The Sensei Way at Work The Five Keys to a Lean Business Transformation

English | 2021 | ISBN: 0367370700 | 189 pages | True PDF | 7.59 MB
The Sensei Way follows in the wake of dozens of successful business books on The Toyota Way, the Toyota Production System (TPS),and Lean enterprise, yet it is unique. The book aims to identify the keys to sustaining Toyota's production system in Western enterprises -- a challenge that has stymied business leaders, consultants and authors for decades. Part One begins by citing numerous professional sports performers who "play in the zone." It contends that leading change to a Lean enterprise requires leaders who can play in the zone, that is, lead with presence in the moment, that is, with a Zen mind.
The confusion is the result of the fact that the Toyota value of "kaizen mind" has never been properly understood in the West. It is often misrepresented as a "hunger" for continuous business improvement. In fact, understanding the kaizen mind requires a Buddhist perspective, as it is a union of "presence" joined with a fitting "purpose" in a situation and a "flow" of leader engagement in which action and awareness are one. Thus, the key to success with a Toyota-style production system in the West isn't the tools and methods of "Lean" -- it's developing change leaders with kaizen minds. The Sensei Way is the mentoring process that uses immersion and coaching to evoke kaizen mind in aspiring change leaders.