Occam’s Razor and Lean Thinking

Occam’s Razor is a principle that dates back to the 14th century and is attributed to the English Franciscan friar and philosopher William of Ockham.

It simply says: When multiple explanations exist, start with the simplest one.

Not because it’s always right, but because it’s the best place to begin. And if you think about it, this idea fits really well with Lean.

The Trap of Complexity

In my experience, especially early in a Lean journey, there’s a strong pull toward complexity.

I remember, back in my manufacturing days, a rather embarrassing situation where I was called out to one of our surface mount technology machines that wouldn’t turn on.

After checking the circuit breakers and testing some electrical components on the machine, we were ready to tear that thing apart when one of the machine operators noticed something…the machine had been unplugged. Once we plugged it in, the machine started right up.

Needless to say, we grabbed our multimeters and quickly left the scene.

Excess Inventory

Another example I have seen more than once concerns excess inventory.

Specifically, when trying to understand why there is so much excess, sometimes obsolete, inventory, it’s easy to blame bad forecasts, supply chain variability, and demand swings.

Many times, the better question is simply, are we overproducing? And, you guessed it, the answer is often yes.

Occam’s Razor at the Gemba

The beautiful thing about Occam’s Razor is that it perfectly harmonizes with a core Lean principle: Genchi Genbutsu, which means to “go see for yourself.” Instead of trying to solve the issue on an MS Teams call or yet another meeting, go to the place the work is done and deeply observe.

With this said, it’s important to understand that Occam’s Razor is not an excuse to oversimplify.

Saying, for example, “the operator made a mistake” isn’t simple…it’s shallow and lazy. More often, the better explanation is that the process, or more likely lack of a good process, allowed the mistake.

So, the next time you’re faced with a problem, go to the gemba, or the place the work is done, and ask, “What’s the simplest explanation that fits what we’re seeing?”

If you start with this, you may not need to go much further.

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