"Lean"ardo Da Vinci?

I recently finished reading Walter Isaacson's brilliant biography of Leonardo Da Vinci, a fascinating account of the life of one history's great thinkers that I recommend without reservation. Leonardo was an accomplished artist, scientist, engineer, performance artist, and procrastinator. As a lean practitioner, I couldn't help but notice that Leonardo employed many lean principles in his work.

Here are a handful of lean principles demonstrated by Leonardo in his biography:

Seek truth and understanding by going to the source

Leonardo used his keen observation skills and deep sense of curiosity to learn about an incredible breadth of phenomena. When Leonardo wished to understand hydrodynamics and the "infinite number of movements" of water, he would go to the river to observe currents, even inventing some goggles to observe while submerged. When he sought understanding of human motion, he gained access to dissect human and animal cadavers, studying each muscle and ligament. When he sought understanding of flight, he would carefully study birds and dragonflies in the wild, observing and documenting the precise motion and coordination of wings.

The Toyota principle of genchi genbutsu or "go and see" is a key principle of lean practitioners used for understanding and seeking truth at the source in order to avoid biases and to test assumptions. Lean practitioners insist on direct observation and inquiry, rather than relying solely on reports, hearsay, and anecdotes.

"He who has access to the fountain does not go to the water-can" - Leonardo

Learn through experimentation and respect facts

Leonardo lacked formal education and was an 'unlettered' man, learning instead through experience, discovery, and deliberate experimentation. This provided him with the freedom to formulate emergent theories that challenged the status quo. He would often devise ways to test his theories through experiments, and was willing to change or abandon his hypotheses when the results did not support them. Leonardo devised experiments to learn about optics by dissecting cow's eyes, or creating controlled studio experiments to test how light was reflected by different materials. He tested his theories about hydrodynamics using tanks, seeds, and dyes. He drew inference based on observation, experimental results, and inductive reasoning on such diverse topics as biblical accounts of floods, how water springs replenish themselves, or why the moon appears brightly in the sky.

Lean practitioners promote learning and innovation through scientific thinking by encouraging ideas and deliberate experimentation. This includes encouraging staff at all levels of an organization to try things out, not restricting ideas and knowledge to the domain of engineers, managers, or academics. Imagine Leonardo being stifled by a manager directing him to submit ideas to a suggestion box or reminding him that it's "not his job" to improve the work because he wasn't a "professional"!

"I've been impressed by the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do" - Leonardo

Think systemically

Leonardo had an extraordinary ability to zoom in and drill-down to minute detail, such as measuring every segment of the human body and their proportional relationships, and then to zoom out and study the sum of the parts, detailing elements of the musculoskeletal system, nervous system, and circulatory system. Leonardo looked for patterns and created brilliant analogies to apply insights and test ideas across disciplines. For example, Leonardo used his study of optics, geometry, anatomy, and engineering to create the illusion of motion in two dimensions through painting and drawing.

Skilled lean practitioners think systemically, rather than focusing improvement efforts within silos, to understand the relationships and connections within a system in order to make better decisions and improvements. The ability to "look into" and "see out of" systems is often a hallmark of a seasoned lean practitioner.

"Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else" - Leonardo

Continuously improve (pursue perfection)

Many people think masterpieces are created through discrete moments of genius or epiphanies. Leonardo required more than 15 years of iteration and improvement to create the Mona Lisa. His sketchbooks are testament to his dedication to continuously hone specific figures, angles, and shadows, including images of craggy Roman warriors, curls of hair, or attempts to "square a circle". Leonardo would often abandon ideas and return to them years or decades later, or not at all.

Lean thinkers pursue perfection with a mindset of continual improvement, rather than expecting blanket solutions or silver bullets to deliver perfection. Small, incremental improvements over time can move any work closer to an ideal state, creating compounding knowledge and insight along the way.

"Art is never finished, only abandoned" - Leonardo

Learn from others and collaborate

A common perception of innovation is one of the tortured solitary soul, producing novel thoughts while alone at a desk by candlelight. Though Leonardo did express a fondness for pastoral solitude, he was drawn to the city-states of Florence of Milan partly due to their intellectual diversity and the opportunities they provided to learn and collaborate. Leonardo apprenticed under a Master named Verrocchio, and there is evidence of his early lessons learned throughout his lifetime's works. Leonardo was keen to pick the brains of other intellectuals about art, engineering, and architecture, (with some exceptions, including an aversion to the brooding Michelangelo). Leonardo collaborated often enough in his artwork that much modern debate over the authenticity of some pieces stems from the difficulty of discerning whether the pieces were truly his alone or a collaborative effort.

Continuous improvement through practicing lean is not a solo endeavour. Most lean practitioners are quick to share insights with colleagues or even competitors, improve work through cross-functional collaboration, and seek mentorship and inspiration from others.

Practicing lean principles may not transform us into a genius, but it may help create moments of ingenuity in our lives.