Page 172 - How To Implement Lean Manufacturing

150 Cha pte r Ei g h t

emphasize those last two sentences enough. This step, to be effective, must be
totally nonjudgmental.
5. A group exercise on values may be appropriate at this point. Many exist. I like
the “Lifeboat Decision.” In this story, ten people have clambered onto a lifeboat,
but it will only hold seven. Thus, three must be thrown overboard and they will
die. If you do not throw three overboard, all ten will die. For instance, in the
boat are a young child, a blind man, a priest, a prostitute, a mother and her
baby, a grandmother, a convicted killer (who is strong and muscular) … well,
you get the picture. There are no right answers. It just forces the group to discuss
values. It is a great exercise.
6. At this point, if there are many problems on the list you made in step 4, discuss
each item in turn until the group is reacquainted with the list. The discussion
must be “to a point of understanding”—we still do not want to pass judgment
on the projects. We only want to understand the context of the problem.
7. If the list is large, we will need to select the most critical problems. It is likely
that we have a number of very good projects, so almost any from the top of the
list will be productive to solve. To find a few of the better projects, use nominal
group technique or multivoting to select say the top four or five. Once this is
done, we need to select just one of these projects to work on. Probably the sensei
could say something like, “We will eventually solve all these problems, but for
the first problem I would like to see the group solve the problem of…”
8. For the first problem, brainstorm. “What are the thoughts, concerns, issues, and
so forth about this problem?” When the group has all the issues down on paper,
do not reduce this list. Instead, proceed to the next step.
9. For this first problem, brainstorm again: “What are the possible solutions?”
When the group has all the possible solutions down on paper, do nothing more
with this list for the moment. Instead, proceed to the next step.
10. Conduct another brainstorming session on “What are the key criteria we will use
in our decision-making process?” Discuss this and reach a consensus. This second
step of reaching consensus on the criteria is often difficult. If you are not familiar
with consensus, it is not disagreement, nor need it be 100 percent agreement. It is
the concept whereby everyone involved can say, “I may agree with the group
decision or I may not agree with it, but regardless, I recognize it is in the group’s
best interest and I will give it my 100 percent support and commitment.” Like I
said, it is not easy, but to reach consensus on this step is crucial.
11. Select the best of the possible solutions, and then develop action plans with
responsibilities and due dates. Very often after the consensus on the criteria is
reached, the process moves very rapidly.
12. Return to step 7, select the next problem, and move on.
It is important that the group completely resolve at least one problem. If they can
and want to take on more than one problem, that is even better. However, here the
major benefit comes not from the problem solution itself. Instead, it comes from the
process of solving the problem. The Spin-Around technique requires:
• Good listening
• Understanding problems from different perspectives