Check out Brad Cairns article on Woodworking Network. Here is an excerpt regarding the Japan Study Mission.
“Then came the magical moment: Paul said, “Hold on,” to the person he’s talking to, looks at me and says, “You wanna go?” I couldn’t have said, “Yes” any faster or more emphatically. He returned to his conversation and said, “I don’t know how, but we have to get one more on the trip
This was unquestionably what is referred to in the sports world as the The Sports Network turning point of my life.
I went on the Japan study-mission. It was mind-blowing. The Japanese operate at a level that we can barely comprehend, yet the principles are unbelievably simple.
While we did see some amazing factories in operation, I would say equally as important was being trapped on a bus with 25 other lean maniacs. It’s analogous to being a golfer and running into a fellow golfer at a party. Instantly you have this bond and before long it seems like you have been friends for years. Well, the experience was like that, except on steroids.”