Design. Learn. Solve.

Decades leading up to the collaboration, a GM plant in Fremont, CA had been overrun by labor unions. Quantity took precedence over quality and there was no incentive for good work.  Employees at the plant did not like their job nor did they work hard.

The show focused on how NUMMI, the new collaborative plant in Fremont, CA, implemented a new culture and how its new employees struggled to spread the ideas started at the plant throughout the rest of GM.

To begin with, all employees were fired when the plant changed. Employees who wanted to be apart of the new plant, were sent to Japan and introduced to the Toyota Production System.  That system was based upon teamwork and quality over quantity.

While it took some time, the unions bought into the system and in turn NUMMI became the most successful plant in GM.

Despite the fact that NUMMI had been successful, the production model that Toyota had introduced had not been embraced by the rest of GM. This problem plagued GM up until early this decade but by then it was too late. GM was on the road to bankruptcy.

I tell this story because I believe our schools are very similar to this story.  There are great school models out there. Many of them are moving away from that “industrial” model of teaching and implementing approaches that put the students at the center of the learning. Using models like the ones I refer to in my previous post, these schools have changed the culture and have created their own NUMMI.  The problem we face is very similar to that of GM.

The models are out there. There are “commandos” on the ground, ready to see schools change. Our challenge is to ensure these model are implemented more widely.

What can we do to ensure we do not become GM? I sure hope so.

Listen to the podcast, which is linked below and let me know what you think.