So many quotes I like from Chapter 2 of The Birth of Lean but I can't really quote the entire chapter so here is the best one:
"I thought of [kanban] entirely in terms of reducing work-in-process, raising productivity, and illuminating problems. Of course, it is good for all those things. But your basic aim is something else, isn't it? You use the kanban to create a positive tension in the workplace by reducing work-in-process, and that motivates people to do better than they ever thought they could do." -- Michikazu Tanaka
Goodbye Sydney Geek Girls
-
Dear Sydney Geek Girls,
I'm leaving Sydney for the sweltering heat of Darwin and the company of my
wonderful family.
You are in good hands with Catherine ...
2 months ago
2 comments:
Interesting thought. Just to add my 2 cents, I understand Kanban as a mean to an end. This end being "Just in Time". In a JIT world you won't have Kanban. But that's the perfect vision. Because we are imperfect, we need buffers, that's Kanban.
I usually explain Kanban this way: "the goal of Kanban is to eliminate Kanban" :-)
I think what Michikazu realised was that even JIT is not the end. The end is people doing "better than they ever thought they could do". I'd say that this is why the pillars of the Toyota Way are now Respect for People and Continuous Improvement and not JIT and Jidoka. JIT and Jidoka are powerful concepts. Kanban is a powerful tool to approach JIT. But they are all about creating the positive tension to develop people.
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