The triumph of Mr. ‘Oh No!’
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"Kaizen: The Keyto Japan’s Competitive Success" created quite a stir in 1986. In the book, Masaaki Imai revealed the secret behind the success of Toyota and other Japanese companies. The kaizen method has since become part of the corporate lexicon the world over, but Imai is still not satisfied.
“You can speak with Imai-san the day after tomorrow,” says the assistant, her Texas accent giving “san” an unexpected twang. “San” means more than “mister”; it is closer to “master.” That title fits him well, because Masaaki Imai is a bona fide legend. His book, which put the kaizen method into words for the first time, has sold millions. It is difficult to recall that at one time, the white-haired, friendly fellow with the round face and the squarish, oversized glasses was considered an agitator.
“When we first introduced kaizen in a few companies in Japan, everyone resisted— managers and workers alike,” says Imai. Ask him today about his legendary plant, whose reputation and methods rippled out across the globe, and whose principles were even adopted at Disneyland, and he offers a surprising answer. “I’m frustrated, even angry actually,” he says. He does not sound like he is basking in any kind of glory. “I estimate that 99.9 percent of the companies are still using the old methods,” says Imai.
“You can speak with Imai-san the day after tomorrow,” says the assistant, her Texas accent giving “san” an unexpected twang. “San” means more than “mister”; it is closer to “master.” That title fits him well, because Masaaki Imai is a bona fide legend. His book, which put the kaizen method into words for the first time, has sold millions. It is difficult to recall that at one time, the white-haired, friendly fellow with the round face and the squarish, oversized glasses was considered an agitator.
“When we first introduced kaizen in a few companies in Japan, everyone resisted— managers and workers alike,” says Imai. Ask him today about his legendary plant, whose reputation and methods rippled out across the globe, and whose principles were even adopted at Disneyland, and he offers a surprising answer. “I’m frustrated, even angry actually,” he says. He does not sound like he is basking in any kind of glory. “I estimate that 99.9 percent of the companies are still using the old methods,” says Imai.
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Maasaki Imai |
He is referring to companies that have not completely turned over a new leaf in their corporate culture. Directly translated, kaizen means “continuous change for the better.” It requires that the entire company monitor its operations on a daily basis. In other words, the organization is assumed to be capable of improvement in all areas, and it is prone to failure without continual renewal. Accordingly, the status quo at any given time is an opportunity to initiate further optimization.
This approach has been implemented on assembly lines throughout Europe, the United States, and Asia. It has not, however, been applied to the upper management tiers, says Imai. “Senior managers continue to believe that it does not pertain to them,” he adds.
“They in particular are the first who need to do some rethinking.” The story of the kaizen miracle started in the 1930s. Sakichi Toyoda, founder of Toyota, which manufactured automatic looms at the time, liked to tell his co-workers, “Open the window; it is a big world out there.” His son Kiichiro Toyoda acted on the idea of learning from the world. As a young man, he went to visit his sister in England, but he was late in meeting her, because upon arriving, he missed the outbound train leaving the airport. While he waited for the next one, he had an epiphany regarding “just in time.”
This approach has been implemented on assembly lines throughout Europe, the United States, and Asia. It has not, however, been applied to the upper management tiers, says Imai. “Senior managers continue to believe that it does not pertain to them,” he adds.
“They in particular are the first who need to do some rethinking.” The story of the kaizen miracle started in the 1930s. Sakichi Toyoda, founder of Toyota, which manufactured automatic looms at the time, liked to tell his co-workers, “Open the window; it is a big world out there.” His son Kiichiro Toyoda acted on the idea of learning from the world. As a young man, he went to visit his sister in England, but he was late in meeting her, because upon arriving, he missed the outbound train leaving the airport. While he waited for the next one, he had an epiphany regarding “just in time.”
Every component needed by an assembly plant needs to be available at just the right time. This strategy has also been incorporated in kaizen. Through today, and because of its assiduous application of just-in-time principles, Toyota is able to operate practically without storage warehouses. Toyota—the company that posted higher profits in 2004 than General Motors, Daimler-Chrysler and VW combined—remains the prime example of kaizen. Taichi Ohno, who ran Toyota’s main plant in the 1950s, invented the concept. At that time, the company was almost bankrupt. After the war, its heavy-duty commercial-vehicles division failed and employees were laid off. “That was highly unconventional in Japan,” says Imai. “Ohno took the situation to heart and tried to understand why it happened.” He discovered one recurring reason: over-production.
Driven by the threat of pending failure, Ohno insisted on examining every single process in detail—against fierce resistance. He was threatened by so many anonymous phone calls that he had his private telephone number disconnected. Toyota’s dire predicament did not prevent him from continuously seeking out excess and better solutions in the company’s operations, or “flow” as it is now called. The kaizen movement coined that term, too.
The advent of Mr. Oh-No!
“Ohno could be kind and understanding with employees and visitors, but he was always very hard on other managers,” remembers Imai. He also recalls that at some point his colleagues gave the boss the moniker of “Mister ‘Oh no!’” When he showed up, things got tense. “These days, senior managers want to be liked by everyone,” says Imai. “They’ve become soft and have forgotten that they need to challenge their middle managers.” Good kaizen managers, he adds, should always come to work with their game face on.
Driven by the threat of pending failure, Ohno insisted on examining every single process in detail—against fierce resistance. He was threatened by so many anonymous phone calls that he had his private telephone number disconnected. Toyota’s dire predicament did not prevent him from continuously seeking out excess and better solutions in the company’s operations, or “flow” as it is now called. The kaizen movement coined that term, too.
The advent of Mr. Oh-No!
“Ohno could be kind and understanding with employees and visitors, but he was always very hard on other managers,” remembers Imai. He also recalls that at some point his colleagues gave the boss the moniker of “Mister ‘Oh no!’” When he showed up, things got tense. “These days, senior managers want to be liked by everyone,” says Imai. “They’ve become soft and have forgotten that they need to challenge their middle managers.” Good kaizen managers, he adds, should always come to work with their game face on.
Imai came to the United States in the 1950s, when he was 26 years old, and he made a point of taking Japanese managers through American companies. He and his countrymen were looking for the secrets behind high productivity. In 1961, he returned to Japan and became its first corporate headhunter. Twenty years later, the situation was reversed. It was his turn to receive American visitors, and he showed them large-scale Japanese companies because now the Americans were intent on seeking out the secrets of their trading partner’s success.
“I gathered information every day on our production methods,” says Imai, “I wanted to give the West an understanding of what we were doing.” He went on to write the international bestseller Kaizen: The Key to Japan’s Competitive Success. Imai says kaizen is a universal ideal. “Many people have told me that kaizen has helped them in their personal lives,” he adds.
The concept of continuous improvement has a fundamentally human dimension. In promoting kaizen, its advocates sound much like Goethe’s Faust, the protagonist bent on eternal striving. As Faust says in his last scene, “Freedom and life are only for he who every day conquers them anew.” But there is a difference. Imai says that in contrast to Faust, kaizen managers should “first define very clear objectives.”
At 76, Imai still focuses on his objectives as clearly as ever, and he would like to speak with many more senior managers. After writing the 1986 classic, and its sequel Gemba Kaizen, he wants to publish his third book next year. “Maybe I’ll call it The Anatomy of Kaizen,” he says and laughs when asked if it is the last part of a trilogy.
This article was first published in our award-winning magazine, 'think:act'.
If you have questions or comments regarding this, or any other story, please do not hesitate to contact us:
“I gathered information every day on our production methods,” says Imai, “I wanted to give the West an understanding of what we were doing.” He went on to write the international bestseller Kaizen: The Key to Japan’s Competitive Success. Imai says kaizen is a universal ideal. “Many people have told me that kaizen has helped them in their personal lives,” he adds.
The concept of continuous improvement has a fundamentally human dimension. In promoting kaizen, its advocates sound much like Goethe’s Faust, the protagonist bent on eternal striving. As Faust says in his last scene, “Freedom and life are only for he who every day conquers them anew.” But there is a difference. Imai says that in contrast to Faust, kaizen managers should “first define very clear objectives.”
At 76, Imai still focuses on his objectives as clearly as ever, and he would like to speak with many more senior managers. After writing the 1986 classic, and its sequel Gemba Kaizen, he wants to publish his third book next year. “Maybe I’ll call it The Anatomy of Kaizen,” he says and laughs when asked if it is the last part of a trilogy.
This article was first published in our award-winning magazine, 'think:act'.
If you have questions or comments regarding this, or any other story, please do not hesitate to contact us:
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