The Language of Lean
Philip Holt
Business Transformation Leader and COO | MBA | Leadership | Business Transformation | Operational Excellence | C-suite Level Engagement | Lean Thinking | Organisational & Value Stream Design
One of the frequent criticisms that Lean Practitioners face in teaching Lean Thinking and its Leadership is that the language used can be confusing or exclusive. Whilst terms such as Kaizen and Kanban might have become well established across industry and geography, terms such as Kamishibai, Kaikaku and Yamazumi are less well known and can be received negatively by the very people for whom acceptance is critical if the Lean transformation is to be a success.
A common response to this is to remove the Lean language, the ‘Japanese’, and instead replace it with the native language of the organisation or location. However, I would like to challenge this, as in my experience the root cause of the issue is not the language per se but the way in which it is introduced and taught.
In the 2002 “Notes of the Role of Leadership and Language in Regenerating Organisations”, based on conversations between Dr. Paul Pangaro and Dr. Michael Geoghegan, the importance of a change of language to the transformation of, and innovation within, an organisation was discussed. This new language helps to stimulate the thinking of people and reinforce the change that is happening, challenging the existing paradigms and breaking the status quo.
However, this is not only relevant in a business context, as many aspects of our life have their own language, which even if considered part of the wider native language, are not generally part of the active vocabulary. Think about learning a new sport, for example Golf.
As you learn the game you will be taught a new lexicon, including terms such as birdie, bogey, bunker, chip, dog leg and many others. This language will facilitate the communication between you, your instructor, fellow players, and allow you to learn about what each of the elements means for the playing of the game and to read and understand about best practices.
This is equally relevant when teaching the practice of Lean, as many of the tools, techniques and methodologies of Lean require a vocabulary that helps to describe and explain what makes them different from the traditional approaches. Utilising this new language, the teacher can explain the concepts, coach the trainee, and help them in making the transition to the new way of thinking and acting.
For example, consider Kamishibai, a form of layered audit that ensures that the leadership at all levels of the organisation are interacting in an effective manner with their people and their standardised work. It helps to maintain discipline but also encourages coaching and Kaizen (improvements to standard). Whilst the term ‘Layered Audit’ (or the local translation) could be used to ensure that there was no vocabulary barrier, the risk is much greater that there might be an understanding barrier, whereby people make assumptions about what a layered audit is. By teaching to the new term of Kamishibai, the trainer can aim to remove bias from the equation.
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The language of Lean is a vocabulary with meaning, derived from many years of success within Toyota (TPS) and a high level of adoption across Japanese companies. However, the teaching of the Lean concepts must be done properly and with a clear explanation of the Why, How and What; using the new language as a way of changing mind-set and taking the organisation on its Lean transformation.
By using a common vocabulary across geography, culture and native language, the organisation can share, communicate, learn and grow, without the reinvention or translation of Lean principles.
I therefore recommend that you avoid the waste of ‘over-processing’, translating the Lean language and, instead, embrace it and its concepts and begin the transformation into one that is Lean Thinking and led by Lean Leaders.
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Thanks for putting together this very useful article. Having fought the language battle a few times, I appreciate the clarity and logic of your explanation.