you would a piece of equipment. Challenge is a core value within the Toyota
Way and central to the way people and business partners are developed.
IV: Continuously Solving Root Problems Drives Organizational Learning
- Go and see for yourself to thoroughly understand the situation.
You cannot solve problems and improve unless you fully understand the actual sit-
uation—which means going to the source, observing, and deeply analyzing what
is going on, or genchi genbutsu. Do not solve the problem remotely by theorizing
only on the basis of reported data or looking at computer screens. If you are
responsible for a problem and make recommendations on possible solutions,
you might be asked whether you went and looked at the situation yourself in
person. If the answer is, “No, but I saw the reports,” you better be prepared for
an assignment to go and see for yourself. There is a basic belief in Toyota that
people solving problems and making decisions need to have a deep under-
standing that can only come from personally verified data: seeing for yourself.
Even high-level managers and executives should go and see for themselves as
much as possible. Summarizing reports by subordinates when you yourself
have only a superficial understanding is not acceptable in the Toyota culture.
- Make decisions slowly by consensus, thoroughly considering all
options; implement decisions rapidly.
It has become a truism in the literature that Japanese management moves slowly
in decision making to generate consensus, which allows them to move fast in exe-
cution. While this is certainly true of Toyota, the real key is not consensus but
exploring potential problems and solutions to get to the best possible answer.
The method of asking “Why?” five times is a way to thoroughly analyze the root
cause of the problem. The surface problem is seldom the true cause. When a
Toyota member brings a solution to the boss, the first question might be: "How
do you know what the real problem is?" The second question is: “Who have
you spoken to, and are they in agreement with the solution?” Nemawashiis the
process of bringing problems and potential solutions to all of those affected to
gather their ideas and get agreement on a solution. This is a time-consuming
process, but it helps broaden the search for solutions as well as setting the stage
for rapid implementation once a decision is made.
- Become a learning organization through relentless reflection
and continuous improvement.
Continuous improvement follows immediately after having achieved stable
processes. It includes Toyota’s famous “Five-Why Analysis” and the “Plan, Do
Check, Act” tool for determining the root cause of inefficiencies or slowness, as
Chapter 1. Background to the Fieldbook 13