The Harada Method, 2nd Edition: The Spirit of Self-Reliance - Takashi Harada

Partial Excerpts (antilibrary)

Copyright

2012

Testimonials

It is the focus on building your character while at the same time helping you achieve success

visited Kobe Mazda. This company achieved great success having implemented Harada’s system throughout their organization

we embraced the people side of lean and started our self-reliance journey

The Harada Method’s four aspects of self-reliance – spirit, skill, physical condition, and daily life – which comprise the daily disciplines required to be fully self-reliant

Apart from the achievement of goals that reflect the best of individual capability, and the real happiness and excitement that comes with that, other impacts I have seen include:

Bringing focus and structure to minds and actions that previously reflected chaos and confusion

Individuals that know daily what needs to be done next, to achieve their goal(s), rather than only reacting to today’s issues

The development of new habits and behaviors through the power of reflection.

The alignment of people within a business with a common goal and the synergy and success that results.

Introduction

"The reasons why people cannot achieve their goals are not because they lack abilities or characters, but because they are setting their goals in a wrong way and trying to achieve them in a wrong way.”
– Takashi Harada

Over 30 years ago, in 1979, I started a company called Productivity, Inc. in Stamford, Connecticut. At the time American productivity growth rates were declining and the Japanese were advancing at 9% per year

My goal at that time was to discover the innovative ideas that the Japanese manufacturers were doing

I first studied at the library but couldnʼt find the answer at all and then I went to New York City to attend an “Industry Week” conference and heard a presentation by Joji Arai, manager of Japan Productivity Centerʼs Washington, DC office. After his talk, I went up to him to ask him if he could help me arrange a study mission to Japan. I wanted to get inside some of the world’s best plants to see for myself what they were doing. He agreed

I soon found myself shaking hands with such visionaries as Taiichi Ohno ⁶, Dr. Shigeo Shingo ⁷, Dr. Yoji Akao ⁸ and Dr. Ryuji Fukuda ⁹ to name a few. These were the people developing what we all know of today as Lean manufacturing.

Yet, with all I did to help promote Lean manufacturing, I always felt that something was missing

I felt as if I had finally found that link when I learned about Takashi Harada and the Harada Method

1. Finding Harada

When people pick strong goals, with purposes and values that serve not only themselves but also serve others, their entire character changes.”

• Takashi Harada

Shigehiro Nakamura over Skype from Tokyo. Mr. Nakamura is a former senior manager with Hitachi Metals and now is an instructor with the Japan Management Association (JMA).

Mr. Nakamura would review with us his Production Technology MAP, which showed in detail how a company could discover specific steps to take to become world-class competitive.

The MAP is an instrument that gathers the best ideas from a wide group of managers on how to become world-class manufacturers onto one piece of paper

In the MAP, 38 categories were investigated, including; Quality, Cost, Delivery, Production, Safety/Ecology, Morale, Management Indicators, Standard Manpower, Reviews in Advance, Set-up Improvement, Equipment Management, Automation, Zero-Defect Production, etc.

The MAP fascinated me. It was a gold mine!

Shortly after we began our sessions with Mr. Nakamura, he taught us about the seventh category – “Standard Manpower,” that included the following countermeasures: “100% standard time achievement rate + 3% improvement per month” and “Day-to-day management by objectives.” The benchmark examples were “Old Canon Production System” and “Daily Management System by Takashi Harada.”

The Worldʼs Best Concept on Day-to-Day Management

Mr. Nakamura gave us some of the details of Mr. Haradaʼs work and sent us a video of Mr. Harada giving a lecture

What I heard got me very excited. Most of the categories on the MAP related to process and product improvement, but “day-to-day management” was about how managers could better manage and develop their employees as well as their own careers.

It overcomes the Eighth Waste of Lean: the underutilization of peopleʼs creative talents

Meeting Mr. Harada

After studying his material, I felt exactly the same way as when I discovered Dr. Shigeo Shingo and Taiichi Ohno. I believed that Japan had another great genius for me to bring to the Western world

I told him I wanted to come to Japan to meet him, learn more about his methodology and publish his works in English

Mr. Harada, however, told me he preferred to write a new book for an American audience, and agreed to let me co-author the book

prior to entering the business world, Harada was a junior high school track and field coach at the worst school out of 380 in Osaka, Japan

the most depressed area of Osaka

Not only were so many of the students failing academically, but few had ever experienced any kind of success athletically

Harada set out to change that and within three years his school became one of the best for athletics and many of the students started to make dramatic improvements academically too

Many of these former underachievers also received scholarships and went on to high school, college and into successful careers in industry

In 2002, Harada left the school system and opened a consulting practice in Tokyo to teach his method to industry

To the students, winning the competition felt like winning an Olympic medal

Mr. Harada believes every person can and should be allowed to pick their own success goal, something that will get them excited about their life and future

In Haradaʼs own words…

the majority of the students did not care about their schoolwork because they had no dreams to live for. They had no future vision that helped direct them

Soon, I figured out where their answers came from. Their answers were the same as those of their parents: “My kid canʼt do that, because she is not smart enough

both groups actually had dreams, but that they had lost the belief they could make their dreams come true

The thing my students needed most was to learn how to be self-reliant. Being self-reliant would help them get on the right track, even without having parents or adults guiding them. Once they learn how to be self-reliant, students can think, decide, and act to make their dreams come true and achieve their goals

2. What is the Harada Method?

Champions aren't made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision.”

– Muhammad Ali

The essence

of the Harada method is what we call “self-reliance.” Self-reliance is the ability of each person to become so skilled at something that she or he is virtually irreplaceable. They become artisans in disciplines they choose that serve their future and also the success of their organization

Throughout this book we will go into great detail on each step of the method, but here is a brief overview of the different steps and some of the forms that you will be completing as you move through each chapter.

Harada Method Overview

You will see the following five forms as we proceed throughout the course:

33 Questions for Self-Reliance – gauges how self-reliant you see yourself.

Long-Term Goal Form – the heart of the Harada Method. This form is the main tool that organizes your goals and purposes, your self-analysis, and your action plan.

*Open Window 64 Chart – a framework for coming up with the tasks and routines you need to complete to accomplish your goals. *

Routine Check Sheet – a daily checklist to help you strengthen your habits.

Daily Diary – a planning tool that helps you organize each day to improve your productivity. It also teaches you to reflect on each day so that you can gauge your daily progress

To complete each of the five above forms you will first have to follow the five overarching steps of the method, which are:

Goal – picking a goal that is right for you.

Purpose – understanding why you want to achieve this goal. The stronger your purpose, the easier it will be for you to reach your goal.

Analysis – looking at the past and potential future to reinforce your strengths and eliminate your failures.

Action – building an action plan.

Implement – incorporating your plan into your daily life, making yourself accountable for your actions, and sustaining your efforts.

We can further break down the five main steps into 20 basic steps of the Harada Method. They are not necessarily complicated, but they do require you to put in the effort and do them diligently. The steps are:

Step 1 – Believe in Yourself

Step 2 – Become Self-Reliant

If you can get passionate about something and develop a deep knowledge of a subject, you will become self-reliant – possessing the wisdom to know how to use that skill for the

Step 3 – Determine the Key Service to Others

serving others is an important key to your own success.

Step 4 – The Long-Term Goal Setting – Select Your Main Goal

It is not easy to pick a goal, but you can do it

Step 5 – Setting Different Goal Levels

you will set four kinds of goals: highest goal, intermediate or moderate goal, confident or easiest goal, and what you think you can do with your current capability

Step 6 – Set Milestone Goals

write down some measurable milestone goals between the time you start and your goal due date to help motivate you to stay on track.

Step 7 – State Your Purposes and Values

The deeper the purpose and the more meaningful it is to you and to others, the easier it will be for you to attain your goal

Step 8 – Analyze Yourself

We want you to repeat behaviors that led you to success in the past. To do this, think of your past successes and write them down. Then write down the reasons you succeeded, using the following categories: mental, skills, health/physical condition, and life/living (we will explain the categories in more detail later in the book). Repeat the process for your past failures and challenges, except that this time write the behaviors you want to avoid repeating.

think of your past successes and write them down. Then write down the reasons you succeeded

Step 9 – Create Your 64-Chart with Eight Areas to Achieve Your Goal

write down eight areas that will support your goal.

you might write down: Study, Marketing, Public Speaking, Teaching, Writing,

Step 10 – Write Eight Tasks for Each Area

Step 11 – Write a Start Date for Each Task

Step 12 – Select 10 Tasks to Get Started

Step 13 – New Routines Build New Habits

The 10 routines can come from your 33 Self-reliant words, from your analysis section, or from the 64- Chart.

Step 14 – Write Affirmations (Self-talk

Step 15 – Determine the Kind of Support You Need

Step 16 – Select People to Support You

Step 17 – Use Your Routine Check Sheet

every day, keep track of how many routines you did

you will record every day your success in keeping your promises to yourself.

Step 18 – Keep a Daily Diary

to schedule your activities and to focus on the tasks and actions that need to be done to work closer to your goals. At the end of each day, use the diary to reflect on the challenges and successes

Step 19 – Work with a Coach/Mentor

Step 20 – Revise Your Forms Monthly

Hereʼs an example of how you could use the Harada Method to set the goal of becoming an astronaut

You evaluate yourself on a scale of one to ten using the 33 self-reliant words. Then you determine what you will do to move up your capability on those words where you score yourself less than ten.

You write down exactly what you want to do as an astronaut and the date when you want to become one