Are recurring issues preventing your team from consistently delivering value to your customers? Are you struggling with measurable gaps in safety, quality, timeliness, or cost that are affecting your performance? Are your meetings driven by the loudest voice rather than by facts, data, and first-hand observations?
We’ve transformed the unmatched A3 problem-solving process from Managing to Learn—the award-winning, best-selling workbook by management expert and former CEO John Shook—into a course that teaches you how to apply the powerful A3 problem-solving methodology. Based on the proven scientific method of Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA), Managing to Learn with the A3 Process course, will help you address critical business problems within your organization.
What makes the A3 problem-solving approach so powerful is that it is a complete process — a way of thinking, leading, communicating, learning, getting things done, and developing an entire organization of problem solvers.
You will be guided you step by step through creating your own A3. Attending each live session is crucial, as it provides instant feedback to enhance your abilities in real time. By consistently participating in every class and applying the lessons at work between sessions, you’ll steadily refine your A3 problem-solving skills using this proven approach.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:
- Select, define, and investigate real problems from your work environment, leading to practical and impactful solutions.
- Ensure you have a shared understanding of the problem and therefore a shared motivation to address it.
- Investigate and confirm underlying causes of problems, and analyze barriers to improvement, ensuring that solutions address the root of issues.
- Lead the planning and implementation of countermeasures, and follow up to resolve execution issues, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and organizational learning.
Note: As part of this course each participant will receive a free copy of Managing to Learn: Using the A3 Management Process by John Shook
Group Discounts
- Register three or more students from your organization and save 12.5% off every registration. This discount will be automatically applied at checkout when you register with your group.
- LEI Co-Learning Partners: Receive 25% off the current price. No group discount can be applied.
Cancellation Policy
To cancel, please call LEI at (617) 871-2900 or email registrar@lean.org.
- Two+ weeks before start date: full refund
- Less than two weeks before the start date: $350 fee
- After the start date: no refund
Schedule Overview – Online
The session will be 6 sessions that are hosted over 6 weeks with one to two hours of assignments in between.
October 31 – December 12, 2025 Course
All sessions hosted 12:00 PM – 2:30 PM ET and instructed by Lavon Medlock
- Friday, October 31
- Friday, November 7
- Friday, November 14
- Friday, November 21
- Friday, December 5
- Friday, December 12
Select a Problem
• Locate a problem in work content
• Grasp the problem’s scope and impact
• Understand the PDCA cycle as part of the A3 story
Clarify the Problem
• Go to see and hear about problem details first-hand
• Visualize and describe the workflow
• Find facts to confirm problem conditions
Define the Problem
• Describe what should be happening/the target condition
• State the problem as a measurable gap to close
• Set a goal and target for the performance improvement
Identify Potential Causes
• Understand cause and effect
• Identify and check direct cause(s)
• Prioritize to the most likely direct cause
Confirm True Causes
• Confirm cause/effect relationships
• Analyze to root cause
• Test logic of the 5-Why chain
Select and Evaluate Options
• Engage with others to identify countermeasures
• Evaluate, rank, and propose countermeasures
Make a Plan
• Agree on actions to take, timing, and responsibilities
• Lead scheduled Plan versus Actual reviews
• Identify and resolve problems during execution where needed
Lavon Medlock has spent over two decades enhancing leaders’ skills in problem-solving and coaching. Skilled in a variety of continuous improvement methods, she has trained leaders in creating effective daily management systems, deployed an integrated facility design approach to new construction projects like a 90,000-square-foot patient tower, and enhanced operations across different sectors. With a […]
Read more about Lavon Medlock
Eric Ethington
Senior Coach and Chief Engineer
Product and Process Development
Lean Enterprise Institute
President, Lean Shift Consulting
Eric has distilled his passion for and knowledge of lean thinking and practice in product and process development, nurtured over 30 years of work experience, into The Power of Process: A Story of Innovative Lean Process Development (2022). As LEI’s chief engineer, process and product development, he leads the development of learning experiences that enhance […]
Read more about Eric Ethington
Karen Gaudet
Senior Coach, Lean Enterprise Institute
Karen has over 30 years of experience leading, training, and developing the capability of team members and executives in rapid-growth environments. Most recently, she’s coached clients in various industries as they adopt lean thinking and practices. They include Microsoft (data center construction), Legal Seafood (hospitality); TriMark (distribution); Abiomed (medical research and device manufacturing), and the […]
Read more about Karen Gaudet
Mark Reich
Senior Coach and Chief Engineer, Strategy
Lean Enterprise Institute
Mark Reich spent 23 years working for Toyota, starting in 1988 with six years in Japan in the Overseas Planning Division, where he was responsible for Product Planning and worked with Chief Engineers to define vehicle specifications for overseas markets. This was at a critical time when Toyota was introducing the Lexus to the world. […]
Read more about Mark Reich
David Verble
Lean Coach, Lean Enterprise Institute
Partner, Lean Transformations Group
A performance improvement consultant and leadership coach since 2000, David has been an LEI faculty member for 17 years. Recognized as one of the first Toyota-trained managers to bring A3 thinking from Japan to the United States, he has conducted A3 problem-solving and leadership programs for 30 years. Overall, his work focuses on supporting clients […]
Read more about David Verble