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Hoshin Kanri for Healthcare
Toyota-Style Long-Term Thinking and
Strategy Deployment to Unlock Your
Organization’s True Potential
http://taylorandfrancis.com
Hoshin Kanri for Healthcare
Toyota-Style Long-Term Thinking and
Strategy Deployment to Unlock Your
Organization’s True Potential

Jerry Berlanga
Brock Husby
Heather K. Anderson
With contributions from Debra McClendon

A PRODUCTIVITY PRESS BOOK

Routledge
Taylor & Francis Group
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

© 2018 by Jerry Berlanga, Brock Husby, and Heather K. Anderson

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 To my loving wife, Bonnie, who continues to inspire me; my late
mother, Pauline, who dedicated her life to our family; and the
hardworking, compassionate, caring, and dedicated physicians, nurses,
administrators, and staff that take care of all of us each day.

Jerry Berlanga

To Prof. Jeffrey K. Liker, who, throughout my education and career, has

continuously inspired, challenged, and matured my understanding of
Lean and the Toyota Production System; and to the dedicated leaders,
staff, and physicians of Guadalupe Regional Medical Center (GRMC) and
other partner healthcare organizations, who on a daily basis remind me
of why I love doing the work I do through their passion, dedication,
and focus on serving patients, the community, and society as a whole.

Brock Husby, PhD, PE

First and foremost, to my wonderful husband, children, mother, and

siblings, who have always encouraged and supported me. Second, to the
incredible people I worked with and for at the Baptist Health System,
whose compassion for others and drive for continuous improvement
have always been an inspiration to me. Lastly, in memory of my
stepfather, Bill, who took me in as his own and was my biggest fan.

Heather K. Anderson
http://taylorandfrancis.com
Contents

List of Figures............................................................................................ix
List of Tables.............................................................................................. xi
About the Authors...................................................................................xiii
Introduction............................................................................................ xvii

1 Hoshin and Lean Daily Management............................................1

2 Strategy Deployment in Healthcare 101.......................................7
Setting SMART Goals...................................................................................7
Setting Goals to “Strive for,” Not Tasks!......................................................9
Alignment or Translation (Why and What)...............................................10
Catch-Ball Sessions to Help Negotiate Meaningful Goals:
Where the Rubber Meets the Road!.......................................................... 15
What Is a Catch-Ball Session?................................................................ 15
What Takes Place before a Catch-Ball Session?....................................16
Developing People with Hoshin (Respect for People Pillar
of the Toyota House).................................................................................22
Other Activities (Clearing Our Staff’s Plate to Drive Strategically
Aligned Goals)...........................................................................................22
3 Hoshin Goal Setting, Tracking, and Management......................25
But How Do We Accomplish These Goals?..............................................25
Goal Setting and Catch-Ball: Negotiating Goals for Improvement
and Buy-In..................................................................................................28
Finding Middle Ground.............................................................................29
Catch-Ball Goal Setting Creates a Pull for Data-Driven Goals
from Staff....................................................................................................30

vii
viii ◾ Contents

4 Integrating Hoshin with Operations..........................................31

Step-by-Step Approach to Deploying Hoshin Planning and Linking
It to Your LDM System...............................................................................34
5 The Baptist Journey....................................................................43
Performance...............................................................................................43
People.........................................................................................................45
Process........................................................................................................47
Plans...........................................................................................................54
Lessons Learned.........................................................................................64
6 Hoshin Timelines........................................................................69
Hoshin Prep...............................................................................................70
Wave 1: C-Level to Vice President– or Director-Level Catch-Ball
Sessions (Set the Tone for Hoshin)............................................................70
Wave 2: Director-Level to Supervisor Catch-Ball Sessions.......................71
Wave 3: Frontline Supervisor to Staff Catch-Ball Sessions.......................71
Perioperative Services Operating Room Frontline Supervisor
to Staff Hoshin Goal Setting......................................................................72
Who Really Owns the Goals in Your Organization?............................73
7 Hoshin Change Management......................................................75
Hoshin Ethos, Pathos, and Logos (Learning from the Early Greeks
to Help Us with Hoshin Change Management)........................................75
Defining Hoshin WIIFM for Leaders and Staff.........................................76
Do We Really Need More Staff or Better Alignment?...............................78
Annual Hoshin Preparation.......................................................................81
Developing “Hoshin Heroes”.....................................................................81
Gaps in Hoshin..........................................................................................82
Gap 1: Hoshin Can Feel Like Extra Work to Leaders and Staff...........82
Gap 2: Finding Time for Hoshin...........................................................83
Gap 3: Measuring Hoshin Successes and Benefits Isn’t Always Easy....83
Gap 4: Rolling Out Hoshin Too Broadly Too Fast................................83
Gap 5: Data............................................................................................84
Hoshin for Healthcare Hansei or Reflection.............................................85

Index.................................................................................................87
List of Figures

Figure 2.1 Hoshin worksheet.......................................................................21

Figure 5.1 Baptist Health System Lean management system.
High Reliability Organization (HRO)................................................................44
Figure 5.2 Phase II unit-level gemba board structure with monitoring
section................................................................................................................50
Figure 5.3 Phase III unit-level gemba board with huddle notes................51
Figure 5.4 Glass wall: main business indicators organized by pillar
and LDM gemba board alignment....................................................................53
Figure 5.5 Group board example and associated metrics at each level.....55
Figure 5.6 Cascading Hoshin goals..............................................................57
Figure 5.7 Baptist Hoshin form....................................................................58
Figure 5.8 LDM integration and metric ownership.....................................61
Figure 5.9 Strategy deployment execution plan: executive leadership.......62
Figure 5.10 Strategy deployment execution plan: departmental
leadership...........................................................................................................63
Figure 5.11 Baptist Lean journey.................................................................66

ix
http://taylorandfrancis.com
List of Tables

Table 0.1 Neuroscience of Lean Management: Comparative Analysis

between Organizational Neuroscience and Lean Management (TPS)......... xxxi
Table 0.2 Hierarchy of value................................................................... xxxiii
Table 0.3 Levels of clarity....................................................................... xxxiv

xi
http://taylorandfrancis.com
About the Authors

Jerry Berlanga has more than 20 years of Lean Six Sigma

and change management experience, and has led and
supported Lean Six Sigma transformations with key orga-
nizations, such as CPS Energy, United Services Automobile
Association, Baylor Scott & White Healthcare, and
CHRISTUS Health, and other leading organizations across
the United States and Canada, such as UMass Memorial,
Alpena General, Alliance Imaging, and Ontario Health
Quality Council. As Associate Vice President (AVP) of Lean Healthcare
Strategies, Jerry supported the Lean transformation of Baylor Scott & White
Healthcare. He is currently the system director of performance improvement
at CHRISTUS Health, supporting performance improvement transformation.
Jerry is a respected Lean Six Sigma teacher, coach, mentor, and author.
He earned his MS degree in systems and engineering management from
Texas Tech University. He currently coteaches a one-day Lean daily manage-
ment and Lean fundamentals workshop at the University of Texas at San
Antonio (UTSA). Jerry founded UTSA’s continuous improvement profession-
als group several years ago to bring Lean Six Sigma professionals together to
share innovations, best practices, and advances in Lean Six Sigma, and cre-
ate mentorships, internships, and job opportunities for junior Lean coaches
and engineers. Jerry invites readers to e-mail him at jerry@leanproviders.com
to learn more about Hoshin Kanri and Lean daily management.

xiii
xiv ◾ About the Authors

Brock Husby, PhD, PE, is a process improvement

leader who has multi-industry experience in holistically
integrating Lean across manufacturing, transactional,
facility design, service, and other contexts to advance
the field of Lean and the Toyota Production System.
This broad experience empowers organizations to truly
revolutionize their value streams from product develop-
ment to customer delivery. This approach delivers exceptional results that
drive positive culture change and high return on investment outcomes. He
focuses on deeply understanding where an organization is currently at,
developing a customized approach to match its needs, and “leading from the
front” through facilitation, training, gemba observation, and executive and
frontline coaching. This approach is grounded in evidence-based Lean and
Toyota Production System principles that go beyond the normal Lean proj-
ects and tool-based approaches to drive meaningful and sustained change.
Brock is a Licensed Professional Engineer (PE), certified Lean coach, consul-
tant, author (Productivity Press, Inc. and Institute of Industrial and Systems
Engineers [IISE]), instructor (IISE, Engineering Lean Six Sigma [ELSS], and
the University of Texas at San Antonio), speaker, and researcher. Brock
worked as a process assurance engineer and corrective actions engineer for
the space shuttle program at the Kennedy Space Center (Cape Canaveral,
Florida), a consultant in the automotive service parts industry, and a tech-
nical assistant at Car and Driver magazine. Brock was an associate vice
president at Baylor Scott & White Health, where he was an integral part
of the deployment of a holistic Lean approach throughout the 13-­hospital,
13,000-employee system. A case study from Brock’s PhD dissertation (based
on his professional work) was recently featured in Prof. Jeff Liker’s new
book, The Toyota Way to Service Excellence (McGraw-Hill, 2016). Brock was
one of the three industrial engineers who built the program for Denver
Health, becoming the first healthcare delivery organization to win the cov-
eted Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence (March 2011), and demon-
strated operational expense savings of $124 million (as of 2013). Brock holds
a BSE, MSE, and PhD in industrial and operations engineering from the
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
 About the Authors ◾ xv

Heather K. Anderson has greater than 20 years of expe-

rience in healthcare finance, operations, and performance
improvement. Almost 10 years, Heather worked with the
Baptist Health System in San Antonio, Texas, in various
system leadership roles, including vice president of quality
and performance management. Heather was responsible
for system quality, operational improvement, accreditation,
risk management, infection prevention, transitional care,
and business analytics. She was also responsible for the Lean operations of
the system, which included development of the daily management structure,
kaizen events, strategy deployment, and Lean training and education.
Before joining Baptist, Heather was at Memorial Hermann Healthcare
System in Houston, Texas, for more than eight years in various roles, including
director of financial operations, Medicare profitability, and organization effec-
tiveness. Prior to that, she worked in financial operations for Columbia HCA
Bayshore Medical Center. She received her bachelor of arts degree from the
University of Texas at Austin and her master of business administration/master
of healthcare administration from the University of Houston–Clear Lake. Prior
to entering healthcare, Heather worked in nuclear chemistry at Los Alamos
National Laboratory, where she was first exposed to a high-reliability infra-
structure. Heather has also served as adjunct faculty for the Baptist School of
Health Professions, teaching healthcare performance and process improvement
for the BS in Healthcare Management Program. Heather is a certified Lean Six
Sigma master black belt with a concentration in Lean systems.

Debra McClendon is currently the director of learn-

ing and development and executive coach at a wealth-
management organization. Before that, she spent 18 years
in Toyota’s Information Systems Division, 12 of which
were as a technology manager and 11 as a talent devel-
opment manager at Toyota Motors North America. She
earned an MA in organizational leadership from Biola
University in La Mirada, California; an MA in human
development from Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California;
and a PhD in human and organizational systems from Fielding Graduate
University. She is also a certified trainer on Toyota Business Practice and a
certified trainer on Toyota’s Ji-Kotei-Kanketsu and has been fully trained on
Toyota’s Hoshin process. In her spare time, she studies the brain and volun-
teers her time as an EEG neurofeedback technician.
http://taylorandfrancis.com
Introduction

by Debra McClendon, PhD

This book provides an easy-to-read, step-by-step method to develop and

implement Hoshin Kanri (also known as Hoshin planning) in healthcare.
The authors have extensive knowledge, experience, and expertise in teach-
ing Hoshin and Lean daily management (LDM) techniques in the healthcare
industry. I have 28 years of experience working for Toyota, where Hoshin
and the Toyota Production System (TPS) are well established. The authors
look at Hoshin from a holistic perspective, recognizing the importance of
traditional Hoshin tools and strategic planning models, while integrating
concepts from value science and neuroscience to enhance the efficiency
and effectiveness of the Hoshin journey. Toyota is a leader in the develop-
ment and implementation of Hoshin Kanri. To begin with, I will recount my
own experience at Toyota and what it was like living with Hoshin and other
global content from inside the company. Then we will proceed to the subse-
quent chapters.
Chapter 1 outlines the “Lean journey” that any organization can take and
the mindset that is needed to shift from a facilitative approach to a team
approach in order to develop Hoshin (Hoshin Kanri translated into English
means “direction” and “administration,” respectively, and is often referred to
as compass management). The author of this chapter discusses the benefits
of understanding the meanings behind the whys of doing Hoshin, empha-
sizing the importance of being proactive rather than reactive in problem
solving.
Chapter 2 provides an overview of a well-known goal-setting framework
called SMART goals. In this chapter, the author describes how to translate
strategic organizational goals into meaningful tasks, providing early warning
signals for leaders to help keep the strategic plan on track. Several practical

xvii
xviii ◾ Introduction

examples are provided to help the reader understand how to negotiate

meaningful goals during a meeting in which leaders are tossing ideas back
and forth to negotiate company goals. This technique is called catch-ball, a
term used in the Hoshin process, borrowed from a children’s game in which
a ball is tossed from one child to the next. In the catch-ball process, ideas
are tossed from person to person.
Chapter 3 continues the discussion on tracking and managing the goals
that were set at the beginning of the Hoshin journey, but goes deeper into
how to achieve those goals by utilizing visual aids and key leadership tech-
niques to encourage the team members to stay on track with their goals.
Chapter 4 takes Hoshin planning onto the hospital floor and into hospi-
tal administration, where the operational work takes place. There is a focus
in this chapter on team problem solving, with a reminder that continuous
problem solving means continuously communicating with your fellow team
members and your supervisors not only to ensure that the plan is progress-
ing, but also to check on the team’s motivation and morale. The chapter
ends with a comprehensive look at the 11 steps to linking Hoshin planning
to your LDM system.
Chapter 5 provides a firsthand look at a Lean management system model
utilized by the Baptist Health System (BHS), which is located in San Antonio,
Texas. BHS is a compassionate healthcare system that lives by its mission
and values in everything it does. It is focused on providing the highest-
quality care, and has done so by creating a culture of continuous improve-
ment and increasing staff engagement at all levels of the organization. This
chapter shares the BHS story through the experiences of one of its leaders,
Heather Anderson, who was in charge of performance management for the
system. In particular, the plan, process, lessons learned, integration of LDM
into the plan, and strategy behind the plan are what make the BHS daily
management system unique.
Heather has a master of business administration/master of healthcare
administration from the University of Houston at Clear Lake. She provides
a professional view of the Hoshin process, since she has almost 20 years of
experience in healthcare finance, operations, and performance improvement
in various system leadership roles, including vice president of quality and
performance management at the BHS.
Chapter 6 presents general timelines that are typically deployed during
the Hoshin process, from the executive (or C-suite) level all the way down
to the frontline supervisors and staff members. These timelines bring all the
levels together to participate in the ownership of the catch-ball process.
 Introduction ◾ xix

Chapter 7 presents what is needed to make the Hoshin plan a reality and
how that process is managed through Hoshin change management (HCM)
techniques. The author repeatedly emphasizes the importance of individual
pride, friendly competition, and the daily measurement of key performance
indicators (KPIs). There is a focus in this final chapter on building relation-
ships between all the parties involved in the catch-ball process to ensure its
efficiency and effectiveness and to guarantee that the process overwhelms
no staff members. In fact, the people side of the Hoshin journey is undeni-
ably one of its most important elements.

Respect for People

There is a lot of talk in LDM environments about putting people first.
However, many companies are not sure what that means or how to accom-
plish it, although many companies have achieved some success with this
focus. Globally, Toyota is by far the company that has made the most impact
in this area. Toyota embraces problems and encourages its employees to
look for problems in their daily work in order to continuously improve the
workplace and its products. In healthcare, problems in capacity or care
delivery can result in the loss of life. Therefore, the contributors to this
book decided to step outside of healthcare for just a moment to explore an
innovative approach to solving problems associated with the people side of
Hoshin as experienced by a previous Toyota employee.

Neuro-Hoshin and the Neuroscience of Lean Management

Neuro-Hoshin and the neuroscience of Lean management (NLM) are terms
coined by the present writer, who is a 28-year employee of Toyota Motors
North America (TMNA). NLM is a concept that shows how neuroscience
can be applied to LDM to stimulate the type of quality thinking that Toyota
employees are expected to include in their daily work processes and docu-
mentation. Neuro-Hoshin, on the other hand, is a component of NLM that
focuses on the people side of Hoshin and three distinct areas (workplace
direction, Hoshin plan development, and the catch-ball process) where value
science and neuroscience are applied to the Hoshin process to increase
its efficiency. Both concepts support execution of the Hoshin plan from
an intrinsic (pull) perspective rather than a systemic (push) perspective.
xx ◾ Introduction

This author believes that these concepts are needed to ensure the overall
effectiveness of Lean leadership and a successfully executed Hoshin.

Personal Note from Debra McClendon

The Toyota DNA was infused into my fellow team members and me dur-
ing the many years that we worked for Toyota. While I would not refer to
myself as a resident Hoshin expert at Toyota, I would agree that my love
for the company and my personal quest to transform the hearts and minds
of its employees stimulated my interest in incorporating value science
and neuroscience into every aspect of Toyota’s learning and development
programs for which I was responsible. This introduction discusses Neuro-
Hoshin and its role within NLM as shared from my personal experiences
with Hoshin Kanri while I was working at Toyota. I describe my journey to
understand the people side of Hoshin in order to close a gap that I noticed
in Toyota’s way of implementing Hoshin and other Toyota Way principles
and concepts. The concepts described here are derived solely from my
own personal experiences and scholarly research, and do not represent the
views and opinions of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), TMNA, or any of
its affiliates.

Personal Experience of Debra McClendon

Understanding what makes people tick and how to turn that tick into last-
ing change and personal effectiveness is a passion of mine that followed
me to Toyota. Believe it or not, I had worked at Toyota for 12 years before
I even encountered Hoshin Kanri or the Toyota Way principles, which are the
foundation for Hoshin. This encounter occurred quite by accident in 2001, as
I was having a dialogue with the then vice president of the North American
Parts Division about how I might be able to make a difference at Toyota and
advance my career. In the middle of our conversation, he pulled out a thin
booklet that had the words Toyota Way 2001 written on the front, and told
me that this booklet was the blueprint to every job process at the company.
He further explained that if I followed that blueprint in everything I did at
Toyota, I would make a difference and my work would have meaning.
As I held that booklet in my hands, I marveled at it as if it were a dia-
mond ring, for its value was uniquely special to me. The copy of the booklet
 Introduction ◾ xxi

that he showed me was a black-and-white xerox copy of the original green

version. This booklet was the first printed version of the Toyota Way as
defined by our mother company, TMC in Japan. As I read the booklet,
I sensed a spiritual aspect of the Toyota Way, to which I quickly connected.
It went beyond building cars, profits, quality, and other common topics for
businesses. It focused on improving society, people, improvement, reflection,
and the environment. I soon became a lifelong witness to the Toyota Way
using any opportunity I could to evangelize it to others.
The first thing I learned from this booklet was that Toyota’s principles
were built upon two distinct pillars that supported each other: continu-
ous improvement and respect for people. Together, these two pillars form
what is known today as the Toyota Way. Prior to this experience, I heard
about kaizen, kanban systems, and just-in-time (JIT) processing, as I had
helped to set up the Ontario Parts Center (OPC) in 1993, which today is
called the North American Parts Center California (NAPCC), located in
Ontario, California. NAPCC is the embodiment of the Toyota Way and the
TPS. Although I worked at NAPCC at its inception, I had not officially heard
about Hoshin or the Toyota Way as a concept. The Toyota Way principles
were all around me in that warehouse. I performed my job based on these
principles, and lived the drive and dedication of these principles. They were
a part of every operations planning document and every customer service
document that I encountered. However, I was not formally introduced to the
principles of the Toyota Way in those early years. Prior to the year 2001, at
the Torrance, California, headquarters office, the NAPCC facility was built on
the foundations of the TPS. I was connected to it very well, as I was respon-
sible for making sure that the computer and radio frequency (RF) networks
were running efficiently so that the parts could be moved throughout the
warehouse to our customers JIT without muda (Japanese term for waste).
My lack of formal introduction to the Toyota Way principles is in no way
a negative judgment on Toyota, but rather an indication of how Toyota’s
philosophies were taught in the early days in the U.S. sales divisions. For
you see, although I worked at the NAPCC facility, I reported to the sales
side of the company, as I supported information technology while reporting
to human resources. In various parts of the sales division, the Toyota Way
was implied in spirit and one just fell in line and became part of the culture
(it was in our DNA!). There was not a lot of formal training being done on
the sales side, as was the case on the warehouse side, on the manufacturing
side, or in Japan. In fact, I was so engulfed in setting up and configuring the
local area network (LAN), the wide area network (WAN), and the RF in the
xxii ◾ Introduction

new warehouse that I never once realized I needed to take the time to learn
the foundation to our company. And no one mandated that I do so. I guess
you could say I just innately lived the spirit of the Toyota Way without real-
izing there was a bona fide, written Toyota Way philosophy until years later,
in the office of this vice president.
I share this experience to point out that although Hoshin is the driver for
all of Toyota’s goals and objectives, many employees on the sales side did
not understand it or embrace it. We simply lived it, and our divisional goals
were shaped by it without us realizing it. Hoshin was more a part of our
being rather than our conscious intellect.
TMC eventually began to mandate that the Toyota Way principles be
incorporated into everything we did on the sales side. This mandate, albeit
a push, was done gently with SMART goals. In fact, TMC suggested that the
sales division look at how this could be done in a way that worked best for
the division. It was at this time that I became intimately familiar with what
is called the Toyota global content (Hoshin, TPS, Ji-Kotei-Kanketsu [JKK],
Toyota Business Practice [TBP], and on the job development [OJD]) and
began to explore how to help the sales division embrace the Toyota Way
principles. I was not opposed to hard work, learning, and growing. While
working in the University of Toyota, I was given a “sandbox” to experiment
with to find innovative new ways to deliver training and transform hearts
and minds. I did so by focusing on what I believed was the key to helping
team members whole-heartedly embrace TPS, Hoshin, and other compo-
nents of Toyota’s global content. I believe that embracing these philosophies
has a lot to do with the value that one places on concepts, objects, and peo-
ple (Hartman, 1967), so I began to research the connection between value
science, neuroscience, and Hoshin to inform my curiosity and exploration.
The remainder of this introduction provides an overview of my discoveries.

People Side of Hoshin

As important as Hoshin Kanri is to implementing Lean management, there
is more to successful Hoshin implementation than the tools and the strate-
gic process. The success of Hoshin planning and implementation is solely
dependent on the people who develop and implement it. Toyota lead-
ers seem to understand the people side of Hoshin at the systemic level.
However, I question whether they truly understood it at the intrinsic level
of the individual. In other words, the entire process had to be understood,
 Introduction ◾ xxiii

based on the valuation that a person placed on Hoshin, to the point where it
had real meaning to the individual.
For example, Toyota values respect for people and diversity of thought
and demonstrates this by providing benefits and compensation unlike any
other company. So, when it came time to participate in the Hoshin process,
the motivation for buy-in for those going through the process should have
been based on a spirit of gratitude. Instead, monetary incentives were often
not enough to drive the commitment needed for fully embracing Hoshin or
the other global contents to take place. The missing piece existed because
leaders were excellent at driving results and meeting month-end profits.
However, they lacked the skills needed to manage projects and lead people,
as Jim Lentz (the CEO) would constantly challenge the leaders to do. The
people side of Hoshin is a more comprehensive look at the capacity of one’s
thinking and caring enough to help people improve and become the best
that they can be, without feeling like they are being negatively judged. This
mindset is needed if everyone is expected to embrace Hoshin Kanri.
Toyota did not invent the Hoshin Kanri process. However, Toyota suc-
cessfully implements Hoshin Kanri and uses the tools in a way that many
companies have been unable to replicate or emulate. This success has a lot
to do with Toyota’s focus on quality thinking* and on something that Toyota
calls drive and dedication.† Quality thinking is emphasized in Toyota’s JKK,
a tool training focused on creating documentation that a person can f­ollow
step-by-step as he or she performs work. It is also concerned with the
thinking that is required to build quality into the work process with owner-
ship.‡ More specifically, Ji means self or ownership, Kotei is the process, and
Kanketsu is the completion of the final documentation or outputs.
JKK is mentioned here because it is a good example of where the peo-
ple side of Hoshin can best be described. With JKK, there is an emphasis
on ownership, not just the ownership of one’s own work process, but own-
ing a true concern for the customers by constantly thinking about them in
each process along the way, since JKK is concerned with understanding
who the customer is. For example, the customer is also the person respon-
sible for the next step in the process. The JKK process requires documenta-
tion to be developed in such a way that error prevention and resolution is

* Derived from training taken at TMNA: a way of thinking that automatically builds quality into the
process.
† Derived from training taken at TMNA: the way in which Toyota team members act toward custom-

ers and themselves.

‡ Derived from training taken at TMNA: this is about owning a problem through to the resolution.
xxiv ◾ Introduction

built into the process and handled before the supervisor brings it up. This
is an action that each Toyota employee is expected to perform, whether
they work on the assembly line or in the office. For example, on the assem-
bly line, one would pull the andon cord when a defect was noticed. In the
office, a person would use his or her vocal cords. This is important because
each action performed by an individual is always preceded by a decision
(Hartman, 1967). In my opinion, quality thinking requires quality decisions,
and quality decisions lead to quality actions. This is important because
emotions play a critical role in one’s ability to make decisions (Seymour &
Dolan, 2008).
To understand how to obtain quality decisions, one must first understand
the team member’s decision pattern and what internally motivates that per-
son to prioritize solutions to these quality decisions. In other words, there
must first be a diagnosis of the person’s capacity to make such decisions.
Diagnosing and understanding one’s decision patterns is not something that
Toyota teaches. However, it is something that I have discovered is the miss-
ing link in the implementation of Toyota’s overall global content (includ-
ing Hoshin), and will certainly be the missing link when other companies
attempt to implement Hoshin and LDM as well.

Value Science
In my quest to understand more about how people make quality decisions,
I stumbled across the work of Robert S. Hartman. Hartman (1967) is con-
sidered the father of formal axiology (a scientific value theory). Axiology
is a science that reveals how individuals think and make decisions.
Hartman makes this information available to people by way of an assess-
ment he calls the Hartman Value Profile ™ (HVP). When this assessment is
combined with the Value Index™ assessment and the DISC ™ assessment,
together they reveal not only how a person thinks and makes decisions,
but also what motivates him or her to prioritize those decisions, and how
those decisions are communicated to other people. Employees who are
armed with this information about themselves are more self-aware and are
more conscious of how they make decisions and communicate during the
Hoshin process.
Bringing people together from different groups across the company and
expecting them to negotiate goals and strategies for the next three to five
years is synonymous with what happens during corporate merger integra-
tion. Two companies come together to improve their financial profits and
 Introduction ◾ xxv

competitiveness, not realizing that research shows that most mergers fail
because they do not pay attention to the people side of the merger. It is
estimated that companies are spending $2 trillion annually on merger acqui-
sitions and between 70% and 90% of those acquisitions fail (Christensen et
al., 2011). Many fail because of human resource–related issues (Napier, 1989).
Several scientists, including Gilkey (1991), argue that “the high percentage
of failure is mainly due to the fact that mergers and acquisitions are still
designed with business and financial fit as primary conditions, leaving psy-
chological and cultural issues as secondary concerns” (p. 33). Napier (1989)
confirms that merger integrations fail because they do not appreciate and
respect individuals in the process.
This is similar to what happens to individuals during the Hoshin journey
when personalities clash. In healthcare, this can be even more catastrophic
because lives are at stake. Understanding Hartman’s work is the first step to
understanding the people side of Hoshin Kanri. Hartman was nominated for
a Nobel Peace Prize for his work on peace and his interest in good and evil.
He was a German mathematician and judge who also earned two PhDs.
Hartman applied mathematics to axiology, converting it from a philosophy
to a science, and hence creating formal axiology, as we know it today.

Formal Axiology
Formal axiology has less to do with values as a noun (e.g., integrity and
trust) and more to do with what people regard as valuable and the numeri-
cal value that one places on ideas, objects, and people. Hartman described
this valuation as the hierarchy of value. The hierarchy of value consists of
three main categories: systemic (S), extrinsic (E), and intrinsic (I). Each cat-
egory is viewed from two different perspectives: (1) work-related worldview
and (2) self worldview. Hoshin Kanri is typically taught, developed, and
implemented systemically (i.e., as a concept or idea) and extrinsically (i.e.,
tangible) in the development of A3 documents, where most of the value is
placed on the systemic and extrinsic. Rarely is it taught, developed, or imple-
mented intrinsically (i.e., internally motivated by a person). It is this intrinsic
valuation that is needed to drive the tools and strategies of the Hoshin pro-
cess. Understanding the hierarchy of value provides an objective way to look
at the people side of Hoshin and to understand how best to utilize its tools
and strategies more productively and efficiently.
When Hartman turned axiology into a science, he discovered that the
intrinsic carried a greater value than extrinsic, and the extrinsic carried
xxvi ◾ Introduction

a greater value than systemic (i.e., I > E > S). What this tells us is where
we will obtain the greatest bang for our buck or, in the case of Hoshin,
where we will gain the greatest value in the use of its tools and strate-
gies. In other words, the people side of Hoshin has greater value than the
tools, and the tools has a greater value than Hoshin Kanri as a concept. This
does not mean that one does not care about Hoshin tools and strategy.
It simply means that there needs to be a balance between the three (i.e.,
­strategies, tools, and people) when developing and implementing Hoshin
Kanri.

Three Areas of Hoshin Where Neuroscience

Is Best Applied
As described in other chapters in this book, having a good mission and
vision is critical to the Hoshin Kanri process. My experience at Toyota
revealed that Toyota is not immune to the challenges that are presented dur-
ing the development of Hoshin, even though we always had a good vision
and mission, both of which drove the success of the company. As a midlevel
manager, I did not participate in the creation of Hoshin at the TMC or exec-
utive level. However, I was often called on to develop conflict management
workshops with executives and managers in other settings, which revealed
the types of challenges that were faced in those early phases of the Hoshin
process. Many would point to our consensus-building process and our
inability to make timely decisions as the cause of delays in such strategies.
However, I continue to believe that the challenge was not in the amount of
time it took for us to decide, but rather in the capacity of the decision pat-
tern of those who were responsible for those decisions and the communica-
tion challenges that were created during personal interactions.
In order for Hoshin to be developed, there is a need for the leader to
make a choice to demonstrate unconditional positive regard for the Hoshin
process and for others. Unconditional positive regard is a concept developed
by the humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers. It is based on the notion that
no matter what a person says or does, he or she is accepted and supported
physically, mentally, emotionally, and verbally. Leaders also need to have
good emotional intelligence (emotional quotient [EQ]) and understand how
to avoid what is known as an amygdala hijack. Daniel Goleman coined
amygdala hijack in his 1996 book titled Emotional Intelligence. It’s a term
used to describe the sudden onset of an emotional response, which occurs
 Introduction ◾ xxvii

when our emotional memory takes over the emotions without logic or rea-
son, and causes the body to go into a fight-or-flight mode, where the person
displays strong negative emotions. Emotional intelligence has to do with
individuals being able to understand their own emotions, as well as those
of other people, and to label and discern between different feelings. This is
important because emotions can become elevated during the Hoshin pro-
cess. If this happens, respect and trust can be lost, thus creating a lose–lose
situation and delaying the creation of Hoshin.

Workplace Direction
At Toyota, workplace direction has to do with identifying and understanding
our customers and developing a mission and vision. This is where the stra-
tegic planning for Hoshin takes place. My understanding is that this is the
phase of the process where ideas, feedback, and commitment are needed.
However, if leaders approach this phase as a marketing event where they
want to sell their own ideas or look good at the expense of others, this
approach could easily derail Hoshin early on.
Several of my colleagues who share my vision to infuse neuroscience into
the Toyota Way often collaborated with each other on our passion for the
people side of Hoshin and other Toyota global content. We often imagined
that one day we would utilize positive psychology, appreciative inquiry, nar-
rative inquiry, transactional analysis, and other theories in the practical appli-
cation of Toyota’s global content. However, we were never able to get these
ideas off the ground due to the timing of a 2014 Toyota headquarters reloca-
tion where several projects were put on hold or canceled. In my opinion,
being able to include concepts from these tried-and-true theories ensures
that employees will embrace the Toyota Way.

Hoshin Plan Development

In my experience at Toyota, I often wondered how my work contributed to
Toyota’s global vision. I understood the global vision; however, when the
regional or functional visions were created, the ultimate goal and purpose
often got lost in the words on the paper. Such was the case when the One
Toyota move was announced on April 27, 2014. We received a set of cultural
priorities that sounded great on paper (e.g., systemically); however, it was a
little difficult to build strategies around it at the lower levels. So much emo-
tional turmoil was being experienced because of the merger that no one had
xxviii ◾ Introduction

the opportunity to emotionally or cognitively connect the divisional Hoshin

to the nicely written priorities.

Catch-Ball
The catch-ball process is the heart of the Hoshin plan development. The
catch-ball process is also where the lack of EQ and the inability to recover
from an amygdala hijack can create the greatest challenges. For it is in the
catch-ball meetings where leaders are expected to collaborate with each
other and share information that is intended to cascade to other divisions,
departments, and individuals. Mutual purpose is important at this stage, and
if leaders find themselves stuck in their emotions, team members will never
learn how their work contributes to the bigger picture or learn how to carry
out the work.

Neuroscience of Lean Management

NLM is a model that aligns to the concepts of TPS to bring awareness
around how the components of TPS are understood through the lens of
neuroscience. This information is a precursor to understanding Neuro-
Hoshin, as it was derived from a comprehensive essay that I wrote while
working through the dissertation process at Fielding Graduate University in
Santa Barbara, California.
Lean production and Lean manufacturing originated from the philosophy
of Japanese production systems. The focus with these systems is the elimina-
tion of muda (Japanese term for waste) and to reduce cost (Shingo & Dillon,
1989). Based on Taiichi Ohno’s observations, Toyota created what are called
the eight mudas: waiting, motion, rework, conveyance, overprocessing,
inventory, overproduction, and unused human creativity. This is important
because researchers are finding that the human capacity to process infor-
mation is limited, causing individuals to compensate for this limitation by
creating shortcuts that affect their judgments in decision making (Bazerman,
1998) and creating muda.
Most Lean literature focuses on the tool side of Lean, with some attention
to teamwork as a key component of Lean production. The reason that com-
panies who have attempted to implement Lean in non-Japanese cultures are
finding it difficult to do so is because their focus has been on the tools. But
Lean also has a human side, for example, mentoring to develop Lean thinking.
Another random document with
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grown-up kids burned to a crisp. Pet poodle, whining, discloses the
baby under a bed, unharmed. Baby is adopted by a rich family.
Poodle gets a decoration. Stories! Stories!"
He drew a deep breath, and continued: "The great thrill is putting
your story over, hot off the press, satisfying the public's curiosity for
news. Exclusive stories! The first thing the City Editor looks for. But
there's no credit for them outside the office force. A pat on the
shoulder, 'Good work, Bill!' and sometimes a 'by-line.' You write a
good story, and you wallow in self-esteem. That's the only real
compensation. No wallowing in wealth. The tragedy of reporting is
that newspaper stories pay so little and die so quickly. You put your
life's blood into them, your very soul. But they're not even
yesterday's remembrance. In a couple of days they're dead—dead
as a pickled herring!"
"Wonderful!" Pat breathed, as soon as the reporter had finished. "It
all sounds so thrilling. I too love adventure—life, but until now—"
"Until you were nervy enough to take risks and rescue me from
durance vile," McGinity broke in.
"Until now," Pat went on, "my adventures have been only in the
pages of romantic and mystery books, although I've often tried to
write myself—I really believe I have the talent. Anyway, I've often
longed to step through those pages of romance and mystery, like
Alice stepped through the looking-glass."
McGinity grinned. "Reporting isn't wonderland, by any means," he
said; "it's the land of stark realities. I've had doors slammed in my
face; I've been snubbed, insulted, double-crossed and kicked
downstairs; but never—no, never in all my short experience as a
reporter for a sensational tabloid sheet like the Recorder, have I ever
had an experience like this one, tonight!"
"I'm sorry Uncle Henry was so ungracious and unkind," said Pat, in a
low, sympathetic voice; "and Niki so cruel. I'm sure the valet didn't
mean to knock you out."
McGinity grinned. "Oh, but I don't mean what you think I mean," he
said. He leaned over the table towards her. "I mean this experience
—you—at this moment. You—this incredulous you! A beautiful young
princess, in these dark, ancient surroundings, and only forty-nine
minutes from Broadway. An angel of mercy, too. It's all too fine and
lovely to be true. I must be in a dream." He swept his hand across
his eyes. "Maybe I haven't come to my senses yet—maybe—"
He stopped short as the telephone bell in the library began to trill
sharply. He glanced at his watch. Two o'clock. Only half an hour
before the last edition of his paper went to press. Time enough to get
his story in, if only a flash. The old instinct—news instinct—loyalty to
his paper, suddenly gripped him; it blotted out everything else—even
Pat. He must get his story in. No longer would there be any
interference with his plans. All danger—all obstacles—were past,
and he was free at last to act.
He jumped to his feet, and with a bound, passed through the open
doorway into the darkened library. The trilling of the bell guided him
to the desk in the center of the room.
Pat sat staring after him. Then, suddenly, she understood his object.
Instantly, she too sprang from the table, and darted into the library
after him. A touch of the switch, and the room was flooded with light.
McGinity was standing by the desk, in the act of lifting the receiver
from the hook.
"I'm afraid you're forgetting yourself," Pat said coldly. "You agreed to
follow out my instructions."
McGinity glanced at her strangely. "It's all okay. Everything's all
right," he said, in an excited and husky whisper.
"Don't be absurd," said Pat. "Everything is not—all right. You're going
to phone your story in, and you promised you wouldn't. Gentlemen
always keep promises."
"I'm a reporter, and this is my business," McGinity retorted. "I've got
to get this story in, and nobody's going to stop me."
"Very well, then," said Pat, and her voice was strangely flat and
lifeless. "You're perfectly at liberty to do so, but—" she added,
imperiously, "if this is your gratitude, the sooner we part company the
better."
Even at this, his reason did not begin to assert itself. "This is my job,"
he exclaimed, heatedly. "I wasn't born rich like you. I've got to work
for my living. I've got to make good on this story or I'm liable to be
fired. You don't want me to lose my job, do you?"
Pat looked at him dumbly. "It means nothing to me—now," she said;
"nothing in the least." She turned away from him, and re-entered the
dining room.
"Please! Miss Preston!" he called after her. A thoughtful pause, and
his lips went to the mouthpiece as though he were going to bite it.
"You've got the wrong number," he angrily retorted to the insistent
person at the other end of the wire. "Dammit! Get off the line!" He
hung up the receiver, and swiftly followed after Pat. Coming up to
her, he said, in a low, contrite voice: "I'm sorry if I seemed
discourteous and ungrateful just now."
"It was most generous of you not to phone your story in," she said,
and shrugged indifferently.
"I sort of lost my head the moment I heard that phone bell ring," he
explained, "but a big story like this means a whole lot to me." He ran
his hand nervously through his tousled hair. "At least, you might let
me phone my office, and give the Night Desk some kind of a report
about myself. They haven't heard beans from me since I was
assigned to the story, early in the evening."
"Surely," Pat agreed. There was a little gentleness in her voice now.
"I'll trust you."
Realizing that matters had approached a crisis, I resolved to make
my presence known to Pat while the reporter was busy at the
telephone, in the library. I could see she was suffering from nerves.
The adventure was proving a little too much for her. When she saw
my tall figure moving towards her, in the dimly-lighted dining room,
she stifled a cry of alarm.
"It's all right, my dear," I said, taking her gently by the arm. "I've seen
and heard everything. You've done nothing discreditable. Let's hope
when morning comes, and Henry is sober, he'll act more sensible
than he did tonight."
When McGinity returned, and saw me, his face went a little paler. He
appeared relieved when I gave him a friendly smile.
"What's happened?" he asked, glancing at Pat, after she had
introduced me.
"I don't want you young people to be alarmed," I said, "but there's no
telling. Henry's a light sleeper, and he may drop in on you at any
moment."
Just then Niki came in, bearing the reporter's supper on a huge silver
tray. Niki was probably just as much surprised at seeing me there, as
I was in discovering him, in the first place, but his face was still a
stolid mask. While he busied himself at the table, I shepherded
McGinity and Pat to one side, and said, in a low voice:
"Now, Mr. McGinity, you hurry and eat your supper, and I'll relieve
Patricia, and act as your bodyguard until I've locked you up again
safely in our cellar."
"But he isn't to be locked up again," said Pat, after McGinity had
seated himself at the table. "I've already given orders to Niki to put
him in the Blue Room."
I gasped. It was almost incomprehensible. The Blue Room was the
most attractive and spacious guest-room in the castle.
"Mr. McGinity can remain comfortably there, without any disturbance
from Uncle Henry," she continued, "until Niki serves him his
breakfast. As a prevention against catching cold, after his exposure
this evening, I've instructed Niki to give him a good alcohol rub-
down, and also to massage his jaw. You've no objections, Uncle
Livingston?"
"None," I replied. Not a hint that I was utterly flabbergasted.
McGinity heard nothing of this, or seemed to hear nothing. He was
obviously engrossed in eating his supper. But not so absorbed as I
thought when Pat said: "Well, good-night—all," and turned to leave
the room.
Then he leapt to his feet. "Don't go, please!" he pleaded.
"Oh, but I must," Pat said, lightly.
"Okay, then," he said, dejectedly. "See you in the morning, I hope.
Thanks for all you've done for me—thanks a whole lot."
A tired smile, a flutter of trailing white, and Pat was gone.
"She's the stuff all right," McGinity remarked, as soon as she had left
the room; "true stuff." Then I heard him mutter to himself: "I wonder
what she sees in that gink, Prince Matani?"
After that, he barely spoke a dozen words. He looked all in; even a
glass of sherry did not seem to revive him. He acted a little dazed.
When I told him he was to sleep in our best bedroom, he simply said:
"Good."
At three o'clock I left him there, in the hands of Niki, and trudged off
to bed myself, feeling like a wet rag, and wondering what the
morning would bring forth.

VIII
At breakfast, Henry wore a puzzled and anxious look, for which Pat
and I did not find it hard to account. Apparently urged by a twinge of
remorse, he had paid a secret visit to the cellar earlier in the
morning, and to his great consternation and alarm, had found the
reporter missing. Up to breakfast time, he was, of course, unaware
of Pat's doings, and had only his own knowledge to go on. Niki had
kept his silence, for a very good reason, which was—Pat.
Olinski was a few minutes late in joining us. Luckily only the four of
us were seated at the table. Prince Matani had caught an early train
for the city. Jane had remained in bed with a nervous headache.
Olinski lost no time in making inquiry about the imprisoned reporter.
Leaning over to Henry, he asked, in a low voice: "Is everything all
right?"
"Disappeared!" Henry replied, in a low aside, using his morning
paper, the Times, as a screen for the sub rosa conversation, which
then ensued. "Clean gone!" he added.
Olinski looked positively sick for a moment. "Odd, isn't it?" he
remarked.
"The whole affair's odd," Henry returned, placing a finger to his lips,
to indicate the need for secrecy and caution.
Pat and I were both listening attentively, but camouflaging our
attention with some silly chatter and laughter, as if deprecating any
idea that we wished to listen in.
"Supposing someone got rid of him—Niki, for instance," Olinski
suggested, sotto voce. "Niki's an Oriental. He may have
misunderstood your motives. Faithful servant, you know. Heard of
cases of that sort myself, in the Orient, not in this country, though."
Henry's eyes seemed to pop, and his face blanched at the
suggestion of murder. "Oh, but I think that's impossible," he asserted,
unconsciously raising his voice.
"What's impossible, Uncle Henry?" asked Pat.
"Oh!" said Henry, taken wholly by surprise. "Mr. Olinski and I were—
er—we were just discussing a rather peculiar happening of last night,
after you'd gone to bed. Something of a mystery, which seems
difficult of solution."
"Perhaps I can solve it for you," Pat suggested demurely, giving me
a knowing wink.
Olinski, who was watching Pat attentively, signed to Henry to remain
quiet, and said: "I'm afraid your distinguished uncle has got himself
into a peck of trouble."
"The thing's done, and can't be undone," Henry protested
vehemently.
"What's done, Henry?" I inquired in a perfectly innoxious tone.
As Henry hesitated, Pat spoke. "Oh, I may as well blurt it straight
out," she said. "Uncle Livingston and I were going to announce it, in
due form, but I'd just as soon tell you now. Mr. McGinity, the Daily
Recorder reporter, whom you cruelly attacked and locked up in the
cellar, last night, received proper attention, and was put to bed in the
Blue Room, after you and Mr. Olinski had retired. He's now having
his breakfast, very comfortably, I hope, in bed."
Henry stared at Pat incredulously. "Um!" he exclaimed at last.
Thereupon, she gave a plain, straightforward account of things. Told
all she knew, while I corroborated and amplified her statements
whenever necessary. And two more surprised-looking men, I never
saw in my life before. As she proceeded, Henry's face cleared. "Um!"
he said again, when the full story had been told.
"I don't think I'm much of a hand at advising in such matters," Pat
went on, "but in view of the nice mess of things you've made, Uncle
Henry—"
As she paused uncertainly, Henry caught my eye. "What do you say,
Livingston?" he asked.
"Well, if you ask me, Henry, I agree entirely with Pat," I replied, with
decision. "Assault of this reporter, and his detention in the cellar,
rank as an act in contravention of the criminal code, the penalties for
which, as you are no doubt aware, are very severe."
"We don't want any more scenes like last night, do we, Uncle
Henry?" Pat put in, ingenuously.
"Um! Um!" said Henry, reflectively.
Mentally he must have seen a picture of what might be if he did not
patch things up with the reporter, who was in a position to bring a
civil action and mulct him in very substantial damages. "I—I suppose
I did treat him rather roughly," he admitted finally, now that the
ground had been cut from under his feet. "What would you suggest,
Livingston?" he asked, meekly, again turning to me.
Struck by a sudden, happy thought, I replied: "I would suggest
offering the reporter the exclusive rights for the story of your amazing
discovery, on condition that he is not to publish it until you've given
him permission, or set a release date. Try that, and see how it
works."
"Excellent!" exclaimed Olinski.
"Very good," said Henry.
At that moment, Orkins came into the room, and informed Henry that
McGinity was in the hall, and would be obliged if Henry would see
him for a few minutes. Henry accordingly hastened into the hall, and,
as we learned afterwards, greeted the reporter with an open hand
and a cordial smile.
On returning from his interview with the reporter, I was surprised to
see him kiss Pat affectionately on the cheek. "I want to thank you,
my dear," he said, "for saving me from a world of trouble."
Pat blushed and smiled, and kissed him back, then turned away to
hide her tears.
"Family pride is a powerful instinct," I remarked, "and we still bear an
honored name, thanks to Pat."
Henry had good reason to be thankful to Pat, who had saved him
from what might have been an extremely serious contretemps. We
all had, for that matter. Pat had a head on her lovely shoulders. True
to her romantic disposition, she waved adieu to McGinity from a
mullioned window, high up in the castle, where she must have
appeared to him in the likeness of a fairy princess, as he rode off, in
company with Olinski, to the railroad station.
Henry appeared in a placid and cheerful mood during the rest of the
morning. He had managed things pretty well so far. Knowing the
value of publicity, I considered McGinity and the tabloid he
represented, with its tremendous circulation, the best medium Henry
would be able to find for the exploitation of his discovery. I knew he
hated making terms with the reporter, his keen dislike and distrust of
newspapermen seemed inherent, but McGinity had somehow to be
caught and tamed, and unless it were done quickly, McGinity might
be catching him. And that would never do.
Towards noon, Henry sent for me, and I joined him in the library,
where I found him rummaging amongst the books and papers on his
desk. He looked worried. There was something heavy bearing on his
mind. As it turned out, there were several things that harassed him.
"What now?" I asked, a note of impatience in my voice.
"Livingston," he began, with a sudden compression of his lips, and
motioning me to sit down, "will you answer a question that has been
occurring to me all morning? During the time that this reporter,
McGinity, and Pat were together, last night, did he show—well, any
sentimental interest in her? I want to know—particularly."
"No, I'm sure he did not," I replied promptly. "I recall hearing him use
such expressions as 'your delightful companionship,' 'this
incredulous you,' and 'beautiful princess!'"
"What!" Henry exclaimed, with an awkward attempt to suppress an
unbelieving smile; "do I understand you to say you attach no
sentimental significance to such expressions?"
"Why, certainly," I answered. "I attributed his romantic talking to the
after-effects of the knockout blow. At times, he appeared to be
dazed."
Henry regarded me gravely for a moment, then he said: "Livingston,
you are without a doubt the perfect ass!" He brought his fist down
with a thud on his desk to emphasize more completely his opinion of
me.
"Whatever do you mean?" I demanded.
"Listen to me," said Henry, leaning over the desk towards me. "What
happened last night between Pat and this reporter is going to bring
an alarming new situation in our household. Pat has become
romantically interested in this young scallywag, and I feel sure he's
fallen in love with her."
"You wouldn't say that unless you'd some grounds for it," I observed.
"Have you?"
"Nothing that I can personally vouch for," was the reply; "it's only
something that I suspect after putting two and two together. Now,
after hearing you repeat those silly, sentimental expressions that fell
from the reporter's lips, while Pat was treating him to supper, and
speculating on what he may have said to her during the quarter of an
hour you were secreted in the elevator, I feel I have grounds for my
suspicions."
He leaned still further across the desk as he continued. "Now, this
McGinity fellow was in his right mind and senses, take my word for it,
when he called our Pat 'incredulous you,' 'beautiful princess,' and so
on, and also in a perfectly normal state of mind, this morning, when
he turned down my offer to square and hush up last night's
unfortunate affair. I guess Olinski was right. I must have been 'cock-
eyed.' Anyway, the amount I offered him was $50,000. It was a good
bargain, a damned good bargain. What's surprising you?"
"Do you mean to say McGinity turned down such a large offer of
money, which had nothing to do with holding out on the story,
nothing in the nature of a bribe, simply a stated sum in lieu of
damages, say for assault and detention?"
"I do," Henry replied. "The young nincompoop fixed his own price,
and declared he would be well satisfied if he got it."
"And what was that?"
"All he wanted, he said—now, listen carefully to what I'm telling you
—all he wanted was the exclusive rights to the Mars story, the
release terms of which he promised faithfully to obey. As for last
night's occurrences—assault and detention, as you term them—he
simply said: 'Let's forget that.'"
"Is that a fact?" I asked, amazed.
Henry nodded, and continued. "Do you get it? He's in love with our
Pat, or he wouldn't have turned my offer down. Think of it—$50,000.
Enough to start him in the newspaper publishing business on his
own hook."
"Supposing it's true, that a romantic attachment has sprung up
between them, what shall you do?"
"I shall be ruthless," Henry replied, in a stern voice. "Ruthless," he
repeated, and then gazed round the room, rather guiltily, as though
Orkins might be there to hear him.
"By the way," I said. "What's happened to Orkins? I haven't seen him
round the premises since Olinski and McGinity left, shortly after
breakfast?"
"Ah!" said Henry. "That reminds me of another strange occurrence.
Orkins has gone—gone for good."
"Well, that's a queer thing, isn't it?"
"Decidedly queer," Henry concurred. "He came to me quite
unexpectedly this morning and resigned; said he was leaving at
once. No explanation, simply that he was going and wanted his back
pay. I remonstrated about his not giving the usual two weeks' notice,
but he was adamant, so I paid him off and let him go."
"Leaving you no address?"
"No address at all. What do you make of it?"
"It certainly looks queer," I replied. "But I've been rather suspicious of
Orkins from the very start."
"Why?" asked Henry.
"It's always been my opinion," I replied, "that he was mixed up in
some secret, something that we know nothing about. He was too
crafty and reticent to suit me."
"The mere fact that he was crafty and reticent doesn't prove
anything," said Henry.
"Well, then," I said, rather testily, "if Orkins didn't sell you out on the
comet business, who the devil did?"
"I've no idea," said Henry.
"I think it is pretty certain that he also tipped off the Daily Recorder
about your latest discovery, and got well paid for it."
"Even so," said Henry, "these suppositions on your part can have no
possible connection with his leaving so abruptly."
"I've got a notion about that too," I said. "Supposing that he did sell
you out, in both instances, and was assured that his tips would be
treated confidentially, then he must have got scared when McGinity
turned up."
"Scared about what?" asked Henry.
"Well, after what happened to the Daily Recorder reporter last night,
and Orkins must have known about it—you'd be astonished how
quickly news travels among the servants—my idea is that he was
afraid McGinity, in reprisal, would betray his duplicity. So he got away
as quickly as possible to save his face. But it was a foolish thing to
do."
"Foolish?"
"Yes; for newspapers never, under any consideration, betray their
source of news information. I doubt if McGinity himself knew where
the tips came from. He was simply assigned by his City Editor to get
the stories, and Orkins did not figure in them at all as far as he was
concerned."
"At any rate," said Henry, "I'm rather sorry to lose Orkins. While he
had odd ways, I always felt he could be depended upon. He was the
perfect English butler if ever there was one."
"Oh, but he's not English at all," I said. "I learned from one of the
other servants, not so long ago, that he's a Slav by birth, and
acquired his perfect English name, speech and manners during a
long period of buttling in London. By the way, on whose
recommendation did you employ him?"
"Can't say," Henry replied, as he lighted a cigar. "Ah!" he added, after
a thoughtful pause. "I have it! I employed him on Dr. LaRauche's
recommendation, from whom he brought the most exceptional
references. It's not likely, though, that Dr. LaRauche would have any
ulterior reason in wanting me to give his former servant a place."
"After all," I suggested, "there's no getting away from the fact that
Rene LaRauche hates you worse than poison."
"You're wrong, Livingston," said Henry, with emphasis. "Dr.
LaRauche is only suspicious of my scientific achievements. He
regards me as a rank amateur. A top-notch scientist himself, of
international reputation, it is only natural that he should be jealous of
any intrusion upon that which he feels is his own field. But hatred?
Oh, no!"
"If we're going in for mere theorizing," I said, "here's one to cogitate
over. Supposing Orkins, the sly, crafty devil, was a plant in this
house; put here by LaRauche to spy on your scientific research
work? Then what?"
"Well, give me the truth," Henry answered. "Truth's not so easy to
come at in these matters, and I doubt if we shall get any substantial
contribution to your theory. Certainly not by remaining quietly here,
with our hands folded. Come to think of it, LaRauche borrowed a
valuable book of mine more than two years ago, Lowell's 'Mars as
the Abode of Life,' which I should like very much to have him return.
Now, supposing you drop in on him. Haven't the least idea what
you'll get besides the borrowed book, and I doubt if you get that.
Anyhow," he added significantly, "you may find out something—one
way or another."
The curiosity instinct, which was my second nature, rose, strong and
eager, when I heard this announcement. "All right," I said, with a
suddenly roused alertness; "I'll call on LaRauche this afternoon."

IX
It was late in the afternoon when I reached the LaRauche house, a
big, old-fashioned place, which stood within large enclosed grounds
of its own, in a heavily wooded section, on a lonely and unfrequented
road, about three miles south of Sands Cliff village.
Outwardly the residence was shabby, neglected, much in the want of
fresh paint. The grounds in front were grown up with weeds. At the
rear was a level stretch of meadow, backed by woods, which
LaRauche used as a flying field. He owned and operated a small
plane, in which he carried on experiments in wireless and
meteorological observations. Ample private means enabled him to
gratify his tastes to the full in the various fields of scientific research
and exploration.
Astronomy held a particular attraction for him; he was a geologist
and botanist as well. What with one thing and another, his life had
been one long mad quest into the mysteries of the universe, and
some of them he had solved. An astounding genius, if ever there
was one, who was destined, I firmly believed, to spend his last days
in a padded cell.
In appearance, he was a ramrod of a man, with hawk-like features
surmounted by a mass of untidy, bushy white hair. Endowed with
vast energy, he carried his sixty odd years with an air of perpetual
youth and freshness. The man in the street who read of his scientific
explorations into the unknown—recently he had been entertaining
the reading-public with accounts of his plans and preparations to ride
in a rocket to the moon—had no conception of the zeal that
animated him as a scientific investigator, nor knowledge of the
jealous fury that would seize him whenever he was outshone by the
superior success of a fellow scientist.
Hot-headed, violently controversial, always quarrelsome, he had a
malignant way of convulsing the various learned scientific bodies, to
which he belonged, with stinging impeachments of his rivals. He had
a turn for the sensational, which is rare in a man of his genius.
The breach between LaRauche and Henry dated back two years. It
grew out of the first showing by LaRauche of several reels of motion
pictures at the Exploration Club, depicting the life and customs of a
hitherto unknown race of dwarfs, or midgets, he claimed to have
discovered, living in a most primitive state in the jungles of Central
Africa.
Henry and I attended the première, and Henry, in his rather dumb
way, with no intention of wounding the feelings of LaRauche, or
injuring his reputation, voiced his opinion to one of his intimates that
the pictures were fictitious. His chance remark reached the ears of a
member of the board of governors of the club, who made an official
report of it to that body. Secret investigation by the board disclosed
that LaRauche had, indeed, resorted to faking. The official inquiry
revealed that he had recruited a small company of Negro midgets
from Harlem, dressed them in skins of wild beasts and put them
through various African jungle stunts in a wild and wooded section of
New Jersey. The midget tribe he so cleverly portrayed subsisted
mainly on insects, frogs and toads, and their eating live toads was
one of the most realistic and clever fakes I have ever seen.
As a result, LaRauche was expelled from membership for conduct
prejudicial to the club. The fact that the club's action was made
public turned the current of public feeling against him for a time. It
should have covered him with shame and confusion—a very foolish
trick for a scientist of his standing to perpetrate in the declining years
of his career—but he assumed an utterly contemptuous attitude, and
readily admitted once he was cornered that the pictures were
intended as a fake, to fool his rivals in the African exploration field.
Naturally, he blamed Henry for his crushing defeat. There was no
mistaking his ill will thereafter towards my brother, and he
endeavored in many ways to injure Henry's reputation as a scientist.
He wrote him letters, couched in violent terms; called him an
"amateur meddler" in science; he wanted war to the knife. But it
takes two to make a quarrel, and Henry, in his easy way, declined to
enter the controversy.
Another crushing blow to LaRauche was Henry's discovery of the
comet, which increased his rancor and violent antipathy towards my
brother. So it was with no little trepidation that I approached his
house.
Parking my car at the side of the road, I paused a few moments at
the entrance gate to take a rapid, estimating view of the estate,
apparently the only human habitation anywhere about. The grounds
were fenced by a dilapidated hedge, and rows of maples and
poplars.
Suddenly, through the screen of trees, I noticed an old brick house,
set in a hollow, at the base of a hill that sloped gently down from
LaRauche's place. It was set far back from the road, in a clump of
trees, and possessed a considerable range of stables and
outhouses, the possible use of which immediately roused my
curiosity, as there were no indications that farming was being carried
on. It struck me as odd that they should be there. There was a
reason for the several outbuildings I saw on LaRauche's grounds; a
hangar, a small frame building, set between two tall antennae towers
of steel, apparently used for broadcasting, and a glass-domed brick
structure, where, no doubt, he carried on his astronomical
observations.
All this was running through my mind, as I walked up the gravel-path
towards the LaRauche house, when I heard a rustle in the hedge.
Glancing in this direction, I was amazed to see a grizzly bear emerge
from the hedge and make towards me. A cold sweat broke out on
me. I was terrified. I quickened my step, so did the bear, a ferocious-
looking beast. I broke into a run. The bear followed, close on my
heels, in its peculiar loping fashion.
Before I reached the house, a loud, gruff voice, emanating from the
other side of the hedge, stopped the bear's pursuit. I saw a middle-
aged man on the far side of the hedge. From that fleeting glimpse I
had of his general build and swarthy complexion, I judged him to be
an Italian. I was greatly relieved when the bear disappeared through
a hole in the hedge and joined his master on the other side.
But this was not the only unusual and surprising event of that
afternoon. In answer to my ring, the door opened and revealed the
tall, dignified figure of Orkins. I immediately deduced from his
presence there that LaRauche had some hold on him which made
him Orkins' master. I was also convinced that my theory that he had
been planted in our household by LaRauche to spy on Henry's work,
was a very probable one.
I suppose I let my suspicions show themselves in my face, for Orkins
questioned me before I could speak. I was still a little breathless from
running.
"You are no doubt surprised, Mr. Royce, to find me here?" he said.
"Yes—I suppose so," I replied, evasively.
"Dr. LaRauche was kind enough to re-engage me after my leaving
your brother, Henry, so suddenly this morning," he went on. "How did
your brother take it?"
"I prefer not to say anything—about that," I answered. "In fact, I'm
not going to!"
"Yes, yes. I quite understand your attitude, Mr. Royce," he said. "Just
as you like."
"My business is with Dr. LaRauche," I said. "Is he at home?"
"Dr. LaRauche is very busy," Orkins answered, coldly. "He is not
receiving callers today."
"I think he will give me a few minutes' interview on rather urgent
business," I said. "Just give him my card, if you please."
Orkins took my card gingerly, backing away from the doorway as he
glanced at it. He still seemed taken aback, afraid, as though he felt
my business with LaRauche concerned him. I stepped through the
doorway into a small outer hall. "Just so—just so," muttered Orkins.
"It's highly probable that Dr. LaRauche will see you," he added.
"Please wait here," motioning for me to enter the main hall.
After he had vanished up the stairs, I looked from the hall into the
library, a room filled with books from floor to ceiling. I was staring at
this vast array of books with interest when a wisp of a woman
appeared at the head of the stairs. It was Mrs. LaRauche.
"Ah! Mr. Livingston Royce," she said as she came down the stairs.
"You want to see my husband? Well, he's very busy. Why, he hasn't
allowed himself a real night's sleep for several weeks."
Mrs. LaRauche was very much younger than her husband; a slim,
smallish woman of rather sallow complexion, with sandy hair, pale-
blue, restless eyes, and rather untidily dressed.
We shook hands cordially. She had always treated Henry and me
with the most punctilious respect. I had not seen her for about two
years, and I formed the opinion at once that her husband's break
with Henry had not changed her friendly feelings towards us.
I noticed a great change in her. She seemed to have lost her old-
time vivacity. She appeared tired and worn, and had aged
considerably. I felt anxious and perturbed about her. Something, I
was quite sure, had happened. And, of course, it had to do with her
husband.
There was an atmosphere of mystery about her and the house, and
it was further deepened when Mrs. LaRauche led me from the hall
into the library. She gave me the impression at once of one who lives
in constant fear. There was a sign of caution and watchfulness in her
eyes, expressed in nervous, terrified glances over her shoulder.
"I'm sure you won't mind my asking if your business with my
husband is so very important?" she began in a low, tremulous voice.
"You see—" She stopped and turned at what seemed to be the
sound of footfalls on the stairs. There was a look of terror in her
eyes.
"It isn't," I interrupted. "I've merely called, at my brother's request, to
ask Dr. LaRauche for the return of Professor Lowell's book on Mars
which he borrowed more than two years ago."
She looked greatly relieved. "I'm so glad," she breathed. "Rene goes
into a perfect rage if he's interrupted. He's been very upset all
morning, but still continues at his work. What he's working on, I
haven't the slightest idea."
"Probably working on that rocket to the moon idea," I suggested,
smiling.
"Completely mysterious to me," she rejoined.
"You've heard, of course, of my brother's latest discovery?" I
ventured.
"No," she replied. "I've heard nothing. My mind has been occupied
all morning wondering what's brought Orkins back to us. I've always
disliked and distrusted him intensely."
Not feeling free to explain the circumstances, or cloud, under which
Orkins had left our household, I glanced out the window. "Your house
is in a very lonely location," I observed. "I hope you do not go out
much alone. You seem to have some queer animals roaming about. I
was chased by a grizzly bear as I walked through your grounds."
Mrs. LaRauche shuddered. "Oh, that terrible beast!" she muttered. "I
never go out at night by myself on account of that bear. He's not
vicious at all, really a pet, but it's frightening to run into him. Often I
hear him, in the dead of night, clawing at our doors, whimpering and
growling, and trying to get in."
"Who owns the animal?" I inquired.
"He belongs to our disreputable neighbor, Antonio Ranzetti," she
replied, "an Italian animal trainer, who rented and took possession,
much against our wishes, of that old brick house in the hollow. Rene
would have bought the place, had we known, rather than suffer the
annoyance of living next to a menagerie."
"Is it as bad as all that?"
She nodded. "He has a large collection of wild animals in the house
and outbuildings, which he is training for the circus," she explained,
"and he's just about as secretive in his work as Rene in his scientific
researches. He's one of the most expert animal trainers in the world,
I believe."
Then she suddenly remembered the book I was after. "I'm sure my
husband did not keep your brother's book intentionally," she said.
"He's very forgetful of what he calls trivialities." She walked over to a
disordered desk, and with a sharp exclamation, picked up the book
from among a row of volumes on top of it. "There you are!" she said.
My back was turned towards the door into the hall as I took the book,
and expressed my thanks for its return. I was just on the point of
departure, seeing I had no further excuse to remain on the premises,
when I saw her start, and turn pale. Turning round quickly, I faced Dr.
LaRauche, as he entered the library. In looks, he was about the
angriest looking man I had ever encountered.
"Ah, Dr. LaRauche!" I said, without turning a hair.
He made no reply, just stood there, glaring, and inspecting me from
top to toe. Finally, he spoke. "I know what's brought you here,
Livingston Royce," he said. "I expected it."
Coming out of her cowering fright, and finding her voice, Mrs.
LaRauche broke in falteringly. "Mr. Royce came after the Lowell book
on Mars you borrowed from his brother, Henry, more than—"
A contemptuous exclamation cut her short. "Something more than
the borrowed book brought him here," LaRauche said.
"What, for instance?" I asked him, point-blank.
"There's no doubt in my mind that your cunning brother sent you
here to spy on me, on my work in its possible relation to his own, and
to find out why I reengaged Orkins. But you haven't learned very
much, have you?"
"To tell you the truth, I haven't," I replied, nonchalantly. "I'm not the
sort of person gifted to see through a brick wall."
"Well, as you haven't found out anything," LaRauche thundered, "the
next best thing to do is to go home, and report to your meddlesome
brother that you haven't." As he concluded, he waved a hand
towards the door.
With a polite bow, I withdrew, and left the house. I had not gone
many yards down the gravel-path, when a woman's cry tore the air, a
smothered cry of terrorized anguish. The sound died away without
repetition. I passed on, convinced that some evil had befallen Mrs.
LaRauche. There was more mystery in this house than I had at first
imagined.
No success having materialized from the real motive of my visit,
which LaRauche, with uncanny intuition, had so rightly surmised, I
returned to the castle, and told Henry all that had occurred. He
laughed heartily when I narrated my encounter with the grizzly bear.
As for the secret work LaRauche was at present engaged on, and
Orkins' possible connection with it, I was bound to admit that I had
made little headway in obtaining any accurate information.