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Entrepreneurs and the “Oh! No!” Trap

Guest post by: Sylvia Lafair

Article Overview: Ever hear of the “Ohno Circle”? It was started by Taiichi Ohno on the Toyota shop floor decades ago. Mr. Ohno was known to draw a chalk circle around managers and engineers and have them stand still in the circle to observe and document all the problems in that particular production area. They had to stay and stand for hours to see and understand what was not working and then figure out how to fix the issues.

Entrepreneurs and the “Oh! No!” Trap

Ever hear of the "Ohno Circle"? It was started by Taiichi Ohno on the Toyota shop floor decades ago. Mr. Ohno was known to draw a chalk circle around managers and engineers and have them stand still in the circle to observe and document all the problems in that particular production area. They had to stay and stand for hours to see and understand what was not working and then figure out how to fix the issues.

This reminds me of a Kung Fu film where "Grasshopper" was required to stand at attention for days, through all kinds of weather to test his ability to focus.

In our fast paced world it appears that Mr. Ohno's circle has lost its relevance. Maybe that is why Toyota went through such a tough patch with cars not meeting the highest standards it once was so well known for.

The circle we need to be wary of is the "OH! NO! CIRCLE". And entrepreneurs are often the ones to fall down this rabbit hole and be trapped. Here is the caution: be careful about looking but not seeing, hearing but not listening, responding but not connecting.

We live in a time of snap shots and sound bites and we complain we just don't have the time to look at long range consequences. The BIG question is why do we not have time? Time for what? Time to ask the BIG questions about why we are doing what we are doing, what do we really want and need, how can we streamline our work so it truly is smarter and not harder?

Maybe we should bring back the "Ohno Circle" so it doesn't end up with frayed nerves regretting overly quick decisions that end up as Oh! No!

Take some time, draw a circle around yourself and sit in that unusual place for entrepreneurs, silence. Take a deep dive as we ask those in our "Total Leadership Connections" program to do; think about who you are and what you want and need. Mr. Ohno would be proud!!

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Article Tags: entrepreneurs, leadership, Ohno Circle



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