Lean Management Teachers

Turn your meetings into kata exercises

© Emiel van Est

Introduction

You may have been practicing the Improvement Kata and the Coaching Kata in your corner of the organization for some time now. Therefore you know the importance of the Threshold of Knowledge and you have learned to stop conjecture and get beyond that Threshold of Knowledge by taking a step, conducting an experiment and learning from that.

Unfortunately, not everybody in your organization has learned these skills yet. You still have to attend these meetings where your peers keep talking way beyond their Threshold of Knowledge. You know that surging feeling of impatience to take a step, to do an experiment. But in many cases, you do not have the position or it is just not the time yet to make such a proposal.

If this is about you we have something for you: Kata Bingo!

© Emiel van Est 2

Purpose

The purpose of Kata Bingo is to collect points and if you reach 100 points to shout BINGO!

Collecting points is a way to build Kata skills. It is an exercise in collecting data and facts and in recognizing the Threshold of Knowledge.

© Emiel van Est 3

Collecting Points

Here are the categories and points associated:

Predictions of the future 5 points

If we do this then … will happen

Signs of uncertainty 10 points

Not sure; maybe; I think; could be, etc

Proposing to experiment 25 points

Designing an experiment 50 points

Setting a date to review the experiment 50 points and ending the meeting

© Emiel van Est 4

Form to use

© Emiel van Est 5

Time Name Points Quote

Total

Interventions

To win this game as quickly as possible you need to find ways to get a lot of points quickly. Can you come up with interventions that help the participants of the meeting to shift gears? Maybe the picture below is a good visual of the Target Condition.

Please share your interventions and have fun! emiel@leanmanagement.nl

© Emiel van Est 6