Another look at Toyota´s well-known mentor/mentee diagram.

1. Welcome to www.verbesserungskata.de
Rethinking Toyota’s
Mountainclimber Diagram...
Gerd Aulinger & Mike Rother
Memphis, TN, March 2012
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2. Here´s Toyota´s classic „Mentor pulling Mentee“ drawing
Mentor
Mentee
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3. Isn´t there something wrong with this
diagram? Why is the mentor ahead?
Mentor
Mentee
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4. Does it mean the mentor has already figured
out solutions ahead of the mentee?
Mentor
Mentee
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5. And if so, is the mentor just asking rhetorical
questions? Wouldn‘t that be disrespectful??
Why would he ask questions
if he already has answers?
?
!
Mentor
Mentee
© 2012 Gerardo Aulinger & Mike Rother www.verbesserungskata.de 5

6. Here´s a different perspective to consider
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7. To solve the mystery you have to split WHAT you are
working on from HOW you are doing it,
as described in Toyota Kata
WHAT we‘re working on
HOW we‘re working on it
Don‘t confuse
these two
things!
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8. Yup, the mentor is „ahead“ in regard to the HOW
?
!
Mentor
Mentee
The mentor is teaching the HOW of the
Improvement Kata procedure, which s/he already knows
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9. But, actually, the mentee is ahead on the path
of WHAT is being worked on
Hmm…
! So, the diagram
is reversed,
now!
?
Mentee
Mentor
The mentee is doing the WHAT by taking steps
and conducting experiments
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10. So the mentor asks procedural questions from behind,
while the mentee shares learnings from his last step
!
?
Mentee
Mentor
Ah, now asking
questions makes
much more
sense!
© 2012 Gerardo Aulinger & Mike Rother www.verbesserungskata.de 10

11. In case you thought you‘re in front…
It’s your job to make your
mentee successful by giving
procedural support...
Mentee
… and enjoying
the tug of the rope
Mentor
as he strives ahead and
pulls you with him.
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12. And if you´re coaching 10 people on the
Improvement Kata, it´s like having
the power of 11 brains pulling you ahead!
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13. Maybe that´s what Toyota is trying to do!
!
?
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14. Welcome to www.verbesserungskata.de
Rethinking Toyota’s
Mountainclimber Diagram...
© 2012 Gerardo Aulinger & Mike Rother www.verbesserungskata.de 14