Daily PDCA is a Meditation

By Pascal Dennis (bio)

We are sleepers in a dream, the great philosophers tell us. Our grasp of what's actually happening is tenuous at best.

The great religions and philosophies entail ritual, prayer and/or meditation to help us ‘wake up’.

Lean/TPS is about wakefulness too.

Lean methods like visual management, 5 S, standardized work, and pokayoke, are meant to jolt us out of our slumber.

"Hey, buddy wake up! There's a problem over here!"

And the most basic mediation of all is daily Plan-Do-Check-Adjust.

I’m a dreamer at heart, a ‘sleepy boy’, my Dad used to say. Daily PDCA is my anchor, my center, and has been for a long time.

Daily PDCA is hard, especially nowadays, when it’s so easy to get swept up in the tidal wave of tweets, blogs, pics, avatars, apps, games, music, videos…

I’m not very good at daily PDCA, but even partial success is a big deal.

In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed, confused & dopey man is king.

Best regards,

Pascal




In case you missed our last few blogs... please feel free to have another look…

Ethics Again
Lean/TPS in the Public Service – Part 3 – Obstacles & Countermeasures?
Lean/TPS in the Public Service – Part 2 – What are the Obstacles?
Is Lean/TPS Possible in the Public Service? – Part 1

Daily PDCA is a Meditation

By Pascal Dennis

We are sleepers in a dream, the great philosophers tell us. Our grasp of what's actually happening is tenuous at best.

The great religions and philosophies entail ritual, prayer and/or meditation to help us ‘wake up’.

Lean/TPS is about wakefulness too.

Lean methods like visual management, 5 S, standardized work, and pokayoke, are meant to jolt us out of our slumber.

"Hey, buddy wake up! There's a problem over here!"

And the most basic mediation of all is daily Plan-Do-Check-Adjust.

I’m a dreamer at heart, a ‘sleepy boy’, my Dad used to say. Daily PDCA is my anchor, my center, and has been for a long time.

Daily PDCA is hard, especially nowadays, when it’s so easy to get swept up in the tidal wave of tweets, blogs, pics, avatars, apps, games, music, videos…

I’m not very good at daily PDCA, but even partial success is a big deal.

In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed, confused & dopey man is king.

Best regards,

Pascal

Pascal Dennis Bio

Lean & Wakefulness - Reprise

By Pascal Dennis

The Lean Business System, at heart, is about wakefulness.

Philosophers throughout the ages have argued that we are sleepers in a dream, that our grasp of what's actually happening is, at best, tenuous.

Many schools of philosophy and religion include exercises, prayer or meditation designed to "wake" the sleeper.

Lean tools like visual management, 5 S, standardized work, and pokayoke, are meant to jolt us out of our slumber.

"Hey, buddy wake up! There's a problem over here!"

Strategy Deployment, the application of the scientific method to our enterprise, is also about wakefulness.

Our Level 1, 2 and 3 check processes, for example, should be stand-up meetings in front of a board or wall that makes "hot spots" painfully clear.

"Holy cow, look at that! We should do something..."

My books Getting the Right Things Done, Andy & Me and its sequel, The Remedy, all entail the protagonists' gradual awakening.

Let me conclude with a mixed metaphor: In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed woman is queen.

Cheers,

Pascal

Pascal Dennis Bio

Reprise: Lean & Wakefulness

By Pascal Dennis

The Lean Business System, at heart, is about wakefulness.

Philosophers throughout the ages have argued that we are sleepers in a dream, that our grasp of what's actually happening is, at best, tenuous.

Many schools of philosophy and religion include exercises, prayer or meditation designed to "wake" the sleeper.

Lean tools like visual management, 5 S, standardized work, and pokayoke, are meant to jolt us out of our slumber.

"Hey, buddy wake up! There's a problem over here!"

Strategy Deployment, the application of the scientific method to our enterprise, is also about wakefulness.

Our Level 1, 2 and 3 check processes, for example, should be stand-up meetings in front of a board or wall that makes "hot spots" painfully clear.

"Holy cow, look at that! We should do something..."

My books (Getting the Right Things Done, Andy & Me, The Remedy) all entail the protagonists' gradual awakening.

Let me conclude with a mixed metaphor: In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed woman is queen.

Cheers,

Pascal

Pascal Dennis Bio