The Role of Kata in Lean

The Improvement Kata + Coaching Kata (IK/CK) are about deliberate practice to develop scientific-thinking skill and mindset. That means IK/CK works well in combination with your existing Lean efforts. Based on the book: Toyota Kata: Managing People for Improvement, Adaptiveness and Superior Results by Mike Rother.   The Five-Question card is available at http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mrother/KATA_Files/KC2_Opening.pptx There is a related Read More …

Enabling Customers To Find The Way

Re-reading One Little Spark!: Mickey’s Ten Commandments and The Road to Imagineering this weekend,  one commandment of Marty Sklar’s resonates with me being a person of Lean Discipline, more than others is Commandment #3: Organize the Flow of People and Ideas. First, giving you a quick overview of the book will help you understand the Read More …

The Need for Tension In Your Organization

I was first introduced to creative tension in Senge’s work in ‘The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization,’ and later was able to have a podcast with Robert Fritz who Senge had attributed the work. However, Fritz called it structural tension and explained it in detail in the book, Path of Read More …

Kata, If You’re Doing It Right, It’s Beyond Engaging

The brilliant part about the Kata is that it lays out a method and a routine, and if you follow the routine, you can learn it by yourself. I mean it takes some discipline in doing it, but it’s not rocket science. It is asking before telling. It’s observing, before doing it yourself and it Read More …

Learning Kata in the Workplace

The Learning Factor Inc. is a Vancouver-based organization dedicated to making business and labor smarter about learning through innovations in workplace education. Tracy Defoe does this is a variety of ways and one her favorites is the Toyota Kata. In her organization, Tracy plays the role of Chief Education Organizer.  Listen/Download MP3 Business901 iTunes Store Read More …

Kata: The Value of Being Supportive

Tracy Defoe is the president and chief Education Organizer of The Learning Factor Inc. A Vancouver-based organization dedicated to making business and labor smarter about learning through innovations in workplace education. Tracy does this is a variety of ways and one her favorites is the Toyota Kata. That was our primary discussion point for the upcoming Read More …