Giuliani at the Gemba on 9/11

By Kevin Meyer

Today's Wall Street Journal has a review of the National Geographic Channel's documentary "Giuliani's 9/11" which takes tells us about the events of that day through the eye's of New York's then mayor.  What's front and center in the review and apparently in the documentary?  Giuliani's decision to go to the gemba.

The mayor rushed to the scene—a decision that later drew criticism from those who thought he took an unnecessary risk and could have better managed the situation from a distance. "I have this theory about managing an emergency," Mr. Giuliani explains, "which is you have to see it. It's one thing for somebody to describe something to you; it's another thing to actually see it."

Bingo.  Exactly why "go and see" is a key component of lean manufacturing.  Really going to the gemba is not just biz-school MBWA jargon - it's seeing for yourself, asking questions, taking charge, and teaching others how to see what you see.

Their vehicle brought to a standstill by the sea of pedestrians fleeing the area, the mayor's team decided to travel the last several blocks on foot. What they saw there was beyond comprehension. "It would have been impossible for me to make decisions about this if I hadn't seen it. I'd have made all the wrong decisions. I wouldn't have realized how vast it was, wouldn't have realized how many resources we needed."

So how many of you still make key decisions from a conference room?  What are you missing?

Comments

[Jim Fernandez]

Oh so true.!!

Sometimes I sit at my desk and I try to figure out what is going on; or I sit at my desk and I try to analyze the data. And every time I do that I miss the mark. When I go out to the gemba the problems and the answers are much more clear.

[Steven Bonacorsi]

Walking the process can be hard in transactional processes, but it can be done with phone interviews with the workers doing the work, most are happy to share their problems, and ideas and solutions, if they believe you really care and are genuinely trying to help make their lives easier.

[Joe M.]

Steven said "walking the process can be hard in transactional processes". I have found the best way to walk a non-manufacturing process is by being trained how to do the job. There is no better way to observe waste than be working the process on your own. I would tend to disagree that a telephone interview is anywhere close to Gemba