application of Lean creates a better future, driven by empowered individuals working in teams, committed to continuous improvement. It is this culture of responsible freedom and trust that allows employees and their organization to realize the positive benefits of Lean and achieve a successful outcome.

Lean Manufacturing is a business method that extends employees independence.  It provides more employees with the tools, methods, and authority to make decisions. It creates teams to measure progress and devise new techniques. This leads to higher employee motivation and productivity as workers are asked to come up with solutions to problems as opposed to having to work with flawed procedures. There is much to be said for greater worker independence in the execution of a lean philosophy. We may not have a day to celebrate like the US but the message is no less important.

Meet-up: 5 Questions from Within the Lean Community With Tim McMahon Re-visited

As you’ve seen I have been revisiting a previous series I started in 2012 called the Meet-up.

One of the things I am so found of in the Lean community is the general wiliness to share with each other.  I have learned some much from my very experienced colleagues since I have been an active contributor.  Every month I roundup the best Lean related posts and articles I found particularly valuable from these fellow bloggers and contributors. Each one has their own story and opinions to share.

The goal of Meet-up is provide you an opportunity to meet some influential voices in the Lean community.  I will ask these authors a series of questions to learn about them, their lessons, and get their perspective on trends in industry.

Today I thought it would be fun to share my responses and thoughts.

1.  Who are you, what organization are you with, and what are your current lean-oriented activities?

I'm the founder and principal contributor of A Lean Journey Blog, a site dedicated to sharing lessons and experiences regarding Lean thinking, improvement practices, and leadership.  

I'm the Senior Manager of Strategy & Operational Excellence for Mirion’s Technologies North America Group. Currently, I am leading the continuous improvement initiatives to proliferate a “Lean” culture at Mirion’s Technologies Group, offering radiation measurement, personnel protection, advanced safety and search, and decontamination and decommissioning solutions for a variety of worldwide applications. I have a passion for teaching problem solving skills, Lean philosophy, and quality improvement methods by actively learning, thinking and engaging people.

For over 25 years, I have been implementing lean within operations management, continuous improvement, and quality disciplines for innovative high tech manufacturing companies such as Lucent Technologies, JDSU, Legrand Wiremold, and Mirion. I've held a number of leadership positions within operations management, Lean, and quality disciplines of innovative high tech manufacturing companies.

2.  How, when, and why did you get introduced to lean and what fueled and fuels the passion?

My introduction to lean manufacturing is probably somewhat typical.  After coming from a research and development role to an operations role I discovered Lean.  In 1999 I started learning what Lean manufacturing was all about and I have been learning about it ever since.   In the beginning Lean was a way for me to meet operational objectives. Now I know it is a profound way of thinking that encompasses all I do. Lean is the best business performance system I have seen.

Looking back now I was so fortunate to have a number of great coaches or sensei as we call them. One of my early teachers was David Stec. He was the co-author of “Better Thinking, Better Results” with Bob Emiliani, who is a great Lean practitioner/teacher in his own right (plus he is a local guy to me) David taught me Lean basic.

I was also fortunate to have had Toyota Production System Sensei named Motoo Usui-san who taught new TPS correctly. He worked in the same office as Taiichi Ohno. Usui-san never gave you an answer only a question. I had to solve the problem myself.   

I had the pleasure to work and lead lean efforts and Wiremold a Shingo Prize winning facility. There are a number of books and a great many practitioners who cut their teeth in that factory who went on to greatness. It was a great sandbox of learning and development.

I have sought out many opportunities to learn along the way.  I hold a Lean Certification and a Six Sigma Black Belt from Central Connecticut State University, Lean Bronze Certification from Society of Manufacturing Engineers, a Master Lean Six Sigma Black Belt from the Management and Strategy Institute, and is a Shingo Institute Alumni.

By drawing on my experience in Lean, Six Sigma, and Quality Management Systems I co-authored ASQ's Lean Handbook, an educational reference guide to support Lean Certification. I have also published 12 articles. I’ve had the pleasure of presenting at 6 conferences, doing 2 radio shows, and hosting more than a dozen webinars.

My passion is fueled by those wonderful "a-ha" moments.  Those times when I see the light turn on for someone, a new lean thinker, a new problem solver, someone that can see wastes and opportunities all around them.  I also enjoy the opportunities I get to meet some great people on similar journeys of their own.  Everyone you meet is another opportunity to learn more.

3.  In your opinion what is the most powerful aspect of lean?

I think my answer to this question has probably changed over last 15 years. While there are a number of powerful aspects of Lean if done well, I am going to focus on two: 1) Use daily management to engage employees in the Gemba and 2) Empower improvement with Kaizen.

 Lean organizations make use of Daily Management systems, a structured process to focus employee’s actions to continuously improve their day-to-day work. Daily Management empowers employees to identify potential process concerns, recommend potential solutions, and learn by implementing process changes. Daily Management, if done right, can be a critical tool in any organization’s toolbox to engage frontline staff in problem-solving and to deliver customer value.

Lean Daily Management includes three components: (1) alignment of goals and effort; (2) visual data management, daily huddles, and problem-solving; and (3) leader standard work.

Kaizen events are a powerful improvement tool because people are empowered to come up with new ideas to help the business. Employees are isolated from their day-to-day responsibilities and allowed to concentrate all their creativity and time on problem-solving and improvement.

The purpose of kaizen is to involve everyone, everywhere, every day in making simple improvements. These small improvements add up overtime and result in an extraordinary and never-ending transformation of processes. Companies which use Kaizens have found they generate energy among those who work in the area being improved and produce immediate gains in productivity and quality.

4.  In your opinion what is the most misunderstood or unrecognized aspect of lean?

Too many think Lean is just about apply tools. Most fail to fully understand the people aspect of a Lean organization. This is a myth perpetuated by less than knowledgeable leaders. Most companies miss the point that 90% of Lean is about people and culture change and only 10% is about the tools. They expect Lean to be the “silver bullet”, which, even if it does not solve all their problems, will at least aid in short-term gains. There are thousands of Lean tools, because each problem requires its own unique tool to help solve it. People are needed to solve problems. Tools don’t apply themselves. Basically, leaders have to learn to think differently and see their customers and business differently, that’s people development, not tools development.

Lean which is commonly referred as TPS (from it's originators) is the "Thinking People System" for me. It is about learning to see waste and solve problems through the development of people. This is a frequently missed and even understated purpose in lean. Lean is truly about people because tools don't solve problems, people solve problems.

As in the namesake of my blog "A Lean Journey - The Quest for True North" Lean is not about the destination but the direction or path you take toward this idealistic place. Lean is not something you check off your "To Do List".  It is about the constant, persistent, even relentless pursuit of improving your current situation. And this improvement brings you to the next current state and so on. Usually, it means doing something you haven’t done before because your old habits will not work in your new system. Lean is not technique you apply to your business system but rather a methodology that replaces your business system.

In my opinion leaning out the waste is not necessarily the difficult part but rather the identification of the wastes.  Waste is all around us, yet many cannot recognize it.  I like to say that "activity does not equal productivity".  The real challenge is to break status quo, get out of your comfort zone, and learn to "see". This means observing the actual condition at the actual place at the actual time.

If you can educate and engage your workforce to relentlessly identify and eliminate waste by solving problems, you will be well on your way to embracing the full power of Lean.

5.  In your opinion what is the biggest opportunity for lean in today's world?  How can that be accomplished?

Every industry can benefit from Lean process improvement, but I would have to say that the biggest opportunity for Lean is in our service industries.  Lean has a proven track record in many manufacturing operations.  I think we all see things every day in our lives as we interact with businesses that bug us.  These are things that cause poor service, higher costs, less value and more waiting.  It would be nice to live in place where continuous improvement is commonplace.   Maybe that sounds utopian, but this is happening in many service industries already.

Government - Government agencies have found that when Lean is implemented, they see an improved understanding of how their own processes work, that it facilitates the quick identification and implementation of improvements and that it builds a culture of continuous improvement. Lean for government focuses on governing and serving citizens with respect and continuously improving service delivery by cutting out "waste" and "inefficiency" in processes; this in turn will result in better services overall, engaged civil servants as well as more value for tax-supported programs and services.

Education - The demand for schools to operate more efficiently and direct more resource to the classroom means Lean methodologies are becoming more and more recognized in education. They can be used to reduce variance and streamline administrative processes, such as admissions and enrollment, certification, grant administration and repair and maintenance practices.

Healthcare - Instilling a Lean culture and implementing Lean processes vastly improves service delivery. In the healthcare industry specifically, the application of Lean can reduce the amount of time nurses spend looking for wheelchairs, patient records or medicines, and increase the amount of time they spend taking of patients.

Retail - The retail and hospitality industry is reliant on excellent customer service, timely delivery of products, and accurate inventory counts. Lean provides a useful strategy for improving these important elements.

Insurance & Financial Services - As another process-driven service industry, companies in financial and legal services are ideally positioned to leverage the benefits of Lean. An application for a bank loan, a request for an insurance quote, or conveyancing for example, may go through many systems and hands before the process is completed. Removing non-value adding tasks and eliminating errors can greatly increase the ability to meet customer requirements faster and more accurately.

Office - Lean can easily be applied to office environments where lots of non-value adding tasks are being carried out. Insufficient equipment, over-ordering of stationery, duplicating processes, having to wait for multiple signatures and underutilized personnel are all examples of waste. The result of removing this waste and streamlining processes is greater productivity, a happier workforce, and a better service for customers.

In fact, any administrative function of a business can benefit from Lean, such as Accounting, Operations, Sales, Marketing, HR and IT. Delivery in all these areas involves processes which can be improved with Lean principles.

There are many more opportunities for Lean to be successful.  Lean focuses on processes; has a measurable impact on time, capacity and customer satisfaction; and involves all employees.  This formula will help many organizations to be more successful.

Lean Quote: Success is About Preparation, Learning, and Mindset

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.

"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, learning from failure."   —  Colin Powell

Success is one of those things that just about everybody wants, but not nearly as many people do what it takes to achieve. It’s the reason why so many people search for a “secret to success”; they want it, but they’re afraid of what it might take to get there. They’re looking for an easy path; a magic pill that will solve all their problems along the way and give them what they want with minimal effort.

Well, I’ve got news for you.

There is no magic pill. There is no easy path. There is no secret to success.

One thing I've learned: mindset is important. If you orient your thinking the right way, you drastically increase your odds of success.

In my experience, that means focusing on 4 key ideas:

1. Success or failure is all about you. The corporate world teaches you to compete with everyone, but business is all about maximizing your own excellence.

2. Don't overthink decisions. If you don't make firm decisions, your business won't move forward and grow.

3. Have an attitude of accountability. No one is perfect, so mistakes will happen. The key is to learn from them.

4. Be humble. Business is a collaborative industry. If you want to succeed, you must be humble enough to work with others.

Lots of people prepare for what they want to do. In my experience, that is usually the easiest part of the job. But if they don’t learn from their experiences, they will continue to fail.

Fewer people will truly work hard. They’ll build strength, endurance, strategy, and all sorts of tricky skills. But if they don’t learn from their experiences, they will continue to fail.

A person, with a bit of basic preparation and a willingness to work, a person who is willing to learn can get a great deal accomplished. By learning from their experiences, failures become stepping stones to success.

If you can stay with it, persevere in face of repeated failures (and learn from each one), there is very little limit to what you can accomplish.

Lean Roundup #181 – June 2024

A selection of highlighted blog posts from Lean bloggers from the month of June 2024.  You can also view the previous monthly Lean Roundups here.  

 

Beyond Developing People – Bob Emiliani uses the simple analogy of plants, blooms, and pollination applied to the work of managers to help us understand what they must do.

 

A Lack of Respect for People on the Balance Sheet – Kevin Meyer discusses the flaws that people, with their brains, creativity, and experience, are not recognized as assets on traditional financial balance sheets causes.

 

Target, Actual, Please Explain – Pascal Dennis talks about daily gemba walks and the benefit of a manual process.

 

Operational Excellence Examples for Business Growth - Brittany Currier shares best practices of organizations to harness the full potential of operational excellence.

 

Mistakes and Errors: A Circular Definition; Leadership Matters – Mark Graban talks about mistakes, errors, incidents, or accidents, and cultivating a culture that views these events as opportunities for learning and growth.

 

Finding Your Beginner’s Mind – Bob Emiliani says there is one method that is wonderfully effective at helping people find their beginner’s mind — kaizen.

 

Pursuing Perfection: Craftsmanship in Product Development - James Morgan explores the concept of craftsmanship in design and engineering, how to cultivate it in individuals and organizations, and the benefits of pursuing excellence.  

 

Psychological Safety vs. Psychological Comfort: Understanding the Distinction - Mark Graban explains that some people mistakenly equate “psychological safety” with being comfortable all the time which can undermine it’s true essence in the workplace.

Lean Tips Edition #301 (#3541 - #3555)

For my Facebook fans you already know about this great feature. But for those of you that are not connected to A Lean Journey on Facebook or Twitter I post daily a feature I call Lean Tips.  It is meant to be advice, things I learned from experience, and some knowledge tidbits about Lean to help you along your journey.  Another great reason to like A Lean Journey on Facebook.

Click this link for A Lean Journey's Facebook Page Notes Feed.

Here is the next addition of tips from the Facebook page:

Lean Tip #3541 – Daily Management Best Practice: Ownership for Action Items

When action items are assigned, they should be owned by the person responsible for them. This ownership is not just having a “clearly identified assignee” but making sure that the owner understands the rationale and impact of the action item. Make sure that the action item is something that the assignee can do.

Lean Tip #3542 – Daily Management Best Practice: Avoid the Hero Complex

Make sure that you don’t train your team to look to you as the hero coming to clean up the messes that all teams experience at one point or another. When team members feel unempowered, they tend to look to the heroes to solve their problems or at least to tell them how.

Instead, build up your team’s capabilities to deal with challenges that they face and celebrate their victories when they do. Help guide your team to come up with appropriate countermeasures to mitigate problems. Teams that feel empowered are better engaged and deliver a higher impact.

Lean Tip #3543 – Implement Visual Management Systems

Visual management is a fundamental component of Lean Daily Management. It involves using visual tools and displays to communicate performance metrics, targets, and progress. By implementing visual management systems:

• Utilize tools such as Kanban boards, huddle boards, and performance dashboards to provide a visual representation of work, metrics, and goals.
• Ensure that visual displays are easily accessible, understandable, and regularly updated.
• Encourage teams to actively engage with visual displays, facilitating transparency and facilitating timely decision-making.

By implementing visual management systems, organizations can effectively communicate performance metrics, enhance transparency, and facilitate timely decision-making, ultimately driving continuous improvement and efficiency in their daily operations.

Lean Tip #3544 – Use Gemba Walks for Continuous Improvement

Gemba walks involve leaders and managers observing processes firsthand to identify inefficiencies and gather insights from frontline employees. To conduct successful Gemba walks:

• Prepare for the walk by defining objectives, selecting relevant observation areas, and gathering the necessary information.
• Engage with employees on the shop floor, asking open-ended questions and actively listening to their perspectives.
• Provide feedback and discuss improvement opportunities with the team, ensuring that action plans are developed and followed up.

By utilizing Gemba walks as a tool for continuous improvement, leaders and managers can gain valuable insights by observing processes directly. Preparing for the walk, engaging with employees, and providing feedback enables a collaborative approach to identifying inefficiencies and generating improvement ideas. Through effective follow-up and action planning, organizations can drive meaningful change and enhance overall performance. 

Lean Tip #3545 – Encourage Employee Engagement and Empowerment

Engaging and empowering employees is vital for the success of Lean Daily Management. By involving employees in problem-solving and decision-making, organizations can foster ownership, commitment, and continuous improvement. To encourage employee engagement:

• Create regular feedback loops, providing opportunities for employees to share their ideas, concerns, and suggestions.
• Recognize and celebrate employees’ contributions to improvement initiatives, fostering a positive and empowering work environment.
• Offer training and development programs to enhance employees’ skills and knowledge, enabling them to actively participate in Lean initiatives. 

Lean Tip #3546 – Challenge the Status Quo By Asking the Right Questions

If you keep asking yourself "why" when you're following a process or regular course of action, then you've likely identified something that needs to be changed or improved.

If that's the case, ask yourself and other people questions, in order to fully understand why things are being done in a particular way. There may be good reasons that you're unaware of, or maybe it is just because "that's the way it's always been done."

Let people take their time in answering and listen carefully – their answers may lead to further questions, problems or solutions that you hadn't considered.

Lean Tip #3547 – Challenge the Status Quo by Prioritizing Your Ideas

Perhaps you have a whole list of ideas that you'd like to implement. If so, it's important to pick your battles. Being passionate about change is admirable, but rattling off new ideas every day will see people start to tune out, and your best ideas may get lost among the lesser ones.

For maximum impact, pick the ones that are most relevant and likely to succeed. Choose wisely: take some time for self-reflection at the end of the day, and factor in some personal brainstorming.

Lean Tip #3548 – Challenge the Status Quo by Improving Workflows

One way to challenge the status quo is to present new methods and approaches to completing tasks to boost efficiency and improve results. This could include altering the process you work through to complete a task or coming up with more efficient ways of completing the same task using a different method.

Look at how the company currently does things and identify what aspects of the different processes could benefit from change. It's important to understand when a change would be beneficial, rather than inventing problems for the sake of change.

If you don't know where to start, try thinking of some challenging aspects of a process, and then generate ideas for how you could change that process for the better. When communicating your ideas to others, it's important to frame it as a positive change with improvements in mind. This makes it more likely that people will receive your idea well and consider implementing it.

Lean Tip #3549 – Challenge Status Quo by Inviting Feedback and Input from Diverse Perspectives.

Challenging the status quo requires creativity and innovation, which can be enhanced by exposing yourself and your team to different ideas, opinions, and experiences. Seek out feedback and input from people who have different backgrounds, expertise, roles, and viewpoints from yours, and listen to them with an open mind and curiosity. You may discover new insights, opportunities, or solutions that you would not have thought of otherwise. For example, if you are developing a new product or service, you can ask potential customers, suppliers, competitors, or experts from other fields to test it, review it, or suggest improvements. You can also use tools such as surveys, focus groups, or brainstorming sessions to gather feedback and input from a larger and more diverse group of stakeholders.

Lean Tip #3550 – Challenge Status Quo by Recognizing and Rewarding the Efforts and Achievements of Others.

One of the best ways to inspire and empower others is to acknowledge and appreciate their contributions and accomplishments, especially when they involve challenging the status quo and creating positive change. This can boost their morale, confidence, and motivation, and encourage them to continue or increase their efforts. You can recognize and reward others in various ways, such as giving them verbal or written praise, public recognition, awards, bonuses, or opportunities for growth and development. For example, if one of your team members has successfully implemented a new process or system that improves efficiency and quality, you can thank them personally, highlight their achievement in a meeting or newsletter, nominate them for an award, or offer them a promotion or a new project.

Lean Tip #3551 – Show Your Team You’re Engaged.

If your employees feel that you don’t pay attention when they speak, or that you don’t value their thoughts and opinions, they’ll shut down.

Demonstrate engagement by being present during meetings. This includes making eye contact and shutting your laptop. It’s easy to get distracted by emails, text messages, or Slack during a meeting—but these small acts of disengagement can negatively impact your team’s psychological safety.

Engagement also means listening to what others have to say. Practice active listening. Ask questions to make sure you understand the other person’s ideas or opinions. By actively engaging, you create an environment where people feel it’s only OK to speak up; in fact, it’s encouraged and accepted.

Lean Tip #3552 – Nip Negativity in the Bud.

If you have a team member who speaks negatively about peers, talk to them about it. Be clear; let them know that you work together as a team and negativity will not be tolerated.

When leaders allow negativity to stand, it can become contagious and spread to others. Employees will think that either they’re supposed to talk bad about others, or that others are probably talking about them. In, either case, it’s a psychological safety killer.

Lean Tip #3553 – Include Your Team in Decision Making.

When making decisions, consult your team. Ask for their input, thoughts, and feedback. Not only will this help them feel included in the decision-making process, but it will build psychological safety and lead to better outcomes.

Once a decision is made, explain the reasoning behind your decision. How did their feedback factor into the decision? What other considerations were made? Even if your employees don’t agree, they’ll appreciate the honesty and transparency behind how the decision was made.

When communicating decisions, be sure to highlight contributions from team members. If a certain idea or piece of feedback led to the decision or a successful outcome, acknowledge and celebrate that employee’s contribution.

Lean Tip #3554 – Swap Blame With Curiosity

When team members feel like they are constantly being blamed or criticized, it creates a sense of psychological insecurity and inhibits safety.

Research shows that blame and criticism are strongly linked to defensiveness, leading to individuals shutting down, resisting change, and even leaving the company.

As a leader, try to swap blame with curiosity instead. For example, when team members make mistakes or come up with new ideas that don't work out, ask them questions such as:

What do you think needs to happen here?

How do you think we could have done it better?

What can we do in the future to improve this process?

These questions promote a culture of learning and growth rather than fear. It will help your employees feel like their input is valued and that they can learn from their mistakes. It will also help to reduce the amount of defensiveness and conflict in the workplace.

Lean Tip #3555 – Encourage Experimentation

Fear of failure can be a significant barrier for individuals to take risks, speak up, and bring new ideas to the table.

As a leader, it's important to encourage experimentation and not immediately punish or judge failure. It's about creating a culture where experimenting, making mistakes, and learning from them is encouraged and valued.

For example, you could:

Set aside time for specific projects for individuals to experiment

‍Celebrate small wins or learning moments

Provide resources for career development

Lean Quote: Determination Makes the Impossible Possible

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.

"The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination."   —  Tommy Lasord

The first step in tackling an “impossible” challenge is deciding whether you want to tackle it. That first decision is the start of the determination needed to see you through any setbacks or misdirection as you work toward the goal. If you are leading others, your determination will help keep them going.

Determination means to continue consistently, especially in something that is difficult or tedious.

A person with patience, determination and strong willpower can achieve their goal even if they don’t possess high qualifications or talent. A determined person has tremendous self-confidence, never losing spirit and courage.

Hence, determination must be practiced from development years as it serves as the golden key to open every door of success. Also, one should not shut down upon their defeat. Instead, they should learn from past experiences and aim for the future. 

Take a deep breath, maintain focus, find solutions and you will turn the impossible into the possible!

The Importance of Hansei

Hindsight is 20/20. The term “hindsight is 20/20” is often used to describe the phenomenon of being able to see things more clearly after they have happened. This phrase is derived from the idea that our vision is usually better when looking backward than forwards.

Despite many believing we should always look forward instead of reminiscing about our past, if done right, it can become less of a downer and more of a positive. If we only look back to highlight the success, rather than the mistakes, then that reflection loses its value. Whilst it’s important to celebrate the positives, you can only learn so much from them. If you want to continuously improve then you need to take into account, the negatives too. That’s where the real value lies.

For the past twenty-five years, I’ve helped to develop methods for implementing lean practices in factories and across supply chains. One of the most important things I’ve learned is that self-reflection is as relevant to lean practices as continuous improvement. In fact, it’s an integral and essential part of it.

John Dewey, the American philosopher and psychologist, said “We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience.”

To develop, we need to build on our experience. Whether it’s to improve our skills and abilities, become more competent, increase our performance or open ourselves to new ideas. But as Dewey observed, we do this through reflection, either on our own or with others.

In Japan, when someone makes a mistake, they will profusely apologize, take responsibility, and propose a solution for how they can prevent the same mistake from happening in the future. This process is referred to as 反省 – or Hansei. Hansei is a core concept of Japanese culture. It’s not about shame or guilt. Rather, it’s about admitting there is room for improvement – and committing to that improvement.

To paraphrase my friend, Jon Miller: “Han” means to change, turn over, turn upside down. “Sei” is the simplified form of a character meaning to look back upon, review, examine oneself. As a native speaker of Japanese “hansei” strikes me as both an intellectual and emotional exercise. With hansei there is a sense of shame, if that is not too hard of a word. This may come from having been asked to do a lot of hansei as a child, being told “hanse shinasai!” which in English might be “Learn to behave!”

The point is, when you do hansei it is almost never because you are “considering past experience” as if they were happy memories. You are confronting brutal facts about your actions and the impact they had, in hopes that you can learn from this and change your behavior in the future.

Toyota is known as a learning organization, and this is one of the reasons why Toyota has become so successful. Hansei has a strong role in being a learning organization. In Toyota, hansei is often viewed as a precursor to kaizen, and a pre-requisite to being a learning organization. This is best explained as below (taken from Toyota-Global website);

Hansei is both an intellectual and emotional introspection. The individual must recognize the gap between the current situation and the ideal, take responsibility for finding solutions, and commit to a course of action. The examination involves a review of successes and failures, to determine what works and what needs to be improved. Hansei leads to ideas for kaizen and yokoten, the sharing of best practices from one location to another.

At each key milestone in a project, and at completion, the people involved meet to reflect on their experience of what happened. However, successes aren’t celebrated. In true Japanese fashion, they are treated with humility and modesty. Instead, the focus is on the failures and what could have been better.

It goes without saying, but to perform hansei correctly you need to make sure you’re examining the past and what exactly went wrong. Then you must think about the situation and how it could have been improved or averted in the future. Ensure that someone else is responsible for hansei, and it should always form part of your performance management process, whether it’s on completion of the project or at specific review intervals.

The following structure can be valuable for following hansei:

1. Pinpoint the problem – There’s no such thing as being flawless, so identify what the main issue is.
2. Accept accountability – Make sure the individual holds themselves liable for what went wrong. From this, they can work on areas for improvement.
3. Reflect on root causes – There could be more to the problem than meets the eye, so dig deep and reveal any belief systems, habits or assumptions that may be preventing success.
4. Build an improvement plan – Action all the learnings, then you can stop the same problem from happening again. 

This isn’t about pointing fingers, issuing blame or scoring points. It helps to identify when things need to improve and prevent any of the errors that were made. Above all, it helps to instill the belief that there’s always room and always need for further improvement.

Hansei is one of the keys to kaizen, as the concept itself focuses on improvement as opposed to punishment. When we fail, we realize that we have done something wrong. So, it is important that we will learn lessons from it, and find methods to prevent its recurrence.  It is most important to consider also how bad we feel when we hurt others in the team by not performing to their expectations.

Why not take this opportunity to practice some self-reflection? In what areas do you need to improve? How can you take ownership of that need to improve? What can you do differently?