Toyota Kata Mindset

Align your teams. Get better at

achieving goals and meeting challenges
by Mike Rother
2013
Target
Condition

Next
Target
Condition

22.3

Current
Condition

Illustration by Dr. Lutz Engel

Entire document Copyright 2013 Mike Rother, all rights reserved
Mike Rother

1217 Baldwin Avenue / Ann Arbor, MI 48104 USA / tel: (734) 665-5411 / mrother@umich.edu

TOYOTA KATA

WHAT ID LIKE TO FOCUS ON TODAY

Visible

Less
Visible

Lean solutions (tools, techniques

and principles) to improve quality,
cost, delivery

A systematic, scientific
routine of thinking & acting
Managers as teachers
of that routine

I want to propose that this is

something middle managers
should spend more time on
Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

A FAMILIAR ILLUSION

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

ANOTHER FAMILIAR ILLUSION

Visible

We may know how a kanban

system works

Less
Visible

But we dont know what will

make your kanban system work

Important and
necessary,
but...

Which of these is the Lean community teaching?

What mindset is the Lean community creating?
Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

WE LIKE TO BE CERTAIN IN OUR VIEW

Thats the way our brain is wired
But once we think we know, we set a course and go, rather than
testing, learning and adapting. Thats where trouble begins.

Declarations of high confidence

mainly tell you that an individual
has constructed a coherent story
in his mind, not necessarily that
the story is true.
~ Daniel Kahneman
Thinking Fast and Slow

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

WHAT IS METACOGNITION?

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

WHAT IS METACOGNITION?
Its a big word for thinking about how you think

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

A QUICK EXPERIMENT
Take a moment... please cross your arms.
Then re-cross them the other way.

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

QUICK EXPERIMENT
Please clasp your hands.
Then clasp them the other way.

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

In each case, how did it feel the

second time compared to the first?

For most of us the other way feels odd.

You have to consciously think about it
and be more deliberate.

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

10

OUR UNCONSCIOUS HABITS ARE FAST & POWERFUL

Our brain creates habits for efficiency; to free up capacity
for when deliberate decision making is necessary.
Unconscious thinking enables you to get through the day
by taking care of routine decisions with minimum fuss.
Unconscious thinking is fast and instinctive, while
deliberate thinking is slow and intentional.

Unconscious
Thinking

Deliberate
Thinking

The subconscious is powerful because it can process

billions of bits of information per second, while our
deliberate mind can only process a few thousand per second.

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

11

MUCH OF WHAT WE DO IS HABITUAL

Like crossing our arms, performed almost without thinking
Habits are behaviors that have been repeated regularly and
occur unconsciously. The repeated behavior develops neural
pathways in the brain, making the behavior easier to complete.
Much of what happens in an organization is a consequence of
the habits that people in the organization have learned through
practice, whether deliberately or by happenstance.

However, a pitfall of many habits is that the past experiences

that created them do not necessarily represent future situations
Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

12

What would happen if you practiced

folding your arms the other way every day?

It would become normal; something

you can do without thinking about it.

You just did a bit of metacognition!

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

13

WE CAN CHANGE OUR AUTOPILOT

Humans have the ability to deliberately develop new habits!
We may think that all skill is innate -- that you are either
born with it or not -- but thats not 100% correct.
You can rewire your thinking and habits by deliberately
(consciously) practicing a targeted behavior pattern.
Once the pattern youre practicing enters your
unconscious it gets smoother and faster and becomes
the normal, habitual way you operate.

Deliberate
Practice
develops

Unconscious
Thinking

You can change the culture of an organization,

and even an entire society, this way.
Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

14

Part 2
WHAT IS A KATA?
A kata is a routine you practice deliberately so its pattern becomes a habit

Through practicing, the pattern of a kata

becomes second nature - done with little
conscious attention - and readily available.
Examples include riding a bicycle, driving a
car, typing. Once youve learned to drive you dont think
much about using the cars controls and can focus your
attention on the situational aspects of navigating the road.
Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

15

KATA CREATES CULTURE

This is deliberate,
conscious
daily practicing
Practicing
specific
new
behaviors

Affects

This is automatic,
unconscious
daily practicing
Team or
Organizational
Culture
Routines
Habits
Rituals
Norms

Teaches

Mindset
and
behavior

A
T
A
K ed
Is Usre
He

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

16

HERES THE COOL THING

We now have kata -- a structured way -- for teaching
and coaching this part

Visible

Less
Visible

Mike Rother

Lean solutions (tools, techniques

and principles) to improve quality,
cost, delivery

A systematic, scientific
routine of thinking & acting
Managers as teachers
of that routine

TOYOTA KATA

17

A DEFINITION OF MANAGEMENT
The systematic pursuit of desired conditions
by utilizing human capabilities
in a concerted way

Mike Rother

We are
here

We want
to be here
next

Current
condition

Desired
condition
Target
condition
Challenge

TOYOTA KATA

18

LEADERS & MANAGERS ARE TEACHERS, AND

THEIR ACTIONS DETERMINE COMPANY CAPABILITY
Whether consciously or not, with their everyday words
and actions all leaders and managers are teaching their
people a mindset and approach.

So it makes sense to ask: What patterns of behavior

and thought do we want our managers to be teaching
in our organization?

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

19

DELIBERATE versus AUTOMATIC TEACHING

Here the manager

is a coach who
deliberately teaches
a new way
Practicing
specific
new
behaviors

Affects

Here the manager

automatically
teaches the
prevailing culture

Team or
Organizational
Culture
Routines
Habits
Rituals
Norms

Teaches

Mindset
and
behavior

A
T
A
K ed
Is Usre
He

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

20

Practice Pattern 1: THE IMPROVEMENT KATA

This is the pattern that Toyota teaches
The Improvement Kata is a systematic and scientific
way for people to successfully navigate through
unknown territory together

Understand
the
Direction

Grasp the
Current
Condition

Establish the
Next Target
Condition

4
PDCA Toward the
Target Condition
ACT

Tar get
Condition

CHECK

CC

Mike Rother

PLAN
Go
and
See

DO

TC

The 5
Questions

TOYOTA KATA

21

 Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

22

Practice Pattern 2: THE COACHING KATA

This is a pattern for teaching the Improvement Kata
The Coaching Kata is a set of coaching routines to
practice in order to develop effective coaching habits.
It's a coaching pattern to help you teach the
Improvement Kata thinking pattern.
The Coaching Kata gives managers and supervisors a
standardized approach to facilitate Improvement Kata
skill development in daily work.

The manager / coach needs to know both

the Improvement Kata and the Coaching Kata!

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

23

THREE ROLES IN PRACTICING & TEACHING

Team

Process
Target Condition

2nd Coach
(coaches
the coach)

Coaching
Kata

Manager

(Coach, Mentor)

Focus here is giving

procedural guidance to
develop learners
Improvement Kata skill

Mike Rother

Improvement
Kata

Process

Learner
(Mentee)

Focus here is
applying the
Improvement Kata
to an objective

TOYOTA KATA

24

DEVELOPING A META HABIT THROUGH PRACTICE

What the coach is doing

.
.
.
.
. . . .. . . .
.
Unclear

The content
and obstacles
that the learner
works on are
situational and
will vary.

Obstacles

Current
Condition

Target
Condition

Territory

Coaching cycles
5Q 5Q 5Q 5Q 5Q 5Q
5Q
5Q
5Q
5Q
5Q
5Q
with the 5Q
5 questions

The Improvement Kata provides the form,

the focus process provides the content
Mike Rother

The pattern of
thinking and
acting (the kata)
stays the same
and repeats.
This is the habit
youre trying to
teach.

TOYOTA KATA

25

THE COACHS TASK

The task is to determine whether or not the learner is practicing
within the corridor of thinking and acting specified by the
Improvement Kata, and to introduce procedural course
corrections as necessary.
When the learner gets outside the Improvement Kata corridor
the potential for learning (for increasing the learners IK skill) is
great. In this case you can either provide a procedural input
now, or allow a small failure to occur and then provide the input.

Is the
learner
practicing
here?

Corridor of
Improvement Kata
way of thinking & acting

Or here?

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

26

CORRECTING THE LEARNER

The learner will naturally default back to his or her
existing ways of thinking and acting. The coach is
ensuring that the learner practices the right pattern
the right way.

Or here?

Photos from The Karate Kid, 1984

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

27

THE INTENTION IS NOT

AUDIT AND COMPLIANCE
Its this...

...not this

Teaching the learner how to play

the continuous improvement game

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

28

ITS A 1-2-3 PATTERN OF TEACHING

Try to understand how the learner is thinking.

(Coach is in an observing / questioning mode)

Compare this to the desired pattern -- the

corridor -- specified by the improvement kata.
(Coach is in a judging mode)

Introduce a course adjustment if necessary.

(Coach is in an instructing or guiding mode)

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

29

Part 3
HOW HAVE WE BEEN MANAGING?
Leaders and managers have tended to focus on outcomes and solutions

A solution at Toyota...

...copied at a U.S. company

Focusing on outcomes is a kind of implementation orientation,

which assumes the path to the desired condition is relatively
clear. With that thinking, managements task is:

Establish targets
Management
Maybe describe some solutions or tools
by Results
Provide incentives to get it done
Get out of the way and periodically check results

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

30

BUT HOW WELL

DOES FOCUSING ON OUTCOMES WORK?
The Candle Problem
Find a way to attach the candle to the wall so wax will not drip on the floor

Box of
tacks

Solution

Incentive: Group B is told they will receive a cash bonus

if they solve the problem faster than the average of
persons in Group A.
Experiments by psychologists Kark Dunker and Sam Glucksberg

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

31

THE SOLUTION AND THE RESULT

Find a way to attach the candle to the wall so wax will not drip on the floor

Problem as presented

Solution

Result? The members of Group B (the group with

the incentive) take three and a half minutes longer
on average to solve the problem.

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

32

ROUND TWO
Find a way to attach the candle to the wall so wax will not drip on the floor

Now four
separate
items

Problem as presented

Solution

Result? When the candle problem is presented

this simpler way, the members of Group B (the
group with the incentive) do complete the task
faster than the average in Group A.

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

33

FOCUSING ON OUTCOMES WORKS

WHEN THE PATH IS CLEAR

Solution easy to see

Solution difficult to see

Behavioral scientists have shown repeatedly that extrinsic

motivators work for tasks where the path is clear, but not for
challenging problems that require creativity and adaptiveness
(ingenuity) to solve.

Challenges where the path is unclear

are increasingly common
Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

34

KEY POINT
The implementation-oriented management approach
is not well suited to meeting challenges
Many companies practice
management by results
and ROI decision making,
as if the path were clear.

But we dont actually know in advance

what all the steps will be that will get
us to the next desired condition.

Predictable Zone

Learning Zone
Ob

Operating based on what

we see and think now

s
e
l
c
sta

(Plan & ROI calculations

Current
are made here)
Knowledge

Threshold

Target
Condition

ear
l
c
n
U itory
Terr
We want to
be here
next

When you take steps forward you discover things that were
not apparent back when we were calculating and planning
Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

35

EXAMPLE OF IMPLEMENTATION ORIENTATION

Action-Item Lists

Such lists and plans

= deciding in advance
how we will get there.
Yet the situation changes
as we move forward!
So we are not
experimenting and learning.
This is not an effective way
of tapping our ingenuity!

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

36

DEVELOPING SOLUTIONS
There may be only 3 things we can and need to know with certainty!

(1) Where we are

(2) Where we want to be next
(3) By what means we should navigate the
unclear territory between here and there.

Management
by Means

Obstacles
We are
here

plan
is
made
here

Unclear
Territory

We want
to be
here

This is a grey zone!

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

37

TK IS ABOUT MOBILIZING INGENUITY

IN AN ORGANIZATION
Ingenuity = Creating a way of doing something
that we want but cannot yet do.
The challenge can be anything, big or small:
An assembly operator and team leader want to
find a way to drive screws without cross-threading
We want to operate an assembly cell with four
instead of six operators (at the same output)
We want to injection mold parts in lot sizes that
are 50% smaller
We want to develop an electric car that goes
250 miles on a single charge

The approach is the same in each case.

The feeling is the same in each case.

How do we tap our ingenuity in organizations?

How do we mobilize and channel it?
Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

38

Part 4
WHERE DO AN ORGANIZATIONS
SOLUTIONS COME FROM?

Peoples
MINDSET

Mike Rother

Peoples
BEHAVIOR
PATTERNS

Processes
Products
Services

BUSINESS
OUTCOMES

TOYOTA KATA

39

WHAT IS MINDSET?
Mindset
A subconscious, habitual
way of thinking and feeling,
learned via successes and
failures

Behavior
Patterns
Determines how we
interpret and respond
to situations

A lens through which

we view the world

Two Points:
Mindset is the basis of organizational culture
If you want to change your organizations
culture youll have to change mindsets

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

40

LETS LOOK AT TWO MINDSETS

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

41

Mindset 1: A FIXED MINDSET *

We derive a lot of our sense of security and confidence from
certainty, and tend to seek it.
The way the adult brain functions, we naturally strive to operate
in what I call a Zone of Apparent Certainty, where things are as
expected, rational, calculable, logical, familiar, risk free & certain.
With this mindset:

We expect that things will go as planned

We feel we have control and can predict

Inside your current

knowledge threshold
Implementation
Like the candle problem
with the tacks outside
the box

Mystery
Uncertainty
Apparent
Certainty

Comfort
area

And many things should be as certain as possible!

Like the beam holding up the roof, or serving the customer.
*Terminology by Carol Dweck, Mindset (Random House, 2006)

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

42

BUT TRYING TO MAKE EVERYTHING

CERTAIN IS DANGEROUS

Here are three reasons...

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

43

#1: WHAT IS AHEAD OF US

ISNT CERTAIN
We can see only part way down the path to a challenging goal
Cant see all
the way there

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

44

 Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

45

#2: THE SPECIAL CAPABILITIES OF OUR BRAIN

GET ENGAGED WHEN WE DONT KNOW
You have to not know in order to learn

fMRI brain scan

of a person in a

Predictable
Situation

fMRI brain scan

of a person in a

Challenging
Situation

This brain is
coasting on
memory it already
has (which uses
less energy)

This brain is
actively engaged
in wiring circuits

fMRI Scans of brain activity by Dr. Gerald Hther

Presented at Production Systems 2009 Conference, Munich, May 2009

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

46

#3: WE ADVANCE TO NEW SOLUTIONS AND

LEVELS OF PERFORMANCE THROUGH DISPROOF
The scientific approach: learning and discovery come
from surprise; when reality differs from prediction

Confirmed

Strengthens
existing thinking
Weaves a highway
in your brain

Hypothesis

Refuted

Surprise. Potential
for new knowledge,
learning, discovery

A refuted hypotheses reveals a knowledge threshold

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

47

A THRESHOLD OF KNOWLEDGE
IS A LEARNING EDGE
To reach new levels
of performance a
knowledge threshold
has to be there

Two points about knowledge thresholds:

1) You have to acknowledge them to see them.
2) You see further by experimenting, not conjecture.

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

48

Mindset 2: AN ADAPTIVE MINDSET

With this mindset you learn to operate in two zones simultaneously:
The Zone of Apparent Certainty + the Zone of Uncertainty
In the Zone of Uncertainty:
There is a dilemma: We want to make the best possible plan,
but the optimum path will only be known in hindsight
There are unanticipated obstacles
You acquire/increase your knowledge as you go

Inside your current

knowledge threshold

Mystery
Uncertainty

Outside your current

knowledge threshold
Learning Zone
Ingenuity Discovery
Like the candle problem
with the tacks in the box

Mike Rother

Apparent
Certainty

Expanded
comfort
area

TOYOTA KATA

49

WHICH ORGANIZATION IS MORE LIKELY TO:

Execute successfully?
Adapt, innovate and survive long term?
Meet challenges?
Mystery

Mystery

Uncertainty

Uncertainty

Apparent
Certainty

Mike Rother

Comfort
area

Apparent
Certainty

TOYOTA KATA

50

Part 5
HOW DO YOU CHANGE OR DEVELOP MINDSET?
(and the organizational culture)

Psychology and brain research: Mindset can be changed.

Our thinking and skills are more transformable than we
thought. The brain has plasticity.
Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

51

MINDSET = NEURAL PATHWAYS OR CIRCUITS

The human brain is estimated to contain 100 billion neurons.
Clusters of neurons form circuits within the brain, which
underlie perception and thought.
For communication between neurons to take place, an
electrical impulse travels down an axon to a synapse, or gap,
where transmission occurs.

Dendrites (receiver)
Cell
Body
Axon (sender)

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

52

MINDSET IS PHYSIOLOGICAL!
The synaptic gap is what allows plasticity. The way neurons
function equips us for learning new patterns and habits.
Both the strength of connection between neurons (ease of information
transmission) and the number of connections increase with use. Whatever
you focus on and practice - with associated emotions - weaves a habit or
pattern into your thinking. (Emotion helps determine what to imprint.)
Dendrites (receiver)
Cell
Body

Untrained
Trained
Synapse
Synapse
(high resistance) (low resistance)

Axon (sender)

Yellow
Zone

Green
Zone

Habit
Innovating
Neurons that fire together wire together.
- Carla Shatz

Implementing

Every time you do something,

you are more likely to do it again.
- Alvaro Pascual-Leone

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

53

SO ORGANIZATIONS ARE FACED

WITH A DILEMMA
(A) Our brain favors existing neural pathways (comfort area)
We naturally and reflexively prefer routine, familiar activity in the
apparent certainty zone. It uses existing neural circuits, which
require less energy. Our brain likes to focus on familiar patterns.

(B) Meeting challenges - improving and adapting - means

building new neural pathways (learning area)
It is impossible to remove uncertainty from the process of
improvement, adaptation and creation. The way forward lies
outside our current knowledge threshold, and pursuing it activates
new neural circuits, which initially consume more energy.

Obstacles
We are
here

Unclear
Territory

We want
to be
here

So how do we get more comfortable & skillful

with the uncertainty zone?!
Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

54

A SOLUTION TO THIS DILEMMA

How can we be creative and effective in dynamic conditions
if we tend to automatically apply old solutions to new situations?
The trick is to develop well-worn mental circuits not for solutions,
but for a means of developing solutions along uncertain paths.
This is like training in sports: To prepare for contests with
unpredictable solutions, the focus of the training is not solutions,
but practicing how to play.
People can
handle
uncertainty,
work iteratively,
adjust and
adapt...
...if they have
practiced and
learned a way of
doing that.

Thats exactly what the Improvement Kata is

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

55

Part 6 CONCLUSION
THE IMPROVEMENT KATA GIVES US SOMETHING
TO HANG ON TO IN THE UNCERTAINTY ZONE
Its a kind of security blanket for the unpredictable zone

The Improvement Kata gives us a way of having more

confidence while navigating unclear territory. Ive never done
that before, but I know how to figure it out and find the way. It
helps us experience uncertainty more as an opportunity.
Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

56

DEVELOPING ORGANIZATION CAPABILITY

AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Practicing the Improvement Kata = expanding peoples comfort zone
The more people in an organization who get
to higher skill levels with the improvement kata:

Mystery
Uncertainty

Apparent
Certainty

The
The
The
The

more challenges the organization can take on

bigger the challenges it can take on
more knowledge it can build
faster it can move ahead

Target
Condition

Next
Target
Condition

Current
Condition
Illustration by Dr. Lutz Engel

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

57

ONE CONCLUSION IS BECOMING CLEAR

Were not going to be successful by copying Toyotas solutions

We should be copying how

Toyota develops solutions.
(Which is a universal, not
Toyota-specific, sciencebased approach.)
The Improvement Kata and
Coaching Kata are practice
routines for teaching and
transferring that approach.

Once you develop proficiency with the Improvement Kata

and Coaching Kata you can evolve them into kata that suit
your organization.

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

58

ANOTHER CONCLUSION
If we only periodically conduct training events or only
episodically work on improvement -- and the rest of the time
its business as usual -- then according to neuroscience
what were actually teaching is business as usual.

If we want a Lean revolution, then well need to shift emphasis

from staff-led, episodic improvement efforts, to daily efforts
coached by line managers. A slice of each day should be
focused on applying (practicing) your Improvement Kata.
Toyotas Change-Management Secret:
Make no distinction between day-to-day
management and change management.

Mike Rother

Daily

TOYOTA KATA

59

WHERE DO YOU & YOUR TEAM WANT TO BE NEXT?

What challenges are you trying to meet,
and whats your kata for getting there?

Obstacles
We are
here

Mike Rother

Unclear
Territory

We want
to be
here

TOYOTA KATA

60

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Visit the Toyota Kata Website

Mike Rother

TOYOTA KATA

61