"There's another way"

When you 'Think' about what you're going to do next, to address your issues, what are the first words out of your ... ... ... ... brain?

Did that catch you out? If you thought the last word in that sentence was going to be 'mouth', it's because the human brain has evolved to be a 'prediction machine'.

'The first words out of your mouth'

... This is a turn of phrase that has a neurological representation in your brain. It's those neurons firing together, which we allude to when we describe the brain 'predicting the next 'word' in a sentence.

This is how we (human brains) assume the answer before the evidence is presented. Assumption is 'by design'! ... part of the survival mechanism and, in the past, it kept us alive.

However, in the world we've created today, where 'threats' come from social and technical sources, rather than sharp teeth and falling, the default neurological response doesn't always serve us so well.

It is however, how we function, and there's simply no denying it!

(once we take notice of how the brain actually works and move beyond assumption, using modern technology).

It's quite a scary realisation if you ponder it for a moment.

"What we think is what our brain has already decided!"

Now, don't have an existential crisis! lol. While technically accurate, it's not the whole story.

Conscious thinking (positive or negative), actually alters that wiring in our brains (a process known as neurogenesis), which processes the world subconsciously to generate our automatic thoughts.

So, to think differently, (on autopilot) if we recognise that's part and parcel of improving how we automatically are, and what we automatically do (shout, get angry, show compassion, coach etc.), when responding to different people in different situations, or doing our work, [Hansei / Kaizen], we have to think differently (by choice), in positive ways.

That's a challenge, when our brain is designed to operate with a 70% negativity bias as part of its defence mechanisms.

What is even more scary though, is that another part of our brains ingenious design, see's us able to convince ourselves that we're thinking consciously, while we're on autopilot!

We find it very hard to see the man in the mirror! But find it very easy to see everyone else's faults, even when we act in exactly the same way as those we criticise ... as per old biblical wisdom, "don't point out the splinter in my eye, if you can't see the plank in your own" / "those in glass houses, shouldn't throw stones" / "let those among you without sin cast the first stone" etc. (How people are and the challenge of improving our capacity to exercise control over our emotional selves is NOTHING NEW!)

So, whatever the 1st words generated in your brain are (in response to any given sensory stimulus), they are almost guaranteed to become the 'framing' for every subsequent thought from that point forwards. (The brain fires in 'sequence').

So, if you think;

"Uh Oh! Here we go again, I'd better call those guys I used before, to do another project" [which ensures your brain experiences the release of chemicals associated to positive emotional states, like trust, which it will automatically 'seek out' - i.e. the basic risk-reward / pleasure-pain response],

OR

If you think;

"More reports of problems in that business unit! I'd better send in the change team" (when some people in the change team are just as good at alienating people as any other consultant, boss or ERP system)

OR

"if the FD had approved my justification for Capex for that new machine last year, we wouldn't be in this position now"

OR

"If HR got their act together, we wouldn't hire people who can't cut the mustard"

OR

"I need a different method and set of tools (e.g. Six Sigma or Agile, because Lean hasn't delivered - or vice versa) ....

Then, dear reader ... your brain has already put the metaphorical blinkers on.

That is to say, your brain has assumed a full understanding of the problem, what action to take, who is to blame (ensuring you don't have to do anything differently - another trick of the brain, to reduce energy needs) and who you'll now use to address it ... ALL in a few milliseconds, based on your brain's existing wiring.

And! You only become consciously aware of this neurological processing activity after the fact.

Any 'problem solving' you do from that point forward, is already in context of the words generated subconsciously by your established brain wiring-firing patterns.

And you're not alone ... every other brain in the organisation works in very similar ways.

We can therefore posit;

Automatic thinking is actually more of a problem, than the perceived problem, being thought about.

If this all sounds 'bunkum' and detached from the realities or practicalities of running a successful business (I mean, who gives an actual monkey's **** about brains, when you have widgets to produce), you might be interested to know that Taiichi Ohno (Of Toyota / TPS fame) recognised the principles neuroscience can now explain clearly, and he worked very hard on himself, to address the limitations of his own thinking, and that of others.

And that turned out well!

In Mark Warren 's new translation of the 1973 TPS Handbook we find the neurological process of 'thinking' at the core of many of Taiichi Ohno's prophetic words. Here are a few examples;

• "Even if ideals [Just in time] are like that, if we say that they are unrealistic ideals, then that is all they can be.”

Dux view - the phrase "If we say" alludes to signals [inner voice / language] generated by brain wiring-firing patterns.

• "We must Think,?Think?and?Think?again .. about others, ourselves and about 'thinking' itself."

Under the chapter title 'Kanban Thinking' he says...

• When people have accumulated experience, they tend to look at things with what we call “bias.” “It’s been like this up till now, so it will probably continue like this.” When they look at a problem while thinking this way, they end up seeing what they expect. And we do not observe correctly. It is important to have the attitude of constantly observing without any bias, as if you were a blank piece of paper."
• "Just in time, productivity, cost, and shifting the burden towards outsourcing; judging from common logic, all of these are thought to be full of contradictory aspects. We must break this wall of common logic and make those mutually contradictory points coexist through what we nowadays call “logic escape.”

Dux view - Escaping the trap of 'Logic' was recognised by Ohno in 1973! One can only wonder what he would have thought given the level of logic based technology currently imposing itself upon human thinking?

Challenging our assumptions, which present 'the application of logic' as the default approach for performance improvement in organisations (when profit and productivity are demonstrably reliant upon people and how they think and feel, assume and act), IS the greater, and more pressing challenge, given the current levels of workplace stress, attrition and disengagement (79% global avg. - Gallup '22) in organisations following the logical approach, which often [mistakenly] imposes control upon people [brains], leading to poor performance, where emotions and relationships are damaged.

• Speaking of IE and common sense (conventional wisdom) or Moukeru IE (The verb “moukeru 儲ける” means “to make money/profits.” In Japanese, a verb modifies the noun that follows it, making the overall meaning “The industrial engineering of making money… Ohno San says “I MUST CHANGE MY WAY THINKING AND PERSPECTIVE.”
• On ‘revealing the magic trick’ [of TPS] Ohno San says; “eliminating unnecessary activities – and doing it thoroughly,” “developing eyes that can find the unnecessary activity so that you can eliminate it” and “thinking of the method to eliminate the unnecessary activities you have found.” Never waning or letting up, no matter how long it takes you, no matter how far you must go."

Dux view;

·?????Developing eyes = overcoming one’s own assumptions / established thinking patterns

·?????Thinking of the method = imagination / innovation (this is a big topic from a neuroscience perspective – see my blog post from 2013 here) https://www.duxinaroe.com/blog/innovation-the-dux-view ??

·?????Never waning or letting up = resilience, grit, determination (various ambiguous terms can be used here), but if we agree to group these under the term ‘attitude’, then we can easily make the link back to brain wiring-firing patterns and the release of neurotransmitters that lead to one’s emotional state and approach to life.

• “Every single year, investment will be repeated in a similar way because the annual plans are designed based on the THINKING that created the current situation.”

On operation ratio, Ohno San says;

• “This is emphasized to prevent falling into the wrong way of THINKING about the sunk cost concept”
• "... we should always find out the most economic option while keeping many conditions in mind. Make this the standard way of THINKING for implementing improvements."
• Even if you stop THINKING about the rationalization of the work, convinced that there is no choice for the sake of safety, you may notice that there are several options of a safe and rational way of working, just by going back to the fundamental purpose of the work.
• THINKING from other people’s point of view to build true relationships: When conducting labor reduction activities at the workplace, if they put themselves in the shoes of the people doing the work, then true human relations will be developed.

[Extract]

• For a supervisor to have the workplace follow their instructions, a relationship of mutual trust must be built between the supervisor and the operators, there must be true human relations. To achieve this, the supervisor must have respect for people as a foundation, while constantly putting themselves in the people’s shoes. They must train them while fully understanding them, stand in the lead, and proactively confront all problems, no matter how troublesome they might be. What is especially important here is the fact that when there is any kind of problem in the workplace, someone is troubled by it. For example, “The work is hard,” “This is dangerous,” "It is difficult to adjust, producing too many defects despite our hard work," “The demand from the following process is so variable that we cannot decide on our priority order,” “The Standard Work sheet is difficult to read and understand," and so on.

Dux view - notice how the examples Taiichi Ohno uses in the last paragraph are all things people will think / say to themselves.

Now, watch this study into the effect of language on the brain (See video - 3mins)

and consider the impact of such thinking on brain function, cognition, innovation, problem solving etc.

In total, in 137 pages, Taiichi Ohno uses the words Think or Thinking 102 times.

That's not too far off once per page! I guess that means he understood thinking is seminal to the action it leads to, and worth prioritising as a strategic focal point for organisational development and performance improvement.

From other sources we find Ohno San saying many other things that show he was acutely aware of the fact, thinking, and indeed 'Language' (how we speak to ourselves and each other), and what 'meaning' those words hold for us (see video above), precedes attitude and action ...

"First say, “I can do it.” And try before everything."

"Wisdom is given equally to everybody. The point is whether one can exercise it."

To the last quote, in this post , Brad Cairns says, "I’m not sure what the secret sauce is to help everyone tap into this one. I think it’s part and parcel of being motivated and having discipline."

We can now say, that 'secret sauce', is doing what Taiichi Ohno did. i.e. think about your thinking, which of course, is brain function ... so the only place to start, is with a working knowledge of neuroscience and psychology.

To make that easy for people in industry, we spent 7K hours developing the online #BTFA Experience which synthesises all these disciplines into an enjoyable, and transformational activity.

So if you want to avoid the major thinking errors brains are designed to fall foul of, you want your leaders to understand what they do to alienate others (so they don't do it any more), you want your people to be able to 'exercise their wisdom', you want your leaders to fully understand the people in their teams, to establish 'true human relations' (which made all the difference for Toyota) ... and you want more than throw away biblical quotes, parading as wisdom (but haven't changed behaviour much in 2000 years), then neuroscience, in context of organisational change (lean et al), is definitely for you!

The alternative? Let your brain do what it does, on autopilot, ignore the 'other way' and perpetuate what is already known and done. After all, if c.80% of your people don't even want to be at work, what can possibly go wrong?