We Need A Red Box

“Wanting to combat the cultural taboos against criticizing management, Toyota’s leaders painted a big red square on the assembly line floor. New employees had to stand in it at the end of their first week, and they were not allowed to leave until they had criticized at least three things on the line. The continual improvement this practice spawned was part of Toyota’s success. I asked my team what they thought: did we need a red box?”
– Kim Scott

From the book Radical Candor

2 Comments leave a comment below

  1. Every company needs a red box.

  2. Not only that, Toyota empowered *anyone* who worked on the assembly line to stop the entire production if he could identify something that wasn’t up to standard. Everyone was given responsibility over the final product, and that led to a great sense of pride.