Go Slow to Go Fast: Using Practical Problem Solving to Spread Kaizen

Building Sustainable Improvement Through Discipline and Clarity

Many organizations want faster improvement.

More ideas.
More action.
More results.

But in the rush to move quickly, teams often skip the most important work: deeply understanding the problem.

This webinar explores a powerful principle drawn from Toyota thinking:

Go slow to go fast.

When teams invest time upfront to clarify problems, identify root causes, and commit to realistic targets, implementation becomes faster, more effective, and more sustainable.

The Core Challenge

Improvement efforts often stall because teams:

• Jump to solutions before defining the problem
• Skip thorough root cause analysis
• Set vague or unrealistic targets
• Confuse containment with true countermeasures
• Move on before learning is fully captured

These habits create cycles of rework, frustration, and stalled Kaizen.

A structured problem-solving framework helps avoid those traps.

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What You Will Learn

🚦 What “go slow to go fast” really means in Lean
🧭 How Toyota Business Practices structure problem solving
🎯 Why committing to a target early strengthens accountability
🔎 How to clarify and break down complex problems
🌳 Why root cause analysis requires more than asking “why” five times
⚖️ The difference between containment and countermeasures
🔁 How to check both process and results
📚 Why sustaining and sharing learning is essential to spreading Kaizen

This session connects practical tools with leadership behaviors that support disciplined thinking.

The 8-Stage Practical Problem Solving Framework

This webinar walks through the Toyota-style 8-stage process:

1. Clarify the problem
2. Break down the problem
3. Set a target
4. Analyze root causes
5. Develop countermeasures
6. See countermeasures through
7. Check process and results
8. Standardize, share, and start again

While the stages appear linear, the process is iterative. Teams revisit earlier thinking as new insights emerge.

The goal is not paperwork.

The goal is learning that leads to better performance.

Why “Commit Before You Know Everything”?

One key insight discussed in the session is the importance of committing to a realistic target before diving into root cause analysis.

This:

• Focuses the scope of analysis
• Reduces fear-driven hedging
• Encourages disciplined experimentation
• Reinforces that improvement is iterative

Instead of promising total elimination of a problem, teams commit to meaningful, achievable progress — then build from there.

Countermeasures vs. Quick Fixes

Another central theme is the distinction between:

• Containment (protecting the customer immediately)
• Countermeasures (addressing root causes)

Both are necessary.

But confusing the two leads to organizations that spend years firefighting without eliminating recurring problems.

Practical problem solving builds capability to move beyond containment.

Sustaining and Sharing Learning

Improvement is not complete when results improve.

The final stage ensures that teams:

• Update standards
• Check adherence
• Share lessons learned
• Spread successful practices to similar areas

This discipline prevents regression and accelerates learning across the organization.

Who Should Attend

• Lean leaders and practitioners
• Continuous improvement professionals
• Healthcare and manufacturing leaders
• Operational executives
• Managers responsible for problem solving
• Anyone using A3 thinking or Kaizen methods

If your organization struggles with jumping to solutions or inconsistent problem solving, this session provides a practical framework grounded in Toyota principles.

About the Presenters

John Miller

Co-founder of Gemba Academy and former CEO of Kaizen Institute Consulting Group, John Miller has led dozens of Lean transformations across industries and countries. Raised in Japan and fluent in Japanese, he brings deep experience with Toyota Production System principles and practical problem solving.

Mark Graban

Vice President of Improvement & Innovation Services at KaiNexus, Mark Graban is an internationally recognized Lean consultant, author, and speaker who has worked extensively in healthcare and other industries to strengthen improvement culture and leadership practices.

The Central Insight

Speed without clarity creates rework.

Discipline creates momentum.

When teams slow down to understand problems deeply, they move faster toward sustainable improvement.

That is how Kaizen spreads.