Managing to Learn: The Use of the A3 Management Process (2 Day Class)
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Introduction:
Question: When is an A3 more than a sheet of paper with boxes to fill in?
Answer: When it is used as a tool for capturing and presenting A3 thinking and when it is used in the A3 process to bring about change, either at the individual level for personal betterment, or at the business or operational level for performance improvement.
In his October 2008 e-letter Jim Womack announced, "We have just launched John Shook's new book, Managing to Learn, and I am tremendously excited. I think it is the most important work we have published at LEI. This is because John clearly explains why A3 thinking is the core of the Toyota management system and show how the act of creating an A3 also creates lean managers."
John, in response, to the basic question "What is an A3?" gave this explanation of the document's role in the A3 process: "The most basic definition of an A3 would be a P-D-C-A storyboard or report, reflecting Toyota's way of capturing the PDCA process on one sheet of paper. But the broader notion of the A3 as a process–embodying the way of thinking represented in the format–captures the heart of lean management. In this context, an A3 document structures effective and efficient dialogue that fosters understanding followed by the opportunity for deep agreement. It's a tool that engenders communication and dialogue in a manner that leads to good decisions, where the proposed countermeasures have a better chance of being effective because they are based on facts and data gathered at the place where the work is performed, from the people who perform it."
Description:
The purpose of this workshop is to explore the lessons and insights of Managing to Learn from four perspectives.
Note: each participant will receive a copy of Managing to Learn.
First participants will explore the requirements of sound A3 thinking and management by following the stages of learning illustrated in Managing To Learn (MTL). MTL describes how a young manager learns to handle a significant problem-solving responsibility by creating an A3 that earns him the authority to address the problem in the ways he proposes. This occurs as he is coached on his problem solving and A3 thinking by his boss and mentor. He steadily uses the knowledge he is learning to revise his initial "jump-to-a-solution" A3 into an effective PDCA story. Participants will examine how the A3 changes with each revision, what the young manager has learned about the A3 thinking, the A3 process that he applies in each revision, and what the course of his development indicates about the deep problem-solving focus that characterizes lean thinking.
Second participants will have the opportunity to develop their own eyes and ears to recognize effective A3 stories. They will describe the problem-solving thinking that is required in each section of the A3 for the PDCA story it tells to be effective. Participants will read several A3s and discuss how they would coach the authors to improve them. They will then be given final versions of the A3s and asked to determine if they are more effective and why they are more effective than the originals.
Third participants will create the Title, Background, Current Situation, Goal, Analysis, and Recommendations sections of an A3 for a problem-solving responsibility in their own work. Participants are asked to bring real A3s they are already working on for this exercise, or they may begin a new one during the class. They will work in small groups to read, discuss, and evaluate each other's A3s. They will coach each other as authors of their respective A3s offering guidance to consider ways their PDCA stories could be improved.
Fourth participants will learn various forms and uses of the A3 format. Examples from Managing to Learn will be highlighted, along with others. Topics that will be examined include:
- Basic types of A3 stories and how the format differs for each
- Role that A3 plays in the nemawashi process for gaining alignment with the stakeholders in a problem situation and seeking their agreement to proceed with the countermeasures or improvements being proposed
- Ways that A3 functions as a change management tool, a general management tool, a human development tool and a knowledge sharing tool
Benefits:
Through instruction, small group discussions and exercises, the workshop participants will:
- Learn the basic formats of A3s and uses of the A3 as a management process
- Gain experience in the three basic roles of the A3 process
- Writing an A3 (Author/Owner)
- Reading A3s (Responder)
- Coaching others about their own A3s (Coach)
Who should attend:
- Any manager who wishes to improve his or her organization
- Any manager who wishes to lead and manage his or her organization more effectively
- Change agents, lean promotion office managers, and specialists
- HR and OD professionals who wish to seek more effective means to deeply improve the thinking, behavior, alignment, and performance of their organization and the people in it
- Senior executives who wish to improve their abilities to lead and manage
- Anyone who wishes to improve his or her critical lean thinking
Price: $1,600.00 ($1,400.00 if the participant is taking 2 or more workshops at one location)
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