Enabling Brains

By Kevin Meyer

I often talk about the importance of the oft-forgotten second pillar of lean manufacturing: respect for people.  So many companies, usually driven by enslavery to traditional accounting methods, think of their people as just a set of hands – completely forgetting about the value in the brain attached to the hands.  Which explains why companies would run around the world in search of lower cost hands while casting off brains containing an incredible – but unrecognized on a balance sheet – investment in training and experience.

This morning I happened across a TED Talks presentation originally discussed on Presentation Zen.  While Garr was more interested in the delivery characteristics of the presentation, I found the content to be inspiring.  Here was a person that inspired 200 of her young students to create change, then helped that to cascade to 30,000 students in one city, and eventually to over 100,000 students across India.  Identifying a problem and enabling young brains to create and implement a solution.  Kaizen.

So if a schoolteacher can do it for young students, shouldn't we be able to do the same for our teams?  Take a few minutes to watch the video below and think about the power.  Not to mention what India might be like in a decade if this continues to take root.