“If you are prepared, you will have no worries.” A saying in Japan, originally from China. Question: As a manager, how much of your work is about preparation? The morning begins with the daily production meeting. Each team reports on their KPIs from the previous day. During the meeting, you experience a Déjà vu, asking yourself, “Didn’t we have this problem before?” But you look around, and nobody seems concerned. You don’t want to disrupt the atmosphere. Besides, this is wha

“The best good is like water.” Laozi Another quote from Laozi. It continues: “water helps everything, doesn’t conflict with anything, and flows to the lowest place.” This phrase embodies Laozi's philosophy. While this philosophy is known for accepting things as they are and for its passive nature, we can apply it in various ways. 1️⃣ Standardized workf low like water “People don’t follow the standardized work,” is a comment we often hear. Responding to such comments frequentl

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Laozi The wisdom of Laozi remains valuable in many ways. How do you interpret his teachings? The original lesson of this phrase is as follows; “Even if something is going to be a big problem, it is easier to deal with it early.” This is a surprising but original lesson. It’s because the original phrase doesn’t say “single step.” Instead, it says “beneath the foot.” 【千里之行始于足下】 So, to solve a big problem like a thousand

神出鬼没 Sinshutukibotu. A phrase we use to describe how our boss appears and disappears suddenly at the Genba. Taiichi Ohno was such a person. He would show up at the Genba without warning. Sometimes he would stand right behind you without notice. He was famous for these behaviors, and many people remembered his episodes. My coach was the same way. One day, my cell phone rang, and I answered it. The coach said, “I’m outside.” He was outside the factory without giving any notice.