Part of wondering what is next either for ourselves or for the country or for the human race, one starts to look at how to see into the future.
When I look back at how things have evolved in my career, every time I’ve done gone into a new area of accomplshment, I start working on it and then get the certification after I’m finished. I think it will help with something new but it is usually done once I get the final certification.
I have three certifications: Six Sigma Black Belt, Lean and Project Management Professional. I started doing lean by reading Japanese Manufacturing Techniques by Richard Schonberger in 1982. I loved it. It set me on fire, it was so right. But it wasn’t until I moved to a new company and had the opportunity in 1985-86 timeframe that I was able to implement it on a new program where it was a great success – attaining 46% gross profit margin and exceeding all expectations for the customer and the company. That whole process took at least 4 years. And then it wasn’t until 2010 when I became aware of a lean certification through Association of Manufacturing Excellence that I received certification for my work.
It is more like an afterthought to get the certification. As a matter of fact, you need so many years of experience doing the work in order to get the certification anyway, so I guess that’s the way it works.
It seems backward because going to school, you get a degree first before doing the work and then are expected to be prepared to accomplish something.
So, my thought is – how do you know what is coming next and how to prepare for it? I have a feeling that the next thing I’ll be doing isn’t any of the things I’ve done before (lean, six sigma or project management), but the system in place only wants to select people for jobs or projects who are already proficient in that area. They even expect them to have the exact experience in the industry, product and skills required.
This is the classic for young people – “you need experience to get your first job, but you need a job to get experience”. Somehow it all works out. They get a break and have the opportunity to prove themselves and that first job happens and then they usually stay in it without moving into something that may be more appropriate, interesting or rewarding because of that roadblock at the beginning.
I’ve got a feeling that I will be doing something completely different than what I’m doing now. My experience makes me feel very comfortable because, I’ve seen it before and know the geography where I’m treading. To get into a new area, you have to be a beginner. You have to be “stupid” and feel comfortable with that.
This is what the Kata prepares you for – the process for treading into new ground. It can be applied to manufacturing, business processes or your life.
To go back to the first example, I was exposed to it in 1981, implemented it in 1985 and certified in 2010. I had the first class in Kata 2011, I am hoping to start using it now in 2012 and hopefully it will lead me in the direction that is leading me. At any rate, it will teach me to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.
A funny aside – I have seen three applications of the Rosie the Riveter icon (see below for the original) We Can Do It : posted at a bulletin board at the Santa Ysabela liquor store on a Christian poster refering to Phil 4:13″I can do all this through him who gives me strength”, Pema Chodron – a Tibetan Buddhist nun (see below) and on one of Mike Rother’s posts referring to the Toyota Kata..
They are very diverse and not related but it indicates the emotional state we are in is similar to when we were in the middle of WWII when this image first came out. The young won’t remember that and I don’t either but my mom was a WWAC in WWII and my dad was a soldier in WWI who almost died on the death fields of France during the gas attacks, so I guess these symbols resonate with me.
What is the same between then and now? We are in a war but this one isn’t between bad and good. This one is within ourselves. We have to give up our individual “I” and become familiar with the big “I” because of the global world that is now in our awareness. I relate it the Buddhism because I see this as the most applicable, detailed description of this process. It is a scientific analysis of how to discard the little “I” which causes so much suffering (WWII as an example). In over 2,000 years Buddhism has detailed the process by which we become identified with the larger self. It seems to be that we are doing this.
It cause different levels of discomfort to all of us. Everything from the “end of the world” predictions to people spending more time meditating or doing yoga.
Some quotes from the Dharma from Chogyam Trungpa:
You sretch your arms and begin to develop dignity in your posture. The environment is friendly. It is called “Planet Earth”. Or it is called “Boston” or “New York City”. It is your world.
and
You need to relate with earth, the physical situations of life.
We have to face the eventual truth — not even the eventual truth but the real truth of our lives. We are here; therefore, we have to learn to go forward with our lives.