The Problem With Problem-Solving

Just this past week, Seamus Maguire publsihed a book entitled Finding Fact Before Fixing: How Business Professionals Can Avoid False Assumptions When Solving Problems, which explores the reasons, biases, and blind spots that result in business professionals making assumptions and jumping to conclusions during problem-solving.

During a recent conversation with Seamus, I asked him: "What are some of the common mistakes business leaders make when problem-solving?" Here is his answer:

It’s my opinion that assumptions, not complexity, are the biggest obstacle to effective problem solving today.

There are a myriad of tools and frameworks that we can follow, from DMAIC to A3 and everything in between. However, even when these tools and frameworks are followed and we have the right people, problem-solving activities can still fall short.

The issue lies not in the tools themselves but rather in how people are hardwired to focus on fast results.

This creates a subconscious tendency to accept our best guesses as facts. We regularly skip the part of an investigation that requires experimental work or going to the gemba to observe.

This tendency is so subtle that we often don’t even realise we are doing it. Often, the potential causes feel so right and are so logical that it seems a waste of time to challenge them through experimentation.

The thing is, we will always be wrong more often than we are right in problem solving, and that’s ok! We can’t think our way out of a problem; if we could, well, it wouldn’t be a problem.

The alternative takes a little more work; it involves creating a way to test our hypothesis so that we learn more about the process/product in question until we reach the point where our knowledge encompasses the problem. At this point, it is no longer a problem.

That’s why true root causes often seem so obvious in hindsight. Until we have the knowledge, the issue is super complex. Then, once we gain the required knowledge, the problem becomes simple and mundane overnight, and you scratch your head, asking why it took so long to figure it out.

So next time you are asking for an update on a problem-solving activity, instead of asking ‘Have you got to root cause yet?’, or, ‘What’s the root cause?’, maybe ask, ‘What have you experimentally ruled out so far?’, or, ‘How did you confirm that?’ This will shift the focus to how problem-solving is conducted, rather than encouraging the team to accept assumptions as fact to achieve a quick result.

What do you think of Seamus's perspective? Do these types of mistakes happen in your organization? What have you done to rectify them? 

Should US Manufacturers Relocate Factories and Production Back to the USA?

In June of this year, William A. Levinson published a book entitled Reshore Production Now: How to Rebuild Manufacturing and Restore High Wages, High Profits, and National Prosperity in the USA. The author contends that a manufacturing resurgence in the United States will not only increase the standard of living enormously but generate taxable economic activity that will help pay down rather than increase the Federal debt. Higher productivity also delivers a greater supply of goods to accompany higher wages and thus works against inflation. This can prevent looming recessions and disruptions.

I had a chance to speak with William this month, and during our conversation, I had the chance to ask him two crucial questions. I'm posting them here with William's answers following the questions:

What aspects of reshoring do manufacturers not fully understand? 

Accounting metrics often ignore the total cost of purchase or ownership of a product or service, and focus instead on only the immediate price. Harrington Emerson's Twelve Principles of Efficiency depicted the latter as near common sense, or focus on only the immediate bottom line, in contrast to supernal common sense which seeks to account for all costs. These include but are not limited to the carriage of inventory—one of the Toyota production system's Seven Wastes—in transit, the incompatibility of container ship-sized quantities with just-in-time production systems, the additional lead time associated with transportation, the fact that inventory gives defects a place to hide and additional exposure to force majeure supply chain interruptions. An earthquake that idles a vital offshore supplier factory, a ship that gets stuck in the Suez Canal, or a strike by longshore workers can all paralyze a supply chain. While domestic supply chains also are vulnerable to force majeure, they are also a lot shorter so there is much less exposure.

Many manufacturers and also retailers are also dependent on products from the People's Republic of China (PRC), whose recent activities have proven it to be a dangerous, untrustworthy, and unreliable supply chain partner. The PRC has a long track record of selling us counterfeit semiconductor devices, substandard active pharmaceutical intermediates (APIs), contaminated heparin, melamine-tainted foods, and most recently counterfeit N95 respirators that may have exposed their users to Covid-19. Cheap becomes expensive for domestic sellers who find themselves at the wrong ends of product liability lawsuits because their offshore suppliers, who are often beyond the reach of our judicial systems, cut corners. The PRC also threatened to cut off supplies of vital products, including medications needed to treat Covid-19, and it is now openly threatening nearby countries like Japan, Taiwan (a major exporter of semiconductors), and Australia with military force. The United States was able to respond quickly to wartime losses of access to, for example, natural rubber during the Second World War and we ought to be up to the job of making ourselves independent of the PRC today. 

Why are many company leaders reticent to rebuild manufacturing in the US?

The dysfunctional focus on labor costs drove the exportation of valuable American manufacturing jobs even though American industrial pioneers like Frederick Winslow Taylor, Harrington Emerson, and Henry Ford proved with real-world results that wages become largely irrelevant if management makes the job sufficiently productive. Emerson's Twelve Principles of Efficiency suggests that the idea of a contest of efficiency against inefficiency originated in Prussia where Helmuth von Moltke had to "do more with less" against France in 1870, as France had more soldiers, better rifles, and a superior economy. Japan adopted these principles and used them to win wars against China and Russia, both of whose populations outnumbered them. Japan applied the same organizational principles to its industries, and to the effect that American industrialists were alarmed at the prospect of having to compete against them. Americans such as Taylor, Ford, and Frank Bunker Gilbreth—who cited explicitly the application of military motion efficiency principles to civilian occupations—responded with what we now call lean manufacturing as later adopted by Toyota.

The dysfunctional focus on labor costs drove the exportation of valuable American manufacturing jobs even though American industrial pioneers like Frederick Winslow Taylor, Harrington Emerson, and Henry Ford proved with real-world results that wages become largely irrelevant if management makes the job sufficiently productive. Emerson's Twelve Principles of Efficiency suggests that the idea of a contest of efficiency against inefficiency originated in Prussia where Helmuth von Moltke had to "do more with less" against France in 1870, as France had more soldiers and a superior economy. The Japanese adopted these principles and used them to win wars against China and Russia, both of whose populations outnumbered them. Japan applied the same organizational principles to its industries, and to the effect that American industrialists were alarmed at the prospect of having to compete against them. Americans such as Taylor, Ford, and Frank Bunker Gilbreth—who cited explicitly the application of military motion efficiency principles to civilian occupations—responded with what we now call lean manufacturing as later adopted by Toyota.

Emerson, Taylor, Ford, and others also pointed out the short-sightedness of choosing cheap labor over efficiency. Ford's My Life and Work urges executives, "to overcome by management what other people try to overcome by wage reduction." Emerson's Twelve Principles of Efficiency adds, "It is unfortunate that the employer shies at the suggestion of a 10 percent advance and pays scant if any attention to a 50 percent inefficiency, two-thirds of which is his own fault." Taylor's Principles of Scientific Efficiency talked about the need to hire "high-priced men"—we would say high-priced workers today—who would follow instructions such as those typical of what we now call standard work. Taylor and Ford both added that, when workers realize that the benefits of productivity improvements will show up in their pay envelopes, they will look for ways to make their jobs more efficient. When employers pay as little as possible, the workforce will respond accordingly by doing only what it is told, and probably only when a supervisor is watching. Low wages also give management little incentive to, as Ford put it, "put more brains into the business" to make the jobs sufficiently productive to pay high wages. 

What do you think of Willam A. Levinson's perspective on manufacturing in the USA? Do you think manufacturers can be more profitable in the long run by relocating factories and production back to the USA?

The Coaching Manager -- Toyota Kata and Scientific Thinking

Just this month, Tilo Schwarz and Jeffrey K. Liker published a new book entitled Giving Wings to Her Team: A Novel About Learning to Coach the Toyota Kata Way, which presents a story about the benefits of becoming a coaching manager and how to get there. We follow the fictional character, named Denise, on a journey of discovery and skill development, as she moves beyond the tools and concepts of Lean and focuses on daily practice that helps her supervisors achieve their goals. It's about the Toyota Kata approach, which helps anyone develop and apply scientific thinking -- an exploratory mindset of curiosity and experimentation.

When I recently spoke with Tilo and Jeff, I had the chance to ask them some questions specific to the concepts discussed in their current book, and how those concepts apply to daily work.

Question 1: What are the benefits of becoming a coaching manager?

In general terms, a coach teaches, watches the student, gives appropriate feedback, and assigns drills to learn specific skills.  You can coach anyone on any skill.  In Giving Wings to Her Team, the central character Denise learns a specific type of coaching for a particular skill set -- scientific thinking.

We often think that to navigate today’s complex challenges we need decisive leaders with a clear roadmap that they rigorously implement.  In reality, the more complex the challenge the less a roadmap will be helpful.  Instead, we need adaptive problem-solving, testing ideas rapidly, and learning our way to goals.  In Toyota Kata, this way is called scientific thinking—focus on facts, formulate hypotheses, test ideas instead of making assumptions, reflect, and learn.

Toyota Kata teaches a coaching approach that enables your team to become increasingly adaptive, innovative, and resilient – fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement, so your team can meet their current challenges and be ready for more.

Question 2: How does Toyota Kata help you to become a coaching manager?

The term “kata” is used in Japanese martial arts and are the small skills the black belt teaches and then the student practices repeatedly, with feedback, until doing it the right way becomes a habit. Michael Jordan put it nicely: “You can practice shooting eight hours a day, but if your technique is wrong, then all you become is very good at shooting the wrong way.” 

In the novel, Denise faces the biggest challenges of her life as a manufacturing manager and is fortunate to get coaching help from Maggie who runs the local gym.  Maggie has studied and used Toyota Kata in her gym.  She helps Denise learn to work with her team to set big challenges they can relate to, study the current condition, set short-term target conditions, and then experiment toward these targets.  Denise struggles at first, but through practice, and Maggie’s coaching, she gets better and better at giving wings to her team.  

You can learn along with Denise how to become a coach of scientific thinking and by coaching your team to achieve goals that at first seem impossible.  In this book, we go beyond laundry lists of coaching best practices and demonstrate how to develop actual skills in yourself and your team.  

We hope our novel will help you start a learning journey of your own.

What are your experiences with Toyota Kata? Have you applied it in your organization? How has it benefited your managers and teams? 

Creative Problem Solving and Lean Thinking

There has long been a debate in the Lean community about creativity. Clearly, a Lean organization thrives on standard work, and it is easy to assume that following standard work means that creativity must be curtailed. In her new book, Creatively Lean: How to Get Out of Your Own Way and Drive Innovation throughout Your Organization, Bella Englebach argues that creative thinking is fundamental to Lean thinking, and that using tools and approaches from the adjacent field of Creative Problem Solving makes for better Lean thinking, and better Lean thinkers. Recently, I asked her: "What is Creative Problem Solving and how it can be applied to Lean thinking?" Here is what she explained:

Deeper Thinking

In my book, I tell a story that many of us in Lean have heard, or even experienced. A Lean learner proudly presents their countermeasure to their coach or sensei, only to be told, “Go back. Think deeper.” That can be very frustrating. What does it mean to think deeper?

Creativity Has a Natural Rhythm

I believe “thinking deeper” means to take advantage of the natural rhythm of creativity, which requires developing skills in both thinking broadly (divergent thinking) as well as thinking convergently, which is to select and strengthen ideas.

Creative Problem Solving

Creative Problem Solving (CPS) is a proven method for approaching a problem or challenge in an imaginative and innovative way, and it explicitly teaches convergent and divergent thinking. Like Lean, the CPS approach has distinct steps for solving a problem. Each CPS step deliberately uses divergent and convergent thinking. In my work I have found that paying attention to the divergent thinking/convergent thinking creative rhythm and using CPS tools with Lean approaches like the A3 and the improvement kata drives deeper thinking, and more innovative countermeasures.  And who doesn’t need more innovation?

What have been your experiences with creativity and Lean? When you need an innovative improvement, what approaches, and tools have you used?

Pascal Dennis' New Book -- Andy & Me and the Hospital -- Addresses Healthcare Challenges

One of the top Lean thinkers and coaches, Pascal Dennis, just published a compelling new novel titled Andy & Me and the Hospital: Further Adventures on the Lean Journey . Continuing the story established in his Shingo Prize-winning book Andy & Me, this latest book shows how Tom Papas and his sensei, Andy Saito, face perhaps their greatest challenge yet – a major New York City hospital.

I had the chance recently to ask Pascal some questions, so I’ll reproduce them here followed by his answers:

Why continue the story of Tom and Andy in a hospital/healthcare setting?

Health care represents Lean’s "undiscovered country." In fact, I spend much of my time coaching senior health care executives. In the book, Tom Papas calls health care a "dark realm" – full of risk, but also full of opportunity. If we don't get health care right, it could bankrupt us. But if Lean thinking and methods take root here, we’ll greatly improve people’s lives.

Given Tom and Andy’s background in manufacturing, how can they function in a major hospital?

Every industry entails a series of processes. Health care value streams, for example, typically begin with Registration and conclude with Discharge with various process flows in between. 

Flow depends on standards, connections and pathways – which Tom and Andy are adept at seeing. Their challenge is to learn the language, technology and culture of healthcare, and to translate Lean thinking and methods in a way that’s understandable and motivating for hospital leaders and team members. Translation is a central theme. What does Flow mean for an Emergency Department? What does Quality in the Process mean for an Operating Room or a Pharmacy? What does Strategy Deployment mean for a major hospital?

Why this book in particular?

I want to answer some basic questions. What does a Lean transformation in a hospital feel like? What overall approach should we take? What kind of leadership and behavior change is needed? How do we develop and engage people? How do we improve processes? How do we build a management system? How do we translate what Deming called the "profound system of knowledge"? 

At the same time, I want to provide a clear and simple guide to Toyota thinking and methods, how they fit together, and the spirit that animates them.

Why a sequel to Andy & Me?

Readers seem to connect with Tom and Andy. For me, they’re real people with problems, doubts and weaknesses. Transformation is hard, life is hard. Tom and Andy struggle with difficult problems and they only partially succeed. But that makes all the difference. Another of the book’s core themes is that the sensei has to grow and change, just as much as the deshi. Tom and Andy’s journey and relationship are hopefully a useful metaphor. 

For those who have read Andy & Me and the Hospital: Further Adventures on the Lean Journey: Feel free to post your comments.

So Why Did Pascal Dennis Update a Classic Book?

I spoke with Pascal Dennis this past week and had the chance to ask him a few questions about the recent publication of his new book Lean Production Simplified, Third Edition: A Plain-Language Guide to the World's Most Powerful Production System.The two previous editions of this book have been very successful with Lean practitioners at all levels within organizations, and these books have proven to be the best introductory texts to Lean methodology on the market. Here are a few of the questions I asked him and his answers follow.

What motivated you to originally write the book Lean Production Simplified?

I wrote the first edition of Lean Production Simplified hoping to share what I’d learned at Toyota. It had been my blind luck to work with patient senseis. I felt that if I could explain things simply, then perhaps I had gained a certain level of understanding. During the past 20 years, I’ve been the sensei helping companies apply the Toyota system or Lean. My practice has taken me far from the Toyota shop floor – into hospitals, power plants, container terminals, and research laboratories.  I’m certain that I learn as much as I teach. And the more I learn, the more I think of Socrates -- "The more I know, the more I realize I don’t know."

Why did you write the 3^rd edition? 

We must learn the Toyota system – and not just in manufacturing.  Hospitals, banks, universities, software developers, government agencies and other service providers are also hungry for Lean thinking and methods. Customers will no longer accept substandard safety, quality, delivery, or cost performance. 

Who composes the audience for this book?

Leaders and learners at all levels in manufacturing and in the ‘undiscovered countries’ – healthcare, financial services, the process industries, software development, construction, universities and the public service.

What’s different about the 3^rd edition?

I’ve added many more examples from outside the factory (e.g. design, engineering, administration, etc.) and from the industry sectors I previously mentioned. I’ve also included study questions at the end of each chapter.  My hope is that this third edition will be a working book, and that I’ll continue to find in the gemba, filled with highlights and notes in the margin. My study of aikido had prepared me for the Toyota “way.” I understood that it was a "do" or path, and that the Toyota shop floor was a dojo -- a place where you practiced a profound art or worked on your technique and on yourself.  Indeed, before stepping on to the shop floor, I felt like bowing -- a sign of respect for my team, organization, and the art of management. I still feel that way.  

What are your thoughts on Pascal's book Lean Production Simplified? Did it help you understand the objectives of a Lean initiative and enhance a successful journey?

Painting the Factory Green with Lean Thinking

Last month, a book titled The Green Factory: Creating Lean and Sustainable Manufacturing authored by Andrea Pampanelli, Neil Trivedi, and Pauline Found was published. This book proposes a new model, the Lean and Green Business Model (L&GBM), where the environmental aspect of sustainability is integrated with Lean thinking to create a way of thinking that contributes to and balances the three sustainability dimensions of people, profit, and planet. 

I spoke with Andrea Pampanelli about the book and asked her: "How does combining your Lean business model with a green initiative actually result in environmental benefits and higher profits?" Here is his answer: 

We know that walls, or organizational structure, cannot stop the flow of ideas but it does not mean that they are able to flow through quickly and easily. Lean and green thinking are rooted in differently, have different meanings, and occupy different spaces inside the business world. The environmental benefits and cost savings discussed in the book come from the integration of both by taking the powerful Lean culture already implemented in one organization and using it, not merely for eliminating the seven classic wastes (transportation, inventory, motion, waiting, over-processing, over-production, and defects) but in this case, for increasing the performance of the manufacturing mass and energy flows -- the important supporting flows for production. These two different ways of thinking will meet during the crucial Kaizen events and Lean thinking will dramatically increase environmental benefits and profits. 

What are your thoughts in regarding to combining Lean and green initiatives? Do you have experience
deploying Lean and Green in a manner that resulted in environmental and cost benefits?