Comments on: Rowing II http://oldleandude.com/2013/09/16/rowing-ii/ A Blog About Understanding TPS and Gaining Its Full Benefits, brought to you by "The Toast Guy" Fri, 08 Nov 2013 16:59:23 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Alan http://oldleandude.com/2013/09/16/rowing-ii/#comment-1200 Sun, 22 Sep 2013 21:52:10 +0000 http://oldleandude.com/?p=1361#comment-1200 Bruce: This is an excellent post on the 2 key points about implementing lean transformation. On point no. 2: I had a similar experience with a team member who was “not on the boat”, and once he was removed, I could see a rise in enthusiasm from others on the boat. But one thing to note: this team member was not “removed”, but was “relocated”, meaning I was able to find another boat that he enjoys more to be on, and now he is rowing that boat forward very well! So, I think this is another point to keep in mind: one must know who fits in which boat.

On point no. 1: Yes, it is important to have the right direction. Yet, a lot of the times transformation activities are hard to carry out not because the direction is not clear, but the leader is too greedy. He wants to go in the new direction, but also wants to keep going in the old direction too! This is either because he is not really sure whether the new direction is truly the right direction, or he just wants to achieve everything. But the problem is, energy and focus are limited resources. One needs to be ruthless in knowing what he really wants.

I really like your posts. They are insightful comments from an experienced TPS practitioner. There are a lot of blogs on TPS technical knowledge, but very few on reflections on TPS implementation experiences like yours. I’ve also started a blog on my personal experience with TPS at Toyota. Please visit: http://tpsjourney.blogspot.ca/

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