Hardwiring 2

“Curmudge, in our last conversation about hardwiring you said you would tell me how to hardwire Lean.”

“If I said that, Jaded Julie, I spoke too soon. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about learning and hardwiring. May I share my cogitations with you?”

“Sure, as long as ‘cogitations’ aren’t something you’ve been drinking or smoking.”

“Back on May 8, 2008 we talked about how leadership often requires doing things which are not truly natural. The things that a young baby does that are natural are cry, nurse, and soil its diapers. As life progresses most of our actions have been taught to us until they become hardwired. You might think that brushing your teeth in the morning is natural, but in fact it was hardwired into your brain by your mother’s repeated insistence and reinforcement. We might feel that driving on the right side of the street is natural, but don’t try it in Great Britain.”

“I’ve got it, Curmudge. Hardwiring requires repetition, reinforcement, and sometimes intense study until it feels natural. If any element is most important, it’s repetition. That’s why my mother took me to religious services every week. We hardwire our morals and the elements of our character, and a society hardwires its mores.”

“So if repetition and reinforcement are essential for hardwiring, how much of it can we achieve in a one-week kaizen event or a one-day Lean Overview class?”

“I’m afraid not very much, and I’ll bet that was the conclusion that popped out of your cogitations. At least an event is usually a hands-on and brains-on activity for the participants. I’ll also bet that we won’t recommend subjecting the students to increasing amounts of ‘death by PowerPoint.’ “

“Excellent perception, Julie. How about this? Although we have the participants’ bodies for only the single day or week of the event, perhaps we could stretch their experience with pre-work and post-work. The pre-work could put their minds in learning mode, and whatever was done after the event would serve as reinforcement.”

“The event should include videos, games, discussions, and team activities. Perhaps even a pop quiz on the preliminary reading. If the event itself is memorable, perhaps more of the subject material will be retained. Of course, if any of the students is like you, Curmudge, we’ll need to keep him/her awake.”

“Although we’d like participants to retain details of the Lean tools used in the event, our most important goal is to hardwire the principles of the Lean culture.”

“Perhaps, Curmudge, we should shout them from the top level of the parking ramp at St. E’s. ‘Show respect for people.’ ‘Eliminate waste.’ ‘Use standard work.’ ‘Promote continuous improvement.’ We could do it every day at noon, just like a town crier.”

“I’d prefer to stay in out of the weather and just write a blog like Kaizen Curmudgeon. Every week we send a reprint of an earlier posting to each graduate of the Lean Overview course. But in the absence of organized reinforcement, you have to do it on your own. For example, there are blogs from many sources that one should follow to get a regular Lean ‘fix.’ Examples are http://dailykaizen.org/, http://leanhealthcareexchange.com/, and http://www.leanblog.org/ (although that author seems to feel that there is only one health care organization in town). While the blogs tend to be repetitive (and sometimes self-serving), they present Lean fundamentals from many different perspectives.”

“I think I know your bottom line on hardwiring, Curmudge, but I’d prefer to hear it in your trite, but umforgettable, manner.”

“A man on the street in New York City asked a passer-by how to get to Carnegie Hall. The passer-by’s answer was, ‘practice…practice.’ “

Affinity’s Kaizen Curmudgeon