In the book Toyota Kata, Mike Rother observes that the thinking behind Toyota practices is more important than the practices themselves. Yes, you might be able to improve a process by, say, copying a kanban system, but if you understand what led to that system in the first place, you have the key to improving every process you have – from customer service to product development on around.
Remember that the next time someone tells you about an achievement. And by all means, ask:
- What is the thinking behind that idea/decision/action?
Achievements are far less interesting than the process that led to them.