I highly encourage you to listen or read this conversation between Michael Balle and myself. It is at the heart of Kaizen, PDCA and Lean.
Mike Balle on the Culture of PDCA:
Podcast: Gemba Coach talks PDCA,
Transcription: Is PDCA the culture of Lean?
Reflection on these points may be the most important part of this entire program.
Kaizen and PDCA does not work without the process of reflection or in Japanese, Hansei. There are three key components of Hansei:
- Recognize that there is a problem – a gap between expectations and achievement – and be open to negative feedback.
- Voluntarily take responsibility and feel deep regret.
- Commit to a specific course of action to improve.
The first step, acknowledge that there is room for improvement is not that difficult. However, putting a number to it may be a different story. When we create a performance gap we identify 2 things, one where we are at now and where do we want to go. Of course we may not get there overnight but there will be limitations. You have to determine what is realistic to achieve. A simple but effective way of looking at it is, “From what to what by when”.
The second step can simply be stated – don’t look for excuses. Take responsibility, feel a little humility and move forward. Without this, you will never fully release from the past and it may be much more difficult to bring fresh ideas to the table. This is your action plan to move forward. However, without step 2, you will seldom be passionate about step 3. It will just be another effort and ownership will be limited. Ownership cannot be done without an emotional attachment.
The steps of Respect first, Reflection second will drive the 3rd step of Kaizen or continuous improvement. This is the process and culture of PDCA. It is the embodiment of tension, a performance gap to send you off on a new path. This path acts as expanding spiral of co-creation of knowledge. Few companies will take this path. Few companies will take the time to develop the level of respect required. Even fewer will use Hansei and look at performance gaps releasing their own pre-determined reasons. Few will ever practice continuous improvement. Will you?
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