Toyota Taught Me A3s and I Almost Forgot
Happy Friday!
I finally got around to posting my beekeeping video, so if you want, you can take a look at that at the bottom of the newsletter.
I've been thinking a lot about metrics and measures as I prepare for my upcoming webinar and private workshop that will equip leadership teams to wield metrics, data, and signals successfully. Yesterday I woke up remembering something I had forgotten completely.
I was taught how to use A3S and build information radiators by Toyota when I was a consultant there.
I can really only get into one of these in the newsletter, and I think my experience with A3s is more interesting.
First off, A3 is a paper size. It's a bit larger than a normal 8.5x11, but not by some huge amount. The page is broken down into a series of sections. While most of the time these sections are fixed, there are variations, but they tend to focus on: Problem, current state, target state, root cause, countermeasures, plan, and sometimes risks.
A3s are also described as a thinking tool or communication tool, and while that is true, I think it isn't exactly obvious how that plays out, so I'll share my story.
I was asked by someone who I would describe as a senior director for recommendations to address their SDLC, and even though I was ready for this conversation, they asked me to do an A3 for it. I confessed I had never done one.
He stopped what he was doing and taught me.
This guy had plenty on his plate, but he and the other Director stopped and showed me an example A3, sent it to me, and walked me through how it worked and what to do. Then they said, "Go build one and bring it back."
I looked at the example A3, and it looked so obvious, but that was the trap. The A3 I was reading was a finalized A3, and the whole point is to make things obvious. The example A3 was about something I had no knowledge of, and it was crystal clear.
I found myself with a million questions and doubts as I filled out the A3. Was I doing it right? Was there a better way to express this? What details do I keep or remove?
I brought my version to them, and again, they both stopped what they were doing and looked. They asked a barrage of very obvious questions very matter-of-factly and said, "Do it again. Bring it back when you're done."
I did this at least 4 times.
Every iteration, they'd read it, ask their questions, and tell me to do it again.
Every iteration, I found ways to clarify what I was trying to communicate, and I found out what was really important and what wasn't.
Finally, I brought one to them, and they said, "Good. I understand."
Then they said something that hit me like a ton of bricks.
"If you were doing this for real, I'd sign here, then you'd start over with my boss and keep going until they understand and sign off."
So I asked how long it took them to do the A3 they gave me as an example, and they said, "About 3 months."
Now, this whole experience impressed a few things on me.
- Leaders stop what they're doing to help, no matter what. No delegation, no pointing to resources or training. You help.
- Leaders know the details and can help.
- The process works, but you have to remain faithful to it.
- You learn by doing, not by reading or thinking.
- Clarity and alignment are worth the effort.
I think of how a similar situation would have played out even in other companies with other leaders, and almost none of these things above would be true. Leaders would delegate or defer training. They wouldn't care to know about the content of A3S, just their status. They would give in to the temptation to abridge the A3 process to get to implementation sooner. They would rely on corporate training and websites and hope that was as good as hands-on experience, and trusted that a conversation with one person was enough clarity and alignment.
A bit of the management philosophy that I saw at Toyota from these folks, I would distill down into this concept that they don't mind doing what appears slow if it means they do it better. They do wind up getting very fast at these things, but it's because of the slow and intentional practice.
One last thing. I mentioned that leaders are expected to know the details. I really want to point this out. These two directors knew the content of every A3 in play. They knew what each of their 2 dozen or so development teams was building every sprint. They weren't micromanaging, but it was part of the job to know the details of what was going on.
Know what they never did? Ask for a status update.
Sincerely,
Ryan
PS: If you haven't signed up yet for my free webinar on the 21st, "Lies our Engineering Metrics Tell Us," you have time. Also, if you are interested in me and Esther Derby's workshop where we equip your leadership team to use data more effectively, let me know by replying.
🎥 Vertical Beehive Split: Using a Double Screen Board
Welcome to the first beekeeping video of the season!
In this episode, we are diving straight into the hives to handle some unexpected developments that turned a quick inspection into a major project.
Whether you are a seasoned pro or just curious about how honeybees work, there is plenty to see as we navigate the busy spring build-up….