[Management Plan] (4) The PDCA cycle is not turning. Why 90% of companies are stuck: The structure where the same meetings, same words, and same failures are repeated

Is that PDCA cycle actually meaningful?

- Just going through the motions
- Reviewing every month
- Thinking you are making improvements

So,

what has changed?

Many PDCA cycles
end with the satisfaction of just having gone through the motions

However,
a PDCA cycle that does not lead to change is worthless

This is the important part

PDCA is not an "improvement tool"
but a "verification device for redesigning structures"

that is what it is

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*This series consists of 7 parts in total
Click here for the previous part

1. In many companies, only the Plan phase is completed

PDCA is not a system
it is an action

And in many organizations,
that action stops halfway through

The Plan is completed

- Creating a strategy
- Setting KPIs
- Drawing up a roadmap

They can do this much
The problem is what happens after that

Once you enter the Do phase,
the plan is broken down on the front lines.

- Priorities change
- Interpretations diverge
- Execution is delayed
- Other matters intervene

At this point,
a gap is created between the plan and execution.

However, many companies
do not treat that gap as a structural issue.

"Front-line problems"
"Coordination challenges"
"We will be thorough next time"

This is how it is vaguely handled.
However,

the problem is not effort, but design.

---

2. What is being done in Check is observation, not verification.

Many companies are just looking at numbers.

- Tracking KPIs
- Looking at budget-versus-actual variances
- Holding meetings

But they stop there.

They are only looking at the results,
not at the decisions that led to those results.

What should actually be examined in Check is:

- Why did the numbers miss the mark?
- Which assumptions were wrong?
- Which decisions were off-base?
- Where did the interpretations diverge?

Unless you dig this deep,
it does not count as verification.

But in reality,

"The market environment changed"
"It was different from what we expected"
"We will improve next month"

ends with

This is not Check;
it is observation.

Observation alone does not change the structure.

---

3. The reason Act does not function is that responsibility is not identified.

In many companies,
it appears that Act is also being performed.

- Modifying measures
- Updating KPIs
- Increasing meetings

However, change does not accumulate.

The reason is simple.

Which judgment was wrong
has not been identified.

What is actually necessary is to:

- Whether it was a mistake in KPI design
- Whether it was a mistake in decision-making
- Whether it was a mistake in the execution process
- Whether it was a mistake in the recognition of premises

Separate these.

However, in many organizations,
this is avoided.

When responsibility is identified,

- The atmosphere becomes tense
- It affects evaluations
- Defensiveness begins

Therefore, responsibility is kept ambiguous.

But the moment this is left ambiguous,
improvement ends.

Improvement is not about good intentions,
it is about identifying incorrect judgments.

---

4. What is needed is not improvement, but redesign.

What companies where PDCA does not function lack is
neither enthusiasm nor meetings.

Only three things are necessary.

1. Observe the facts.

What happened, and where did the deviation occur?

2. Identify the judgment error.

Which premise or which decision was wrong?

3. Redesign the structure.

Review KPIs, flows, roles, and decision-making.

Only after doing this does improvement occur.

Improvement is not a correction;
it is a redesign.

Repeating the same thing within the same structure
is merely repetition.

---

5. Responsibility is not punishment. It is accountability.

What is important here is
how responsibility is handled.

Responsibility is not punishment;
it is accountability.

- Why did you make that decision?
- Why did you set that KPI?
- Why did you execute in that order?
- Why did you adopt that premise?

Articulate this.

In other words,

visualizing the decision-making process.
This breaks down if it is linked to evaluation.

Therefore,

Separate the identification of responsibility from evaluation.

Handle responsibility for structural improvement.
Handle evaluation on a separate axis.

When this separation is achieved,
the organization will speak the truth for the first time.

And then the PDCA cycle will begin to function.

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6. The relationship between PDCA and strategy

This is important

PEST → Premise
3C → Battlefield
SWOT → How to fight
PDCA → Execution and verification

PDCA comes last

If you run it while the strategy is still vague,
nothing will be built up

---

PDCA is a "verification device"

What you should do with PDCA is
not improvement
but verification

- Formulate a hypothesis
- Observe the results
- Revise your judgment

Only after doing this
can you move on to the next step

Don't just run it and finish

Redesign it and then finish

Growth is not about the number of cycles
It is determined by whether you can revise the structure

■ Management Planning Series (Overall Structure)

In this series, we will break away from "vague management" and organize the mindset needed to drive structures using numbers.

1. What is a plan?
It is not a prediction, but the creation of "decision-making rules."

2. KPI Design
Deconstruct the structure and identify the "variables that can be moved."

3. Budget vs. Actual Management
Visualize the gap between plans and actual results, and make corrections.

4. PDCA
It is not about turning the cycle, but about creating a "structure where improvement occurs."

5. Revenue Design (Top Line)
Deconstruct revenue and create a growth structure with reproducibility.

6. Cost of Goods Design
Design a cost structure to ensure profit remains.

7. SG&A Expense Design
Optimize the balance between fixed costs and investments.

PDCA is at the core of this.

Just making a plan is meaningless.
Just setting KPIs is meaningless.
Just looking at budget vs. actuals will not change anything on its own.

To change the structure, you must verify, identify judgment errors, and redesign.

PDCA is what fulfills that role.

A plan is not about "predicting the future,"

but about "changing the future."

■ Management Planning Series (Overall Structure)

In this series, we will organize the mindset needed to break away from "vague management" and move structures using numbers.

1. What is a plan?
Creating "rules for decision-making," not predictions

2. KPI Design
Decomposing structures and identifying "variables that can be moved"

3. Budget vs. Actual Management
Visualizing and correcting the gap between plans and actual results

4. PDCA
Creating a "structure where improvement occurs," rather than just cycling

5. Revenue Design (Top Line)
Decomposing revenue and creating a structure for repeatable growth

6. Cost of Goods Design
Designing a cost structure to retain profit

7. SG&A Expense Design
Optimizing the balance between fixed costs and investments

A plan is not about "predicting the future"
It is about "changing the future"

Everything is a
"mechanism to eliminate coincidence"

If this remains ambiguous,
no matter how hard you try, your results will not stabilize.

If you:

・Want to create a structure that can replicate revenue
・Do not want KPIs and plans to end up as "number games"
・Want to improve the accuracy of your decision-making

Please leave a comment or send me a DM.