One place where the team sees where it stands
Obeya is Japanese for big room. Toyota used it while developing the Prius: all the information in one place, so that everyone saw the same thing and could decide together. But Obeya is more than a room or a board. It is a body of thought: a way of looking, choosing and doing together. What you see on the board is what the team thinks and agrees.
The same rhythm every week
The Navigator looks at what has changed and makes the agenda.
Short and standing at the board. About what is off track and what needs to happen now.
Agreements are on the board, and next week you see whether they were done.
Three misunderstandings about Obeya
Why it works
- A goal with a name and a moment attached is reached more often than a good intention.
- Anyone who sees along the way how things are going can adjust before it is too late.
- Anyone who agrees in advance: if it is this moment, then I do that, really does it far more often.
And one warning we always pass on: a number steers behaviour, in the wrong direction too. That is why we first look at what a number does to people before it goes on the board.
Know on Monday what you are doing it for.
Curious what this could mean for your team?