Featured Book: Managing To Learn

Recently I was given a preview copy of John Shook's new book Managing To Learn, Using the A3 management process to solve problems, gain agreement, mentor, and lead.

As the title states this book is about the A3 storyboard method, typically used as a stand alone problem solving tool, and using it to manage entire processes and even companies.

I've used A3's in process improvement projects but I've never had the privilege of learning how to use an A3 from a master teacher - a sensei - and I suspect the same is true for most of you. This book, by Toyota veteran and Learning to See author John Shook, is as close as most of us will ever get to learning directly from a master.

The book is written as a narrative about a young manager, Desi Porter, who has been given an important assignment from his supervisor and mentor, Ken Sanderson. The story is told from both characters' perspectives, written side-by-side; the student (Porter) and the teacher (Sanderson). Sanderson guides Porter through his assignment by having Porter use the A3 model.

I've written many times, both here on this blog and in my column for Label and Narrow Web magazine, that I consider myself a perpetual student of Lean. Each time that I think I'm making forward progress on my personal Lean journey I'm shown something new or I learn a new way of seeing, and reading Managing to Learn was no different. I found myself imagining that I was Porter, reminiscing (or was it having scary flashbacks?) about my own past experiences, applying Sanderson's words of wisdom against these past experiences and running through an after action report in my own mind. You'll find yourself doing much the same, I'm sure.

While reading this book I had the privilege of conducting classes for employees at two well known manufacturing firms, both of which are well known in the Lean community. What could I possibly teach these folks, I thought? Well this book couldn't have come at a more opportune time, as I would take lessons that I learned from Porter and Sanderson and use them with my students. One such lesson was to consciously use the term "countermeasure" instead of "solution". Why is this important, I asked the class? Well, a "solution" implies finality, an end to the process of discovery and correction.

PDCA, or continuous improvement, never has an end, does it? We're not solving problems, we're implementing countermeasures to make positive changes to an existing condition. Those countermeasures, when implemented, change the status quo and present us with a new current state of conditions that, themselves, need countermeasures. Its an ongoing process of discovery and countermeasure, discovery and countermeasure.

That's an overly simplified explanation, but I think you get the point. So, this Lean student is going to rediscover the power behind the A3 and, with the help of a master teacher - Mr. Shook - hopefully I will "manage to learn".