What Disney Can Teach Us About Lean Methodology 2

Do you remember the Dodo in Disney’s Alice in Wonderland (1951)?  You know…  The bird who’s standing on a pillar of dry land, exhorting everyone around him to engage in a “caucus race” in order to stay dry?  If you’ve seen it, then the image below should refresh your memory.  And if you haven’t seen it, then take some time to watch it (it’s one of Disney’s finest)!

The Caucus Race

The Caucus Race

Here’s the dialog from the sequence:

Dodo: I say, you’ll never get dry that way!

Alice: “Get dry?”

Dodo: “Have to run with the others.  First rule of the caucus race, you know!”

Alice: “But how can I…” (starts running in circles with the others)

Dodo: “That’s better!  Have you dry in no time, now!”

Alice: “No one can ever get dry this way!”

Dodo: “Nonsense!  Why, I’m as dry as a bone already!”

Does this remind you of how your organization does business?

Lean methodology requires “walking the gemba”…  Essentially “being where the work happens”.  In manufacturing this could mean being on the manufacturing floor, or in a service industry it could mean being where the customer is served.  Its meaning changes depending on the type of process you are addressing, but the one thing to keep in mind is this: Like “Voice of the Customer” is important to understanding the customer’s perspective, “Voice of the Gemba” is important to understanding what is really going on with your process.

You can’t improve a process from your office just by looking at data; you have to get involved and immerse yourself.  Watch the process up close.  Talk with the people who live and work in the process.  Listen to them, and understand them.  By understanding the process (and not just the data produced by the process) you get a real feel for what is really happening in your organization.

And then, just when you think you know what’s going on, reflect for a moment on how much more knowledgeable the people who do the job every single day are.  This is why you should be listening to them when they have ideas, and involving as many of them as possible in process improvement.  The perspective and expertise of the people “in the gemba” is what makes process improvement work!

Have you ever seen a process improvement project conducted away from the gemba?  Join the conversation below…  and don’t be a Dodo!

2 thoughts on “What Disney Can Teach Us About Lean Methodology

  1. Reply Matt Warnert Jun 16,2016 8:17 am

    Hey Anthony,

    I’ve actually seen this go both ways. One time we issued out drawings that had two rather large pipes going through each other. Somehow one of the pipes had been missed during a survey of existing pipes. That was a Dodo moment. Just as concerning though is when people who are working on the floor come to you with ideas that clearly demonstrate they don’t understand their purpose in the system and probably shouldn’t be working on the floor.

    • Reply Anthony DoMoe Jun 16,2016 8:44 am

      Thanks for the comment, Matt.
      It is amazing how a disconnect between functions in the same process can create so much waste and confusion. Silos and stratification can definitely lead to issues like “the Dodo”; it looks like you’ve enjoyed your fair share of those experiences (as have I)!

Leave a Reply