rethinking toyota’s mountainclimber diagram

© 2012 Gerardo Aulinger & Mike Rother www.verbesserungskata.de

Gerd Aulinger & Mike Rother Memphis, TN, March 2012

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Rethinking Toyota’s

Mountainclimber Diagram...

© 2012 Gerardo Aulinger & Mike Rother www.verbesserungskata.de

Here´s Toyota´s classic „Mentor pulling Mentee“ drawing

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Mentor

Mentee

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Mentor

Mentee

Isn´t there something wrong with this

diagram? Why is the mentor ahead?

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Mentee

Does it mean the mentor has already figured

out solutions ahead of the mentee?

Mentor

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Mentee

Mentor

And if so, is the mentor just asking rhetorical

questions? Wouldn‘t that be disrespectful??

! ?

Why would he ask questions if he already has answers?

© 2012 Gerardo Aulinger & Mike Rother www.verbesserungskata.de

Here´s a different perspective to consider

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© 2012 Gerardo Aulinger & Mike Rother www.verbesserungskata.de

To solve the mystery you have to split WHAT you are

working on from HOW you are doing it,

as described in Toyota Kata

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WHAT we‘re working on

HOW we‘re working on it

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Don‘t confuse these two

things!

© 2012 Gerardo Aulinger & Mike Rother www.verbesserungskata.de

Yup, the mentor is „ahead“ in regard to the HOW

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The mentor is teaching the HOW of the Improvement Kata procedure, which s/he already knows

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! Mentor

Mentee

© 2012 Gerardo Aulinger & Mike Rother www.verbesserungskata.de

But, actually, the mentee is ahead on the path

of WHAT is being worked on

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The mentee is doing the WHAT by taking steps and conducting experiments

Hmm… So, the diagram

is reversed, now!

!

? Mentee

Mentor

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So the mentor asks procedural questions from behind,

while the mentee shares learnings from his last step

Ah, now asking questions makes

much more sense!

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? Mentee

Mentor

© 2012 Gerardo Aulinger & Mike Rother www.verbesserungskata.de

Mentee

Mentor

In case you thought you‘re in front…

… and enjoying the tug of the rope

as he strives ahead and pulls you with him.

It’s your job to make your mentee successful by giving procedural support...

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And if you´re coaching 10 people on the

Improvement Kata, it´s like having

the power of 11 brains pulling you ahead!

© 2012 Gerardo Aulinger & Mike Rother www.verbesserungskata.de

Maybe that´s what Toyota is trying to do!

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!

?

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Welcome to www.verbesserungskata.de

Rethinking Toyota’s

Mountainclimber Diagram...