Buddha without a soul

Feb 2012

Buddha without a soul

Mr. Oba, a lifelong Toyota Sensei and student of Mr. Ohno was quoted as saying – Lean is like Buddha missing a soul (paraphrasing). At first blush, this probably doesn't mean much to most. But after deeper inspection one would realize what he was referring to, was and is the core problem of “lean” as it has become widely referred to today. This is especially true for us in the collision repair industry. Let me explain…

For me, January marks the beginning of the 13^th year of the journey. In hindsight, it seems that everything I needed to know about “lean” was presented to me in the first few days of exposure. Those initial words seemed to connect to specific images or thoughts and were intriguing enough to take action. Interestingly, as the actual work began, the truer meanings of the words were revealed. My first Sensei, himself a student of Mr. Oba, was careful to remind us of this pitfall. In our early work planning, He demanded that we never forget … “there are 2 definitions to the word execution!” … not so gentle a touch, but highly effective. What he did more seriously emphasize however was that, this was strictly a “learn by doing” process, and that the truth would only be understood thru the lessons learned in taking actions. The cycle of learning (for me) has been… 1- I think I know what this is…. To… 2- I didn't know what that really meant at all… To … 3- No, it really was that simple after all. But today, the reality for me is… all of the basic lean “blocking and tackling” I have learned has been helpful, but really has only been little white pebbles dropped along a trail that leads (at some point maybe) to an entry point of seeing the truth…. this missing soul. Blame it maybe on reverse engineering of the success of Toyota… but if you reverse long enough, you will eventually hit its source… the starting point for creating this level of success.

Let me use this image to help explain… In educating a child, is the point to have them understand things like, how to multiply numbers or how to properly punctuate sentence’s (unlike these ones)? Is it to have them armed with useful skills that will help them thru life? At first blush you may say…yes, it's the skills. But, isn’t the real purpose here a greater one? Isn’t the real purpose here teaching them to Learn? Isn’t that what grades point to … not how well you spell, but how well you learn? In life, as the subject matter changes, the real asset is ones ability to learn. This is what’s really going on (or at least should be). So with “lean”, one might think that the purpose is to create efficiency in work or to find and eliminate waste, or to build highly useful workspaces and so on. But that's shortsighted.

So what then is the purpose? Well, this is the first question I ask any organization who wants to learn this stuff. I ask them... “What is your purpose as an organization”? This is that big picture question that nearly everyone avoids … “why do you exist?”. This, by the way, is the proper starting point, and the only doorway thru which one can successfully enter Kaizen. All other paths lead to dead ends and ultimate failure unless redirected. So why do some school students walk away learning math and some have learned to learn? Why do some become successful and other struggle? Take this same question back to your shop… Why do some people succeed in new ways to work and others fail? The answer is simple in both scenarios; those who succeeded saw the greater purpose behind the work. The reason for doing things this way was not only evident to them, but also contained a shared value. There was a noble cause behind the work that had a direct and meaningful impact on their lives. This wasn't a get rich quick scheme or an “every man for himself” approach, rather it contained true meaning.

If you examine “successful” businesses today (or at least ones considered successful by traditional standards), they have a common characteristic of carefully crafted incentives. Some are financial; others prey on peoples fear (beatings, emotional or real) while others exploit future advancement and so on. What they have attempted to do is create a powerful “reason” to work in a specific way or within a specific set of rules or towards a specific objective. This is common in nearly every business today. Call it the … get an “A” in math system. The employee then sets out to “win” at the activity. Now pair that thinking and behavior with an environment where improvement is needed in the product or service offering of the business. Lets just say that this business (like many) have allot of competition and need to perform better than the rest to capture work. With that, leadership here begins to inject new ideas into the mix. They ask for extra stuff to be done or more attention to be paid or just to simply work differently. From the employees perspective, this is seen as… almost … sabotage. The organization has defined how to “win” the game, and makes winning critically important, almost life or death, then tosses grenades out onto the playing field among the players. What are the odds that this business lasts?

If you go back to the bigger picture, most businesses probably have the right thinking here. “Were only doing these things to make the business better” … and they usually are. But for some reason, making the business better is the responsibility of the leaders and no other, or … “The rest of the crew doesn't really concern themselves with such things”…  “they only want a paycheck or some of those other incentives and rarely consider these things.”  Here in lies the problem.

Ask yourself this … If a businesses only objective is to make money for the owners, and for the rest of the crew… “well, in return we will give them a good wage” or something along those lines… Can that business last? Will all people (humans) give their lives, everyday, so someone else can have a good life off of their hard work? … even if this is not the intent, but the realized behavior. By definition, a business like this is gone as soon as the owner is. By definition, this business cannot last.

With that, most businesses DON'T actually think like this… they just behave this way. Most businesses do understand the inherent human need for success and they also understand that we all share this desire. But for some reason they fail to put this at the center of the purpose for the organization. They instead, create division and artificial targets driving their people in many cases to do exactly the opposite of what’s really needed to create real organizational success. This is the “missing soul”. Now I don't dare attempt to define for you the “purpose” of your business, but I can tell you that every successful one I have ever worked with share a common theme… and that's this, vaguely put… Happiness. Maybe call it satisfaction or peace, but it is the fundamental belief that the only reason were doing any of this, is to achieve some level of satisfaction with life. However misguided that may become when turned into tangible “stuff” … like money or power or respect, and I ain’t judging…. but the end game is to have a good and permanent or lasting feeling of satisfaction. Isn’t that really the goal… why we all work so hard? So in a business, what are the ingredients needed to achieve this happiness, or at least the ones you can see now? - Happy customers (needed for continuation and financing)  - Happy people (needed to actually do the work)  - Long term vision (to keep the organization going when your old and unable to help) – Profits (As it helps people provide for their needs) so on and so on… and again, these are for you to answer, not me.

To bring it back… The key to Kaizen is not in the clever tools and systems around work. It is not in knowing or teaching these things… that is “lean”. It is in understanding what this really is. Knowing what purpose it really serves. What is that purpose? Well, it’s for you to define specifically, but it does start somewhere around these thoughts here …

1-                   We all have the same basic desires when it comes to our lives at work (and at home) and that's somewhere around “peace”. 

2-                   Since we all want this same thing, why don't we align and work together in trying to find it?

3-                   If we had a common true purpose and committed to each other to head in that direction, wouldn't that be a must easier way to get there?

4-                   If we had a system or strategy based in respect for people (all people… Us, Customers, The greater organization, the Community) wouldn't we get more done? Wouldn't we make fewer mistakes and not have to go backwards because we considered everyone?

5-                   And on and on with many more examples… but you can think of them if you ask yourself what your really trying to accomplish with your life and then start breaking down what’s needed to get there.

If you can see the truth behind this, you can begin the journey into Kaizen. If you cant, I promise you, it will not work. Theoretically, yes… these tools and techniques will have a positive impact on the results. This is where “lean” gets it right. But without the soul… without a common noble purpose these tools will never last. Someone will disagree with their use or know a better way (independently). Someone will have an opposing incentive that will immediately shut it down. Someone will feel that it doesn't serve his or her needs and stop or change the work. Someone (like a customer) will find that their not served and take their business elsewhere. The Toyota Production System was said to originally been called the “Respect for Humanity” system. They show that still today this remains. Make no mistake, it is a very demanding place, but behind it, they are aligned in a common noble cause. It’s “soul” is here. Its pretty simple stuff really, however radically different it may seem. But doesn't it just seem easier to get there if everyone had a common purpose (which we already have anyway)? Is it really that far a stretch to imagine aligning your organization in this way? Doesn't it seem like a much easier way for everyone to get what he or she wants? It is however, selfless… it puts the “we” first. But… isn’t this the reality anyway? Is it not true that in order for me to get what I need, you must get what you need, if we are both here together in the same scenario… or at least isn’t this is the easiest or moreover the most sustainable way? 

In summary, the missing soul is the common noble cause for the organization and the people’s alignment behind it. If you do not define it, then how do you ever know what to do next? How can you tell? The vast majority of businesses never do define it (and ultimately fail). Some define it thru the culture they've created (thru their behavior), but that calls for great consistency so that everyone can see it…  so everyone can clearly know why we are here, agree with that, and take the appropriate actions. But that method gets diluted the bigger an organization becomes.

Just imagine a “lean” shop with no stated and aligned purpose. To what end then can they then use these “lean” tools? Where are they trying to flow work to and from? What work should they standardize? Who should they mentor and to what? Which problems are the ones they should solve… which ones when solved will make things better? … What the hell IS better? What does that mean? ……  Do you see? … If you are going to use the tools of improvement, then to what end? Does this end get me to where I want to go? How about the guy next to me? Do you think that doesn't matter? Have you ever tried to get something done where the people engaged in the doing aren’t being served… aren’t feeling good or valued… or the work has no meaning to them?

So, I was thinking this recently… “ I wish someone would have told me this 12 years ago”. We would have gained so much more ground with improvement. We would have not had to suffer from the amount of mistakes we’ve made along the way… working so diligently with “lean” in a purposeless world. But then... I pulled out a copy of the very first presentation from my teacher, which was discussed on the very first day of my training, and on the very first page … this one line…

“It’s not digital or linear … IT’S EMOTIONAL!”

You see…  I really did learn all I needed to know in the first day.

            I want to say thanks to all those who have asked me to get back to writing these pieces again and I plan on updating this blog at least monthly. Please, fell free to offer up commentary and further topics to discuss. You can drop me a message here or by email at   Jsweigart@thebodyshop-at.com   Also, please follow me on Twitter @TBSJS. Ill do my best to keep it short! 

            Thanks,  John