In manufacturing, Toyota introduced the “andon” cord—a simple chain any worker could pull to stop the entire line if they saw a defect.
When American car companies copied the idea, they installed the cord… but workers were too afraid to pull it.
The tool was there. The empowerment was not.
The same failure happens in Agile and Scrum adoptions every day.
Installing Scrum Events without building a culture of transparency and continuous improvement is cargo cult thinking. You’re copying the tool without the ethos.
Scrum is not your safety net. Your culture is.
If you punish people for raising issues, don’t be surprised when they stop speaking up.
How safe is it in your organisation to pull the metaphorical andon cord?
If you've made it this far, it's worth connecting with our principal consultant and coach, Martin Hinshelwood, for a 30-minute 'ask me anything' call.
We partner with businesses across diverse industries, including finance, insurance, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, technology, engineering, transportation, hospitality, entertainment, legal, government, and military sectors.
Freadom
Microsoft
Akaditi
Milliman
Xceptor - Process and Data Automation
Boeing
Emerson Process Management
New Signature
ProgramUtvikling
ALS Life Sciences
MacDonald Humfrey (Automation) Ltd.
Qualco
Flowmaster (a Mentor Graphics Company)
Brandes Investment Partners L.P.
Healthgrades
YearUp.org
Boxit Document Solutions
Alignment Healthcare
Ghana Police Service
Nottingham County Council
Royal Air Force
New Hampshire Supreme Court
Washington Department of Transport
Washington Department of Enterprise Services
Graham & Brown
Slicedbread
Brandes Investment Partners L.P.
Healthgrades
Epic Games
DFDS