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SEM Dharma
May 8, 2008 |
NEARLY EIGHT WEEKS ago I wrote a post about Zen Master Bernie Glassman and his work with the Greyston Bakery and JIT. In the post I mentioned that the more I study the Toyota Way and the Toyota Production System (TPS) which JIT is a part of and the more I study the teachings of Dogen Zenji through the works of Glassman and more recently Hardcore Zen author Brad Warner -the Toyota Way and Zen Buddhism are one in the same. If you spend any amount of time reading about each and comparing TPS and Zen practices the level of discipline and simplicity are strikingly similar.
SEM Dharma
Since the post about Bernie Glassman, I came across another article which validated my conviction that elements of the Toyota Way and Zen practices are closely related. In Bob Butera’s Editor’s Note in the recent issue of Yoga Living, he defines dharma as ‘the essential order of things’. There are other translations and uses of the word dharma in Buddhism, but for me, I read Butera’s definition and liken that to the TPS tool 5s. The 5s tool (Sort-Set in Order-Shine-Standardize-Sustain) is simply a standardized way of organization. If this is your first time to this blog I have written about 5s and its use in SEM keyword organization here and here.
Additionally, In Brad Warner’s recent book ‘Sit Down & Shut Up‘, he devotes and entire section of the book to the practice of cleaning in the aptly title chapter ‘Cleaning Up Your Room’. The practice of cleaning and organization is a large part of the daily activities at a Zen monastery as it is on the shop floor of Toyota and should be when you manage an AdWords account. (Okay, daily keyword kills might be extreme, but you get the point).
Brad Warner is not only a Zen author, but also a Zen Priest and the bass player for the 80’s hardcore band Zero Defects (0DFX). Clearly a guy I’d be friends with. In both of his books - ‘Hardcore Zen’ and ‘Sit Down & Shut Up’, Warner makes several references to basic Zen practices of learning by doing and respect for the universe. The Toyota Way is founded on two main principles - continuous improvement and respect for people. As it relates to Zen, Toyota actually extends it’s respect for people beyond people into the community and the environment. The practice of learning by doing is defined by the integral part of TPS called genchi genbutsu.
The other clear relation between the Toyota Way and Zen is the fact that when one practices Buddhism one can never fully reach enlightenment. You can practice and begin to see things more clearly, but reaching for enlightenment is a never ending process. Similarly, at Toyota and what seemingly should be everywhere else, manufacturing a product such as a car or managing a process such as SEM with Google AdWords can never be fully optimized. Continuous focus on improving the process, just like continuing to reach for enlightenment, is also never ending.
One may ask that if you can never reach enlightenment or you can’t slack off and set-and-forget your AdWords account but instead it has to be continuously maintained then what’s the point? The answer is - I don’t know - but if you take the time to learn - in either case you’ll gain more clarity into seeking the answers for yourself.
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