I think Mr. Shook may be trying too hard to pigeonhole the Toyota Kata topic. Kata are just *practice routines* to help us develop new skills; first via Kahneman's System 2-practicing fundamentals deliberately, carefully, slowly at the start-and then increasing the complexity and speed as the learner's ability grows. Anyone involved in sports and music knows this. You start with practicing some basics kinda rigidly, then you begin to leave the Kata behind and can apply your skill in infinite ways. Shook thinks "Kata is for individuals and A3 is for teams," but our experience has been different. See this passage from the 'Toyota Kata Practice Guide': "Practicing Starter Kata has been utilized for centuries as a way of preserving effective skillsets, transmitting them from person to person, and building effective teamwork. Having a set of Starter Kata is particularly useful when you want to create a shared way of thinking and acting, a deliberate culture, among a group of people, because everyone begins with practicing the same fundamentals." That's how practicing the Improvement Kata and Coaching Kata played out at my company. It helped us develop a shared set of skills and language, it increased engagement, and it generated noticeably better teamwork. I wonder if Mr. Shook has practiced Toyota Kata.
