Once upon a time, a supplier to Toyota messed up a shipment.
Toyota sent a sensei to find out why.
In preparation for the meeting with their biggest customer, a crisis management group from the supplier prepared a detailed root cause analysis of what had gone wrong.
They met the sensei at the entrance to their manufacturing plant.
He bowed to them.
They bowed to him.
They showed him the massive document they had prepared and said, “Let’s go up to the board room to examine our findings.“
Politely but firmly the sensei said, “That’s exactly where we will not go.“
“Take me to the loading dock.“
When the sensei arrived at the loading dock door he reached into his pocket, and pulled out a piece of chalk. He knelt down and drew a circle 1 m in diameter.
The sensei stood up and looked at the plant manager. He handed him a blank sheet of paper and a pencil. Then said, “Stand in the circle. Write down everything you see. Do not leave the circle until I come back.”
The sensei disappeared for 15 minutes, 20 minutes, more than 25 minutes. The manager felt ridiculous; like an elementary school student condemned to stand in the corner. He fumed and cursed under his breath.
But Toyota was their biggest customer and so he stayed in the circle. He jotted down a few of the things that he saw.
After 30 minutes, the sensei returned.
“Let me see what you have written down.“
The plant manager handed the sensei his notes.
The sensei studied the sheet for several moments. Then he looked up and handed the paper back to the manager.
“That’s the best you could do?“
Silence reigned on the loading dock.
“Try again. I’ll come back and check your work.“
The sensei left the loading dock.
Thirty minutes later the sensei returned for a second time.
He asked to look at the manager’s notes.
“You did better this time.
“But you have a lot to learn.
“I will come back from time to time. I will not tell you in advance when I plan to visit.
“I will call you from the airport when I arrive and I expect you to pick me up personally.”
The plant manager told me the story several years later. “I came to find out that the exercise has a name, ‘The Ohno Circle.’ It is named for Taiichi Ohno, the father of the Toyota Production System. The sensei had been trained by Ohno. He was initiating me into the Toyota Way.”
Toyota sent a sensei to find out why.
In preparation for the meeting with their biggest customer, a crisis management group from the supplier prepared a detailed root cause analysis of what had gone wrong.
They met the sensei at the entrance to their manufacturing plant.
He bowed to them.
They bowed to him.
They showed him the massive document they had prepared and said, “Let’s go up to the board room to examine our findings.“
Politely but firmly the sensei said, “That’s exactly where we will not go.“
“Take me to the loading dock.“
When the sensei arrived at the loading dock door he reached into his pocket, and pulled out a piece of chalk. He knelt down and drew a circle 1 m in diameter.
The sensei stood up and looked at the plant manager. He handed him a blank sheet of paper and a pencil. Then said, “Stand in the circle. Write down everything you see. Do not leave the circle until I come back.”
The sensei disappeared for 15 minutes, 20 minutes, more than 25 minutes. The manager felt ridiculous; like an elementary school student condemned to stand in the corner. He fumed and cursed under his breath.
But Toyota was their biggest customer and so he stayed in the circle. He jotted down a few of the things that he saw.
After 30 minutes, the sensei returned.
“Let me see what you have written down.“
The plant manager handed the sensei his notes.
The sensei studied the sheet for several moments. Then he looked up and handed the paper back to the manager.
“That’s the best you could do?“
Silence reigned on the loading dock.
“Try again. I’ll come back and check your work.“
The sensei left the loading dock.
Thirty minutes later the sensei returned for a second time.
He asked to look at the manager’s notes.
“You did better this time.
“But you have a lot to learn.
“I will come back from time to time. I will not tell you in advance when I plan to visit.
“I will call you from the airport when I arrive and I expect you to pick me up personally.”
The plant manager told me the story several years later. “I came to find out that the exercise has a name, ‘The Ohno Circle.’ It is named for Taiichi Ohno, the father of the Toyota Production System. The sensei had been trained by Ohno. He was initiating me into the Toyota Way.”