Hold on to your steering wheels, because in this episode of the Ever-So-Lean Podcast, Matt is joined by James K. Franz, the Vice President of Global Operations at the Toyota Way Academy - the birthplace of Lean Excellence and the Toyota Production System. Jim's enviable Lean education, acquired through training in Japan and the United States, has made him a recognized industry expert, earning global accolades. He shares his insights on how the Toyota Way has evolved and the importance of investing in people to...
Hold on to your steering wheels, because in this episode of the Ever-So-Lean Podcast, Matt is joined by James K. Franz, the Vice President of Global Operations at the Toyota Way Academy - the birthplace of Lean Excellence and the Toyota Production System. Jim's enviable Lean education, acquired through training in Japan and the United States, has made him a recognized industry expert, earning global accolades. He shares his insights on how the Toyota Way has evolved and the importance of investing in people to create a true Lean culture. Jim warns against the dangers of blind benchmarking and provides practical examples of how he has successfully led enterprise-wide transformations across multiple industries, achieving significant improvements in quality, productivity, lead time, and cost reductions. Get ready to be inspired by Jim's expertise, as he talks about his Shingo-prize-winning publication 'The Toyota Way to Continuous Improvement', co-authored with Dr. Jeffrey Liker. With engaging insights and practical tips, this episode is not to be missed - it's a gift to all those looking to achieve Lean excellence!
Key Takeaways:
- Invest in your people. It is all about your people - culture, culture, culture and respect! There’s no point having a team that parachutes in and does Lean activity. To sustain and create a culture, it’s got to be a journey taken with your people. A point well made by Jim, about how would you feel if someone else was brought in to solve your problems, and they told you how to continue with that after you’ve been doing the task for a significant period. It’s really disrespectful to the people, allow them to own the solution.
- Avoid chasing money, rather set business targets the money will come. Focus on business targets, creating a culture, getting it to cascade down like a cascading down like water trickling down a waterfall.
- It’s all about the journey and about the learning and experience. It’s okay to fail and it’s okay to make mistakes. That’s how we learn and that’s how we develop as individuals and how you will develop your culture.
- Benchmarking can be dangerous, although we encourage benchmarking in general. Be wary of simply copying without understanding what the problem was that they were trying to solve. It might not work for you and it might not be appropriate for you because your problem might be a totally different root cause. Understand the full context before you perform benchmarking.
Find out more about the Toyota Way Academy at www.toyotawayacademy.com
Toyota Way to Continuous Improvement - https://amzn.to/3SFLTRu
Enrol in the Online Improvement Kata & Coaching Kata Basics Course. The only Kata training created by Jeffrey K. Liker and Mike Rother!
To find out more about the certifications available with Catalyst Consulting Ltd, visit www.catalystconsulting.co.uk
Find out more about the Ever-So-Lean Podcast at www.eversolean.com
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