First, my apologies to any of you who don’t like the “Lean” tendency to use Japanese words. I ask you to bear with me for a brief discussion of the important concept behind the terms “Gemba” and “Genchi Genbutsu.” Both mean about the same thing: “the actual place” or “where the action is happening.” One of Lean’s core values is that decision-makers must have a deep understanding of “gemba,” and this usually requires spending time there. The key point is “seeing the actual situation with your own eyes.” If a person is assigned to improve the process of gluing-up hardwood panels in a furniture-making operation, that person should observe the current process carefully. A product-designer tasked with creating a new knife-holder must watch cooks use knives in the kitchen. An office manager trying to solve the problem of errors occurring on work orders should watch the inside-sales person type in orders from customer phone calls.
A few years ago, the preacher at my church did a sermon on 1 Kings 10:1-13 in which the Queen of Sheba comes to visit King Solomon of Israel. Verses 6-7 say, “6 And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, 7 but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard.”
She was following “genchi genbutsu”: confirming with her own eyes by going to the “real place” where the activity was happening. I don’t claim that this Bible passage teaches that we should strictly comply with gemba thinking in business. But it IS a good example and seems to be clearly approved in scripture. I pass it on for your consideration.