Managing to Learn: Using the A3 Management Process to Solve Problems, Gain Agreement, Mentor, and Lead (Paperback)

by John Shook (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Managing to Learn by Toyota veteran John Shook, reveals the thinking underlying the vital A3 management process at the heart of lean management and lean leadership. Constructed as a dialogue between a manager and his boss, the book explains how A3 thinking helps managers and executives identify, frame, and then act on problems and challenges. Shook calls this approach, which is captured in the simple structure of an A3 report, the key to Toyota's entire system of developing talent and continually deepening its knowledge and capabilities. The A3 Report is a Toyota-pioneered practice of getting the problem, the analysis, the corrective actions, and the action plan down on a single sheet of large (A3) paper, often with the use of graphics. A3 paper is the international term for a large sheet of paper, roughly equivalent to the 11-by-17-inch U.S. sheet. The widespread adoption of the A3 process standardizes a methodology for innovating, planning, problem-solving, and building foundational structures for sharing a broader and deeper form of thinking that produces organizational learning deeply rooted in the work itself, says Shook. Management expert James Womack predicts Managing to Learn will have a deep impact on the way lean companies manage people. He believes readers will learn an underlying way of thinking that reframes all activities as learning activities at every level of the organization, whether it's standardized work and kaizen at the individual level, system kaizen at the managerial level, or fundamental strategic decisions at the corporate level. A unique layout puts the thoughts of a lean manager struggling to apply the A3 process to a key project on one side of the page and the probing questions of the boss who is coaching him through the process on the other side. As a result, readers learn how to write a powerful A3 - while learning why the technique is at the core of lean management and lean leadership.

Product Details

• Paperback: 138 pages
• Publisher: Lean Enterprise Institute (2008)
• ISBN-10: 1934109207
• ISBN-13: 978-1934109205
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,534 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Lean Leadership Reading Yet!, February 14, 2009

By	William C. Zeeb (Geneva Switzerland) - See all my reviews

THE FIRST BOOK I RECOMMEND TO EXECUTIVES AND LEADERS ON A LEAN JOURNEY.

John Shook, building upon his Japanese language and work experience including 10 years with Toyota has again written a practical book which will accelerate those on a lean journey.

Of 250+ continuous improvement books studied over the past 19 years, this 2008 release immediately ranks amoung the top 5 in my library. Helpful for those biased through exposure to Six Sigma and DMAIC, this book is ideal for practitioners, leaders and consultants.

The soft side of change is very well addressed. Advocacy, inquiry, gaining buy-in, fear, frustrations and jubilation are presented in a creative and highly effective format (although some may not appreciate nemawashi and hansei at first) . The soft skills are the hardest part of any lean journey and normally receive too little attention.

Most pages are divided into a right and a left hand column representing the project leader and the executive who is the coach of the project leader. The use of this unusual format addresses one of the most challenging issues (and opportunities for improvement) when embarking upon a lean journey......engaging leadership in their role of driving organizational learning through coaching.

The introduction felt "slow," but do not let the first 7 pages discourage you. The story told is rich with real world emotions, dead ends, and rewritings, including numerous additional A3 case studies.

For those without a flexible mind and the ability to think in processes, the document translation process improvement story line throughout the book may not seem applicable to manufacturing processes. A lean journey requires this mental agility in any case, so Shook likely choose this story because if the reader is not flexible enough to relate to the example, they are not ready for lean.

Understanding A3 Thinking: A Critical Component of Toyota's PDCA Management System compliments well Managing to Learn with a slightly different view of technical aspects. Mr. Sorbek's work contains a tasty case study which the reader is invited to complete and compare with one excellent example.

Looking forward to the next thought leadership from Mr. Shook, perhaps on TWI and standardized work?

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Introduction to the Use of the A3 plan for problem solving, December 10, 2008

By	Mr. Ross Maynard (Glasgow, Scotland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In a readable and accessible style, John Shook provides an excellent introduction to the "A3" plan for problem solving. It is the most accessible and understandable beginners level book I have seen on the subject.

Pascal Dennis' "Getting the Right Things Done" also covers the A3 process - though for strategy deployment. Personally I find John Shook's "Managing to Learn" more readable and a better introduction to the A3, though they do cover different ground and the one doesn't replace the other.

If you want to know more about the A3 planning and problem solving process - that ties everything in lean together - this is a great place to start.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Essence of A3 Techniques, January 27, 2009

By	Jeff Fuchs "Lean and Six Sigma Consultant" (Baltimore, MD United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

John Shook has written a solid book that can stand proudly alongside the other books in the Lean Enterprise Institute's lineup. This book is especially useful for those new to lean who want to understand the nuts and bolts of how the A3 management system works. Most people new to lean begin applying the tools without a full appreciation of the management system or the real thinking that goes on behind it. Without these supporting mechanisms, people's efforts at lean deployment generate small results and sustainment is poor. A3s are one of the key tools to successful deployment.

As with other books in the LEI lineup, this book is very readable. The illustrations are simple, the examples are straightforward, and the text is well-edited and well-structured. This book takes a fictional company as an example. As one who helps teach others, the narrative style has irritated me because authors frequently use it in a pure storytelling format. Books like these often have little instructional value because they are difficult to study from. Managing to Learn tells a company's example story, but it also explains and discusses the narrative events in a second column of text in the margin. Its almost like your floating above the players with your sensei, hearing the thoughts of the actors and an explanation by your lean leader. Combined with sidebar comments and uncluttered illustrations, the layout and style of this book make it a rich reference and a great study and teaching tool.

As the book points out, there are a number of ways A3s can be used, and Managing to Learn shows examples of each. The theme linking all of these together is the systematic problem solving thinking that is at the heart of A3 thinking.

I am a consultant and I currently manage a consortium of over 50 companies working together to become lean organizations. For a number of reasons, I have made the preparation of A3s for every kaizen improvement event a MANDATORY requirement for all my clients and consortium members. One of the key results of doing so is that it gets people oriented from day one understanding that lean is more than just using tools - you are solving problems, and going from problem, through analysis, down to root causes, and on to a plan that you implement and check, is the structured thinking that A3s create.

I recommend this book highly, and it is now on the short list of required reading I endorse for anyone using lean tools and principles.