Hansei

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  Reflection can be a great way to gather critical opportunities from a project.  The term Hansei refers to the reflection and recognition of one's own actions.  Hansei is often used to recognize one's own mistakes and commit to taking the appropriate actions in order to resolve and avoid recurrence of one's mistakes.  The Hansei can be performed in a team environment or in a personal reflective manner, either way it is important that teams and individuals stretch their mind enough to find something they can improve upon. 

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So, where can hansei be performed? The act of reflection can be performed at one's desk or in a boardroom after a project.  It can be performed in casual conversation or deep analysis with documents and data. In fact, it can be performed anywhere you feel reflection is appropriate. The most important aspect of hansei is that it is performed regularly.

How to perform Hansei
  While there are many different ways you can perform hansei, these three steps will help you get started.  Before we begin, it is important to understand that Hansei is a quick 15 minute reflection period.  It is very easy for reflection to turn into a meeting and drag on.  With that being said, you’ll want to bring the necessary people together and start things off on a positive note.  You can ask:

1. What went or is going well?  This simple open ended question can help people focus on the positive.  It can also help others learn from others by benchmarking best practices.  Responses should be as specific as time will allow.
2. What is not going well?  (why, why, why, why, why).  Next address things that are not going well.  This can get all the struggles out on the table and give people an opportunity to support one another and move forward.  You may want to assign a scribe to take notes during this section of the Hansei.  As people reveal problems you may want to conduct a “very” quick 5 why analysis.  Be cautious of time though.
3. How can I/We Improve this? (focus on changing the root cause).  In the last phase Hansei focuses on finding ways to improve and setting actions.  You may generate ideas for improvements or you may find areas where support is needed.  All of these ideas that have consensus should become actions.

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Challenge:

• Reflect for 5-10 minutes today.  During your reflection decide on one important area of your life you would like to change.  Share your reflection experience in the comments section below and receive a coupon to one of Lean Strategies International LLC's courses.

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