DailyKaizen

I really enjoyed Ted’s post from this morning and thought that I would build on the topic.  During the Lean conference I heard a great story from one of the presentors.  He talked about a company that was taken over by a zealot Lean CEO and the first thing that the CEO did was forced all plant managers to train supervisors in the basics of standard work.  He would then make surprise visits where he would walk the floor with the plant managers in order to demonstrate their knowledge.  The CEO was not doing this to support the learning of the supervisors.  He was doing it to change the thinking of the plant managers who when he began had a very different idea about what it meant to be management. 

I have said this many time before, but going to the Gemba and seeking to understand really changes one’s perspective of what is important.  Leaders so often get caught up in the image of what they think it means to be a leader that they forget to lead.  Chairman Cho of Toyota says that there are three keys to leadership.  First, go see for yourself.  Second, ask why.  Third, show respect for your people. 

The CEO of HOKS that Ted mentioned in his last entry is not on the floor to save the company money, he is on the floor demonstrating leadership.  He is not asking anyone to do something he would not do himself.  He is there to understand the work and more importantly to teach.  He is a leader that I would follow!

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