Nemawashi

If there is one thing that human beings do all the time is fail to make the right decisions. This happens in our personal lives, it happens in professional environments and it happens in politics. We learn by making mistakes and we learn by trial and error. The truth is that this is a process that seemed to be essential for our growth, but there is a way around this and the Japanese have called it Nemawashi.

The words Nemawashi basically means that you should consider as many alternative solutions to anything you are planning to do before you make a decision. You need to have a set-based approach if you want to get the best results. You start by finding out the customers needs. Then you do some competitive benchmarking and we learn as much as we can about the competition that is out there.

The Toyota production system has been using this method with amazing results. Nothing that they do comes from assumptions. All of their decisions are made after those steps have been taken and a solid and effective decision can be made.  They verify everything and they make it their priority to get things right from the very first try. This eliminates trial and error, but it does require patience and a great deal of knowledge on how to properly research both the customers needs and the competitors.

You can think of this as the ultimate method to enhance your business and create the perfect product launch or the ultimate service. If Nemawashi is implemented in your business, you will see the incredible benefits that come with it because you will be eliminating the uncertainty of assumptions and creating a very efficiency and accurate work environment.

— Slimane Zouggari