Why does Lean have such a poor record of sustainability? One reason may be that it has often been limited to frontline people. Senior people applaud if workers are practicing problem solving, but don't recognize practicing scientific thinking as vital for pursuing the organization's strategic goals, and they do not themselves practice.

If a majority of our actions (reactions, really) are driven by (neural) habits and practice is a way to shape those habits, then deliberate practice represents agency; a door to free will. It's like .. pick something you want to get good at and start practicing it with a coach. None of our reactions can be completely pre-programmed because each situation is a complex web of variables.

Many people think humans won't change without a crisis .. a "Significant Emotional Event" (SEE). The belief is that it takes a thwack with a big zen stick to get us to change. There is, in fact, a kind of Catch-22. We're usually not open to change until we start experiencing the change. But a SEE is not the only way out of that Catch-22, and relying on SEEs to make change happen may be a poor choice.

Want to see some scientific thinking in action?
(1) Toyota vows to be ready to sell only zero-emission cars in Europe by 2035. Notice how they state as the goal/challenge the *condition* they aspire to (zero emission), instead of a particular preimagined solution (all electric). (2) Notice, also, how Toyota then proceeds without jumping over the knowledge threshold. "We need to understand that we don’t really know what’s going to work out best, and so the best approach right now is to try many things.” (Gill Pratt, Toyota chief
scientist.)

Why is your A3 not working the way it should? We’ve been copying visible aspects of Toyota’s A3 tool, but not the less visible way the A3 is used at Toyota.

Meeting the unprecedented challenges we face today is going to require that we practice and learn a different way of working together. Fortunately it is also an enjoyable way to work! • Solving individual problems is not enough. We need to be striving toward something! Where do we want to be in future?