A colleague of mine recently shared a story about the renowned Chihiro Nakao, student of Taiichi Ohno and founder of the Shingijutsu, the consulting group that teaches Toyota Production System principles. According to the story, a client once asked Nakao if he granted any Black Belt certifications. The question was relayed via a translator. It didn’t translate.
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The questioner was asked to repeat the query. Nakao laughed and then said something along the lines of, "I've been studying this for 50 years, and I am only now beginning to understand it." Wow!
So, here's my personal belief. Certifications are the form. The required learning and experience is the substance. Sometimes the substance is not very substantive, so choose wisely—and understand the limitations.
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Great Cow Story
Good points, great stories.
I walked into the CQM exam many years ago with a guy who was carrying an armful of books, all well-used and tabbed; he told me this would be his fifth attempt at taking the exam. "If I don't get it this time," he said, "I'm going to tell my boss where to go!"
My own take on it was that if someone with half a reference library under his arm couldn't pass the test in more than one try, he probably wasn't ready to be certified. Maybe he should have volunteered to become steak!
Stories from the past....
I had the distinct pleasure of experiencing a visit from Nakao. The visit was equally enlightening as it was painful.
Nakao (through the interpreter) said two things, one of which I relate to certifications. He said "look and feel, not Heart and Soul". After many discussions during his visit and for months after, the enlightenment came to be that many places (or people) have the appearacne of success and competence, while others ARE competent and successful.
To me, certifications are "look and feel", they promote the appearance of competence (or quality in the case of our friendly neighborhood steak!) without knowing if the Heart and Soul is embodied by the holder.
I beleieve Nakao was attempting to educate us that the actiivties we were performing (set-up reduction, regular Kaizen evetns, "5S days" (while the place was dirty in between the 5S days!!), etc. were all good, however hey missed the mark. we still were not looking for improvements (we were "done" with set-up reduction when we went from 2+ hours to a repeatable 15 minutes) or opportunities. We lacked the discipline engrained in the Hearts and Souls of "the true followers" . We were getting our certifications.
While this sounds like I may be agaisnt certification, I am not (my PE, CQE, Six Sigma Black Belt, MBA, BSME, ..... shows i still pursue the "look and feel"). I just believe that these certifications do not convey the true knowledge and understanding ... the journey to Heart and Soul...which is the important journey with the markers along the road the bits of wisdom picked up like agates along the beach....
Just some observations and ramblings.....
The search for Heart and Soul....
I had the distinct pleasure of experiencing a visit from Nakao. The visit was equally enlightening as it was painful.
Nakao (through the interpreter) said two things, one of which I relate to certifications. He said "look and feel, not Heart and Soul". After many discussions during his visit and for months after, the enlightenment came to be that many places (or people) have the appearacne of success and competence, while others ARE competent and successful.
To me, certifications are "look and feel", they promote the appearance of competence (or quality in the case of our friendly neighborhood steak!) without knowing if the Heart and Soul is embodied by the holder.
I beleieve Nakao was attempting to educate us that the actiivties we were performing (set-up reduction, regular Kaizen events, "5S days" (while the place was dirty in between the 5S days!!), etc. were all good, however hey missed the mark. we still were not looking for improvements (we were "done" with set-up reduction when we went from 2+ hours to a repeatable 15 minutes) or opportunities. We lacked the discipline engrained in the Hearts and Souls of "the true followers" . We were getting our certifications.
While this sounds like I may be agaisnt certification, I am not (my PE, CQE, Six Sigma Black Belt, MBA, BSME, ..... shows i still pursue the "look and feel"). I just believe that these certifications do not convey the true knowledge and understanding ... the journey to Heart and Soul...which is the important journey with the markers along the road the bits of wisdom picked up like agates along the beach....
Just some observations and ramblings.....
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