Leading, Learning, Innovation with Toyota Kata

Welcome to www.verbesserungskata.de

Leading, Learning, Innovation
How to unfold extraordinary human capabilities
using the Improvement Kata

Gerd Aulinger, 2012

© 2012 Gerardo Aulinger, www.verbesserungskata.de 1

What you see here shouldn’t work at all, but it does!

The inline powder-coating equipment in this cell takes up just 11 m2
and cost only € 60,000. External logistics were eliminated and
coating costs halved, while quality was improved.
All this was done although coating experts said it couldn‘t be done!


What turns ordinary people into real, creative innovators?

Powder-coating equipment built entirely by ordinary
Festool staff with no powder-coating experience.

Their advantage? They didn’t know much, they had
no preconceptions and, above all, they didn’t know
that it couldn’t be done, but they did have a Kata!


Kata are routines practiced deliberately…

…to master new ways of acting and thinking, making
them unconscious habits

The word “Kata” is derived from learning routines used to internalize combat
techniques in the Japanese martial arts.

They are practiced in order to make this techniques second nature and thereby
fast, reflex reactions, necessary, for example in unpredictable combat situations.


The “Improvement Kata” is a routine used to make
striving and scientific learning a daily habit

Where we are… …and where we need to be!

Learning task
? ?
? ? 1- Challenging
? ? ? 2- Solvable
? ? ? 3- Solution-neutral
? ? 4- No solution known
Current ? ? ?
? ?
capabilities
Unsolved problems
and obstacles


Why do we need an
Improvement Kata?

What might be the role of
managers in this?


Organisations will never be better than their people

Good results

through

Good processes

through

Good employees
(capable x motivated)

through

Good leadership


For economic reasons alone, it makes sense to ask:
“What do you enjoy about work?”

Typical answers given during brainstorming sessions:
- Overcoming challenges
- Learning
- Variety, trying new things
- Team spirit, constructive exchange of ideas, sense of belonging
- Recognition and praise, celebrating successes
- Seeing progress, improving, making a difference
- Helping other people in their work
- Scope for development, personal responsibility
- Etc.


Brains are learning organs, so they reward us with joy
when we learn (for example by means of serotonin)

Brain activity measured using computed tomography, presented by
Prof. Gerald Hüther at Production Systems 2009


What does an appropriate
learning task look like?


A good example of a challenging learning task

Product specifications
- Maximum speed = 250 km/h
- Number of passengers = 1-5 pax
- Safety = 5 star Euro NCAP
- Boot space > 700 litres
- Range > 1,000 km
AND…
- CO2 emissions = 0
- Sale price < €30,000

This learning task
is good because it is:
1- Challenging
2- Solvable
3- Solution-neutral
4- No solution is known


Good target conditions make a task a learning task
3 connected machining centres with a total reliability of 50%
→ So a target of 70% is set!

Reliability = 0.8 x 0.8 x 0.8 ≈ 50%

R = 0.8 R = 0.8 R = 0.8

The path of least resistance: buffering the disruptions.
→ No real improvement and nothing is learned!

Target: Reliability = 70%
Target condition: Not defined!
R = 0.8 R = 0.8 R = 0.8

A challenging target condition.
→ Now we must learn in order to achieve the goal!

Target: Reliability = 70%
Target condition: Buffers = 0
R = 0.9 R = 0.9 R = 0.9 R1=R2=R3 = 90%


Coating facility developed in small learning steps and
experiments, most of which led to “negative” results

Since science (and coating equipment!) evolves through refuted hypotheses, we usually
used cheap and easy to rebuild cardboard and old equipment for the initial experiments.

Not until we were sure if and how it would work did we build production versions.


Where do teams in
organisations get their
learning tasks?


Disruptive innovations are new solutions to old problems

Fine tuning …or innovating
an existing on the ongoing problem
technology… of „knowledge transmission“?

Printed
encyclopedia

Our current Customer´s
capabilities and solutions problems and needs


You don´t run to where the ball is,
but to where it´s going to be!

Just fine-tuning our core competencies doesn’t guarantee our future
success. Although we are advised to focus on them, this may be a trap.

We should also focus on our core in-competencies…


Do you know your organisation´s core in-competencies?

A definition:

Core in-competencies: currently non-existent
competencies that can become future core
competencies, and indispensable for your organization’s
long-term competitiveness and survival.


Customers don’t want drills , they want holes!

Company Customer

Our current Their problems
capabilities and solutions and needs

Examples of current solutions… …and the underlying neutral needs:
Car with combustion engine Personal mobility
Kerosene-powered aircraft Flying
DVDs and CDs Films and music
Chemical photography Photography
Drill Holes

The solutions our company offers are Customer problems and needs are by their
based on it’s current competencies and nature of longer duration than the solutions
expertise. offered by our companies, they are solution-
neutral.

Why should someone
voluntarily enter the learning
zone, with all its attendant
risks?


“If you think it can be done or if you think it can’t be
done, you will be right!” - Henry Ford
Challenge

Mindset

“It cannot be done!” “It can be done!”

Why? Why?

Negative line of Positive line of
argument argument

Search for problems Search for solutions

Low High
probability of success probability of success

“I told you: it cannot be done!” . “I told you: it can be done!”


Learning organisations feel comfortable with striving
to learn about their core in-competencies

Core competencies: Innovation:
focus on what we can do well focus on what we can’t yet do

Company Customer Company Customer

Current Current
capabilities and Problems capabilities and Problems and
solutions and needs solutions needs

“I avoid it!”

“I’m OK with it!”

“I like it!”


Regular Kata practice and coaching can change a
conservative mindset into an open, ‘explorative’ attitude

Explorative attitude
Conservative attitude Explorative attitude
of an experienced
(the norm) of a kata novice
kata practitioner

Certainty Certainty Certainty

“I avoid it!”

“I’m OK with it!”

“I like it!”


Through frequent practice more electrical impulses are
fired and synapses are ‘trained’ to perform better.

Untrained synapse Trained synapse

changeable
chemical bond

High electrical Low electrical
resistance resistance


Which management
routines help us develop
people for the learning
zone?


It’s through coaching that the mentee learns how to
apply the Improvement Kata in a natural way

The Improvement Kata:
1- Target condition?
? ? 1- Challenging
? ? 2- Solvable
? ? ? 3- Solution-neutral
? ? ? 4- There’s no solution known

4 - Next step? ? ?
? ? ?
2- Current ? ?
condition? 3 - Current obstacles? 5 – When can we go
and see?

The Coaching Kata’s 5 questions:
1- What is the target condition for this process?
2- What is the current condition of this process?
3- What obstacles are currently preventing you from achieving the target condition?
4- Which one obstacle will you tackle next and what is therefore your next step?
5- When will we be able to see what you have learned from the next step?


Don’t forget, fearful beginners need your experience and
coaching support to learn to accept the uncertainty-zone

Since the beginner …the experienced
feels stress… coach should transmit
confidence

Target Target
? ?
? ? ? condition ? ? ? condition
? ? ? ?
? ?
? ?
Current ? ? Current ? ?
condition condition
Unsolved problems Unsolved problems

“I avoid it!”
Being allowed to make mistakes is
“I’m OK with it!” essential for scientific work and learning.
The coach must understand this in order to
“I like it!” be accepted by his mentee as a teacher, criticism
and control should be avoided at any time!

Kata coaching cascade consisting of four roles,
only 1 and 2 should solve process problems.
Level 1 Level 2
Development of Employee and
(production) processes organisation development
4

3 CK2

2 CK1
Coach-Coach

1 IK
Coach

Process improver
(employee
on the process)
Employee
in the process

1
1 Employee in the process: Can I work according to standard?
2 Process improver: Is the (production) process running according to standard?
3 Coach: Is the improvement process running according to the IK?
2 3 4 4 Coach-Coach: Is the coaching process running according to the CK?

What can we learn
from this for our
organisations?


“Most automotive manufacturers build good cars.
We build good people who build good cars” - Toyota

Optimisation by ‘experts’ Optimisation by everybody
in periodic workshops everyday!

The Improvers

The Improvers

Process Process

Improvement capacity and Improvement capacity and
innovation remain unharnessed innovation are fully harnessed
and are kept small. and get expanded continually.


More than only choosing tasks that suit our capabilities,
we should also develop and use our special human
capabilities to meet new challenges

Sell our
capabilities
Customer

Develop new
capabilities
Company

Future
knowledge
Current threshold
knowledge
threshold


If organisations will never be better than their people,
where should managers be investing their time?

Good results Focus in the past:

through + ROI-based decisions
+ Mistrust and control
+ Extrinsic motivation
Good processes

through

Good employees
(capable x motivated)
Focus from now on:
through
+ Improvement Kata including target costing
+ Employee development via Coaching Kata
Good leadership + Intrinsic motivation


Welcome to www.verbesserungskata.de

Leading, Learning, Innovation
How to unfold extraordinary human capabilities
using the Improvement Kata


Gerardo Aulinger
Gerd Aulinger has worked as a researcher, consultant
and trainer for the past 15 years. From 2007 to 2011
he was in charge of stationary-device production at
Festool’s Neidlingen plant, overall winner of
Germany’s 2008 Factory of the Year competition.

Gerd’s initial focus was on the management of
production optimisation and design projects in
various industries. He has since focused increasingly
on development and field-testing of modern, Toyota-
inspired management methods.
Gerardo Aulinger
Kata ambassador, researcher,
Gerd’s approaches are geared towards maximising
management trainer and coach
flow by optimising employee skill development and
E-mail: gerardoaulinger@aol.com motivation. Toward this end he coaches managers
Mobile: +49 170 2134018 and leaders in the application of the Improvement
and Coaching Kata with a view to achieving
exceptional results.


Leading, Learning, Innovation with Toyota Kata

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