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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Welcome to www.verbesserungskata.de

Rethinking Toyota’s

Mountainclimber Diagram...


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

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Mentor

Mentee

© 2012 Gerardo Aulinger & Mike Rother www.verbesserungskata.de 3

Mentor

Mentee

Isn´t there something wrong with this

diagram? Why is the mentor ahead?


Mentee

Does it mean the mentor has already figured

out solutions ahead of the mentee?

Mentor


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?


Here´s a different perspective to consider

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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!


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

?

! Mentor

Mentee


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


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!

!

? Mentee

Mentor


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!


Maybe that´s what Toyota is trying to do!

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!

?


Welcome to www.verbesserungskata.de

Rethinking Toyota’s

Mountainclimber Diagram...

rethinking toyota’s mountainclimber diagram

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