Genchi Genbutsu and the Ivory Tower Myth

I remember a boss of mine told me an interesting anecdote about management and Lean.

Once upon a time, at a large car factory, there was a young engineer, John, who had an opportunity and was promoted to Production Manager. So enthusiastic about his new role, John spent most of the time in his new office, reviewing spreadsheets, charts, and reports on the assembly line’s efficiency. He was really confident that his analyses of all the KPIs could identify the issues, understand the root causes, and make improvements.

However, things weren’t going well as he had expected. Despite making several decisions based on the data, the results in real life on the shop floor weren't improving as he had figured out. John grew frustrated with the operators, believing they weren’t following the instructions properly or simply didn’t understand his words.

One day, a company veteran, Tanaka-san, a consultant from an affiliate company in Japan, was invited to help improving processes. When he arrived, he saw John isolated in his office, surrounded by papers, and asked for a meeting. After listening to the problems John described, Tanaka smiled and asked a simple question:

– John, have you gone to the shop floor to see the problems up close?

John hesitated and replied:

– No, I have everything I need here in the office. These spreadsheets tell me where the problems are and sorry, I have no time for it!

With an air of wisdom, Tanaka-san told a short story:

– Many years ago, a wise man lived in isolation in an ivory tower. From there, he studied the world through books and maps, believing he knew everything about the cities and the people living there. One day, a traveller came and said to the wise man: "You may know the maps, but you will never understand the true smell of the streets, the noise of the markets, and the smiles of the children unless you come down and walk there yourself."

Tanaka-san then looked John in the eyes and said:

– In Japan, we call it as Genchi Genbutsu. It means "go and see for yourself". It's not enough to look just at numbers. You need to see with your own eyes what’s happening on the shop floor, how these numbers were generated. The charts can tell you what is happening, but only going there will you understand why is happening.

John was thoughtful but got the message. The next day, he decided to put in place this idea. He put on his safety shoes, and his safety glasses, and headed down to the shop floor. He spoke with the operators, observed the production process closely, and noticed small details that the spreadsheets would never reveal. He discovered that some of the problems he was trying to solve only with data had no connection with his action plan, and were actually caused by poorly adjusted tools or unclear instructions for the operators.

Once implementing improvements based on hands-on experience and conversations with the team, John saw productivity increase, and more importantly, the operators began to trust him more. He was no longer a "boss in the ivory tower", but rather a present manager who understood the reality of the shop floor.

And so, John learned the lesson of Genchi Genbutsu: you need to go where things are actually happening to find the truth.