Taiichi Ohno, the architect of the Toyota Production System, once described exceptional management as “Ninjutsu management.” 🥷 The popular image of the ninja—dressed in black, disappearing in clouds of smoke, and possessing supernatural abilities—is largely a product of fiction. Nevertheless, Japanese history suggests that certain groups specialized in covert operations, intelligence gathering, and moving unnoticed, particularly at night. 🥷 The Japanese character nin (忍), f

Are We Spoiling Our Operations? We often hear the advice: “Don’t spoil a child.” The reasoning is simple. If we respond to every request by giving a child more—more attention, more comfort, more resources—they may never learn to solve problems independently. But what about business operations? When operations struggle, our instinct is often to give them more: More labor More machines More warehouse space More inventory More budget We call this investment or strategy. But som

What is the first thing you do when you go to the Genba? Look at the performance boards? Ask for a project update? Talk to the supervisor? No. Before doing any of those things, simply observe for a while. See Before You Listen A leader visited the Genba and immediately asked for an update on a troubled project. The team explained, “The machine manufacturer supplied us with a bad machine.” The conversation quickly turned toward the supplier: What should the supplier fix? Who s

Let me say something uncomfortable about Toyota Production System (TPS): Most companies do not fail at TPS because their people cannot solve problems. They fail because the organization has made it possible to survive without solving them. You can train people in A3. You can teach 5 Why. You can introduce standardized work. You can install Andon. You can put visual management boards all over the factory. And still fail. Why? Because none of these tools matter if the organizat

There is a crime that is surprisingly common in manufacturing. It is not stealing. It is not fraud. It is creating an isolated island on the shop floor. In Japanese manufacturing, there is a powerful expression: 「離れ小島を作るな」— “Do not create isolated islands.” An isolated island is a workplace, process, or person that becomes disconnected from the rest of the system. It may look efficient. It may even look highly independent. But it is dangerous. What Does an Isolated Island Loo

“When going far, one must always start from what is near.” 遠きに行くに必ず邇きよりす — The Doctrine of the Mean I previously wrote about a similar proverb: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” - Laozi Although these two sayings appear to express the same idea, there is a subtle difference between them. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” emphasizes the importance of taking action. No matter how ambitious the destination may be, we cannot make p

Build a system where making bad products results in a loss. Inspired by the management philosophy of Taiichi Ohno. One of the most important principles in manufacturing can be expressed in a simple but provocative statement: Make a bad product, and you should lose. At first, this may sound harsh. It might even appear to promote punishment. But that is not the point. The principle is really about accountability, feedback, and the thoughtful design of management systems. In man

Toyota uses some strange Japanese words and ‘Gouguchi’ is one of them. Let’s take a deeper dive into the origins, evolution, and ongoing influence of this concept. Gouguchi is a unique Japanese term central to Toyota’s legendary production system, yet its meaning remains elusive to many outside the company, including Japan. While it’s often translated as the mass-production stage following initial preparations, this definition barely scratches the surface. To truly appreciate

“First we build people, then we build cars.” Fujio Cho A great quote by a great leader. So, should we start classroom training to train as many people as possible? No. First, as a leader, go to Genba to understand the conflicts that hinder development or drive current behavior. For example, a factory was struggling to meet customer demand. After several Kaizen events, production began to meet demand. But the people didn’t look happy. When I asked why, they said, “We were told

A production management board, sometimes called an analysis board or an hour-by-hour board, should reflect the reality of the shop floor. Its purpose is not to burden the operator with paperwork but to help management understand what is happening, respond quickly, and improve the system. In many workplaces, the board is treated as the operator’s responsibility. A paper board or computer system is introduced, and the expectation is that the operator will keep it updated throug

Taiichi Ohno, the visionary architect of the Toyota Production System, was known for turning ordinary language into profound management insight. Among the more unusual expressions associated with his thinking is “Dekansho production.” At first hearing, the phrase sounds almost lighthearted, even whimsical. Yet beneath that playful surface lies a serious warning against waste, underutilization, and the danger of managing by appearances rather than by reality. To understand the

Mitori-geiko means learning by observing others. In Japanese martial arts, performing arts, and crafts, it refers to a training method in which the learner closely observes a master or a colleague to absorb technique, judgment, and practice. There may be no formal instruction at the time. Learning comes from attention, pattern recognition, and reflection. Is it the best method in every situation? No, but it has surprising value. One benefit is that it reveals how people behav

“Check means to reflect.” Taiichi Ohno Taiichi Ohno’s words are easy to quote, but they become much more powerful when we slow down and ask what they mean in practice. In the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle, the word *Check* is often misunderstood as a simple comparison: Did we hit the target or not? Did the numbers match the plan? Did we succeed? But in Ohno’s view, *Check* goes far deeper than measurement. It is not merely about verifying outcomes. It is about reflection — a discip

Sakichi Toyoda’s auto loom is often remembered for one famous idea: its ability to stop automatically when a defect occurs. This concept later became known as Jidouka in the Toyota Production System (TPS). Jidouka is powerful because it builds quality into the process instead of inspecting it at the end. The machine itself becomes smart enough to protect the customer. But there’s another equally important concept built into this machine that deserves more attention. That conc

“Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times, and taking action once is better than seeing a hundred times.”
— Taiichi Ohno There is a powerful simplicity in this quote. In just a few words, it captures a truth that applies to learning, leadership, work, and life itself: knowledge becomes truly meaningful only when it moves beyond words and observation and into action. We live in a world overflowing with information. Every day, we read articles, watch videos, listen to

Instead of Making Excuses, Think About Getting Things Done Taiichi Ohno There was a time when my coach visited the plant. The main machine was down, and I made an excuse: “The machine happened to be down.” He laughed. “Stop making excuses. How often do you think I come and the machine happened to be down? This is not a miracle. The machine is frequently down.” That line stayed with me. Because he was right, of course. We are very good at making excuses. The market is bad. The

“Double-edged sword.” A type of sword that we didn’t use in Japan. It means that if we don’t use it properly, it could bounce back and hurt the user itself. Kanban is a double-edged sword: if we don’t use it properly, it can hurt the organization. If we don’t have leveization, the chaos will hurt the upstream. If we apply it to large batch production, the bull-whip effect will kill the upstream. If we don’t have the standardized work, the signal will scatter. If we have a hig

Japanese traditional performance art “Nou.” Efficiency. Multi-skilled operator. Capacity. At first glance, these sound like random, unrelated words. One belongs to the world of theater and culture. Another to industrial engineering. Another to HR or operations. Yet in Japanese, they all share the same character: 能, pronounced Nou. Once we notice this, we can start to learn something important about how we think about people, work, and improvement. The interesting character 能

When Japan imported the concept of “efficiency,” as with many other ideas, we expressed it in Kanji. Interestingly, there are two distinct “efficiencies” in Japanese. The second symbol in both idioms represents rate, ratio, or percentage. Therefore, the distinction between the two idioms lies in the first symbol, which we will explore further. Understanding these symbols will empower you to apply the concept of efficiency in practical contexts. 🔹 Kou-Ritsu 【効率】: Efficiency a

Many people rush to emulate Toyota’s tools. Kanban cards. Andon cords. Standardized work templates. We see the visible artifacts, assume they are the secret, and hurry to copy them. But before we do that, it’s worth asking a simple question: What is a “tool”? What “Dougu” Really Means In Japanese, a tool is called “Dougu.” It’s written with two characters: Dou【道】 – the way, the path, the Tao. Gu【具】 – the material, to equip, to be prepared. Put together, Dougu is not “just a t