THE IMPROVEMENT KATADeliberate Practice to Develop Scientific Minds

Presented byMike Rotherat KataCon 2015

THE IMPROVEMENT KATADeliberate Practice to Develop Scientific Minds

The Improvement Kata is a process of deliberate

practice to develop more scientific thinking in

groups of people who work together

By Mike Rother 3

Scientific Thinking for Everyone

By Mike Rother 4

(1) SCIENTIFIC THINKING AS A LIFE SKILL

By Mike Rother 5

• Our perception is a clear lens.• Reasoning is mostly under our conscious control.

ASSUMPTIONS WE NATURALLY MAKE

When the brain receives sensory inputsthe unconscious mind interprets them andbuilds an explanation; quickly filling in gaps without us realizing it.

We wouldn't survive without this unconscious mechanism (too much information & too slow).

But... it also causes us to make errors. Ourpredispositions, natural mental shortcuts andnarratives influence how we see, think and react.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENS: BRAIN ILLUSIONS

By Mike Rother 6

Ca y u rea t is?

Please read aloud what you see

By Mike Rother 7

Ca y u rea t is?

Helpful! Our brainfills in the blanks.

By Mike Rother 8

IUMRING TQ

GQNGIUSIQNS

Please read aloud what you see

By Mike Rother 9

IUMRING TQ

GQNGIUSIQNS

Our brain fills in blanks heretoo, but it's a brain error.

We feel pretty sure, but we're wrong.

By Mike Rother 10

IUMRING TQ

GQNGIUSIQNS

Please read aloud what you see

By Mike Rother 11

A COUNTERMEASURE TOEVERYONE'S NATURAL BIASSCIENTIFIC THINKING

Scientific thinking is a routine of intentional coordination between what we think will happen (theory), what actually happens (evidence), and learning from the difference.

What weexpect

to happen

Whatactually

happenedLearning

"Let's try it and see"

By Mike Rother 12

A PREMISE OF THE KATA SUMMITIt's a skill for every day, at work & at home

Scientific Thinking is not just for professional scientists, but an essential & widely-applicable skill for everyone.It's a "Meta Skill" – a universal way of thinking that can be used to avoid cognitive bias anytime we try to solve problems and achieve goals.

By Mike Rother 13

A PREMISE OF THE KATA SUMMITIt's a skill for every day, at work & at home

What weexpect

to happen

Whatactually

happenedLearning

By Mike Rother 14

A PREMISE OF THE KATA SUMMITIt's a skill for every day, at work & at home

Scientific Thinking is not just for professional scientists, but an essential & widely-applicable skill for everyone.It's a "Meta Skill" – a universal way of thinking that can be used to avoid cognitive bias anytime we try to solve problems and achieve goals.

By Mike Rother 15

(2) WE HAVEN'T BEEN TEACHING IT IN A WAY THAT MAKES IT A SKILL FOR EVERY DAY

By Mike Rother 16

WE GET INTRODUCED TO THESCIENTIFIC METHOD IN SCHOOL

A systematic process to investigateand shed light on something that exists

This is the scientific approachused by professional scientists

By Mike Rother 17

EXAMPLESteps of the Scientific Method

By Mike Rother 18

Science Fair Examples

By Mike Rother 19

BUT THERE'S SOME MISMATCH

Why?Rather than investigating and trying to understand – like professional scientists do – our work and personal lives involve pursuing complicated goals.

This classic way of teaching scientific thinking is a goodstart, but it doesn't transfer so well into everyday life

By Mike Rother 20

THE IMPROVEMENT KATA PATTERNTeaches scientific thinking for daily life

A systematic processfor trying to achieve something

The Classic Scientific Method – A good start

A systematic process to investigateand shed light on something that exists

The Improvement Kata Pattern – Widely applicable

By Mike Rother 21

THE IMPROVEMENT KATA PATTERN

ExperimentsToward the TCAt the currentKnowledge Threshold

Challenge

Threshold of Knowledge

CurrentCondition

NextTarget

Condition(date)

Experiment your way forward, instead oftrying to decide your way forward

By Mike Rother 22

Born

ScientificThinking

LearnedOK... HOW?It's not our default mode.

We have those natural, unconscious mental mechanisms, especiallyas adults.

(3) SCIENTIFIC THINKING IS LEARNED SKILL

By Mike Rother 23

ACQUIRING NEW SKILL, MINDSET & HABITS TAKES SOME PRACTICING

COACHINGCorrectivefeedback

MASTERYSense of progress

Knowing is not enoughSorry

No SorryNo

This is how you do it

KATAStructured routines

for beginners

PRACTICEFrequent / Daily

By Mike Rother 24

It means that we can't just drop the Improvement Kata pattern (or any new pattern of thinking) by itself into an organization and expect people to now use it to solve problems.

THIS HAS SIGNIFICANT IMPLICATIONS

There's a process of developing the necessary scientific mindset in individuals via coached practice, while Learners work on real goals & problems.

"It takes conditioning to make behavioral routines become second nature, and consequently a lot of Toyota’s managerial activities involve having people practice the Improvement Kata with their guidance."

- Toyota Kata, page 186

This defines the manager's job

SO WHAT'S NEW HERE??

By Mike Rother 26

Scientific Thinking is not new.

Deliberate Practice is not new.

However, combining them is unique!

You have an opportunity...to maybe change the world a bit!

Kata Summit 2015!