Martien van Steenbergen

Since 2000 or so, I regularly use a Hoshin sheet to jumpstart new projects or business.

Hoshin Kanri has its roots in the 1950s when lectures by Dr. Deming and Dr. Juran in Japan taught the Deming Wheel (PDCA Cycle) and the need to focus on management processes for continuous improvement, including both Breakthrough Management and Daily Management.

Hoshin Kanri is an organising framework for strategic management. It is concerned with four primary tasks:

• it focuses organisation attention on corporate direction by setting, annually, a vital few strategic priorities;
• it aligns these with local plans and programmes;
• it integrates them with daily management, and
• it provides for a structured review of their progress.

More and more companies recognized its value over the 30 years of refinement. Today, The Toyota Way resonates very well with the practices of Agile Software Development. Joined with holacratic principles, government and practices it grows into a very effective leadership instrument.

Read more on Hoshin Kanri on AardRock’s Wiki.