Reflecting on Douglas McGregor’s X and Y theories of human motivation, Shigeo Shingo took the position that each of us by nature has a dual tendency: sometimes lazy and self-interested, and other times motivated and generous. Which of these behaviors dominates is directly related to the environment in which we find ourselves—call it “culture.” 

My personal experience as a manager as well as an employee has surely confirmed Shingo’s opinion for me. Dropped into a manufacturing management role in 1986 with no manufacturing experience, I encountered a quintessential Type X culture. My predecessor, a man of considerable personal knowledge of the business, had ruled for decades with an iron fist, intolerant of opinions other than his own. I remember commenting to a friend when I first took over the manufacturing vice president job, “It seems like employees are children, and production employees are bad children.” Transferring from an IT role in a different building to this new world of distrust and muted dissatisfaction was indeed a culture shock for me.

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