Sunday, February 10, 2008

Hoshin Kanri--a Surprise

Last week, I made a presentation to our local Lean network on Hoshin Kanri, the Lean system of strategic planning (you can look at the presentation here; I’ve also listed as a download on the sidebar). The group was attentive and gave good feedback.

But some of the feedback surprised me.

In our group are folks with a lot of Lean experience. They’ve been exposed to some of the best teachers in the field. Yet, these folks said they have been unfamiliar with Hoshin Kanri or unsure how to apply it. My attempts to make it a bit understandable seemed to help; which surprised me, since I’m a novice at the topic myself.

Which shows me one point; never assume you can’t make a contribution. In the effort to eliminate waste, to make organizations work well to deliver value quickly, we can never know everything. And each one can add to the understanding.

For me, when I try to teach something, I learn it better. I think most are the same way. Encourage those around you to teach; try to teach something yourself. Soon.

6 comments:

pkd said...

I always wanted to know how to tell my BOSS that he should have read The Goal or allowed me to implement as said in the book. Can anybody give a ready made script?

Sarah Antonelli said...

Great presentation! Great for new learners like me!

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Dean Willson said...

Great presentation! You did a great job of breaking down the elements of the X-chart in simple, easy to digest points. I especially love the last line, "it is not about the lists, it is all about the food". That is a subtle, yet very important statement.

Anonymous said...

many thanks, great presentation and also recommendations on what to read

ZombiWoof said...

I really triggered on the 'teaching to teach' concept. A very powerful tool for developing the Lean Leaders of tomorrow.