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Quality (ppm) Reliability 000 N T T T T 1 60[ T | T 1 1996 2000 2005 2010 1996 2000 2005 2010 1996 ' 2000 ' 2005 ' 2010 ' Inventory Turns Mfg. and Dist. Sq. Ft. 60 4,000,000 3,500,000 3,000,000 2,500,000 1 T T T T 1,500,000 + T T T 1 1996 2000 2005 1996 2000 2005 2010 Figure C.5 Long-term results of Herman Miller Performance System across all manu- facturing. ‘When we think of a model line, we often think of the challenge statement as a big financial result, but the more difficult challenge is developing the capability of people. In fact, process improvement and people development go hand in hand. In Rother’s model there is a key role for managers as coaches who develop scientific thinkers who practice the improvement kata. The chicken-and-egg problem is that those managers need to be coaches, but first they have to be learners to build their competencies and know-how by taking on a business challenge and practicing the improvement kata pattern to work scientifically toward it. We saw an example of this in the way Dallis was trained when he entered Toyota (see Principle 9 on leadership). The constraint at first is that there are few or no qualified coaches inside the organization. The ideal state is to have all coaching done internally with managers coaching their own teams. Figure C.6 provides one example of how this might work following the kata model. The job of the “advance group” (AG) of leaders is to monitor and guide the process (PDCA). First these leaders scout out what the kata is to see if they are interested, and then they practice it themselves with an experienced (possibly external) coach. With that experience they are then in a position to develop a plan for the next 6 to 12 months for how many coaches they will develop. This is not the usual plan with a series of milestones and dates. Rather it is a challenge to the organization. Don't try to expand improvement kata practice faster than you can develop internal coaching kata proficiency! Phase | Phase Il [ Phase Il | Increasing number of managers in the organization who are ” Form an “advance proficient as IK coaches group,” i.e., which practices IK first Slice 4 V. | Slice 3 \ / | Slice 2 y on real processes Slice 1 (a process, aW, etc) Scouts Form AG and first / study kata i Advance group frequent reflections Exter};rlal Initial d h 27d coach coach’s nitial instructor and coac on-site every 2-4 Asneaded role on-site ~ every 2 weeks (consultant) weeks AG works toward a series of 3 target conditions (does ~ 25 PDCA cycles) Advance group makes 6-12 month plan Advance group reflection/next plan Figure C.6 One model for deploying practice. Source: Mike Rother. _ As with any other challenge, the next step is to understand the current condition. How many people in the organization have the propensity for scientific thinking? And who are open to learning? What are good projects to start on? Then start your model lines and the role of the AG is to study, reflect, learn and adjust. Every day is an experiment! The AG should go first as learners, meet regularly, and between meetings monitor the process so it can make informed decisions about how to provide support and when to spread the process to other areas. Notice that the process of developing coaches is not linear, but exponential: 1 begets 2 begets 4 begets 8, and so on. Zinger- man’s Mail Order called this advance group activity “kata the kata.” The companv applied the improvement kata pattern in deploying improvement kata practi The reason for starting small and piloting is for learning. Piloting is bui ota’s culture. They rarely deploy much of anything broadly before it is tes easy to assume that our ideas must work because they make so much sense when we actually confront our assumptions with reality we almost always find some