The heftiest management tome ever, entitled Business - the Ultimate Resource, has just appeared. Its 2000-plus pages are full of excellent guidance. Here are three examples, starting with Masaaki Imai, the revered Japanese father of kaizen, or continuous improvement.
He preaches the Five Golden Rules of Gemba, the first of which is 'When a problem (abnormality) arises, go to gemba first'. So what's gemba? It's the shop floor, or equivalent. Once there, you apply
Golden Rule Two: check with gembutsu (relevant objects).
Three: take temporary counter-measures on the spot.
Four: find the root cause.
Five: standardise to prevent recurrence.
Standardisation is the managing part of getting good gemba. You also need good housekeeping (Imai is very keen on cleaning machines) and muda, the elimination of waste. But all hinges on getting away from your desk. Obey the master Imai. GO TO GEMBA!
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