Following up on the LEI survey that was released and discussed here, I've been talking with a few folks offline about what the “root causes” really are for Lean struggles. Instead of pointing at “who?” what would we find if we asked “Why?” And then asked “Why?” again. Let's utilize one of the Toyota Production System problem solving methodologies, the “5 Whys?”
So, an online survey is cheap and easy to set up. Let's give this a try. It's an experiment, in the spirit of PDCA. I'm not sure if this problem really lends itself to 5 Whys, because as blog reader Ralf pointed out, this is a complex business and organizational problem. It might not lend itself to an online survey, since I'm used to doing this in person and interactive.
Click Here to Take Survey (survey is closed)
What do you think? Please scroll down (or click) to post a comment. Or please share the post with your thoughts on LinkedIn – and follow me or connect with me there.
Did you like this post? Make sure you don't miss a post or podcast — Subscribe to get notified about posts via email daily or weekly.
Check out my latest book, The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation:
[…] are always bemoaning the high failure rates for Lean implementation and surveys are taken and discussed (as we did here). There’s no shortage of things to write about and talk about with “Lean […]
[…] by Mark Graban on January 1, 2007 · 4 comments Thanks again for trying our “5 Whys” Survey. I hope you’ll come back to the Lean Blog and our community here. If you left your email address, you will be entered in the drawing for the prizes listed below. You’ll also receive the survey results via email. If you want to go back and enter your email, you should be able to follow the “back” link or go back to the survey here. […]
[…] take the time to share your thoughts with the rest of the lean world by clicking here and taking the […]
[…] the Lean Institute being tilted toward blame, and not toward finding the true root cause. Mark has launched a survey that is designed to help get at the root cause of the question “Why is your lean effort […]