The 7 Steps of Hoshin Kanri (or Hoshin Planning)

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The process you use to develop your strategic plan is as
important as the plan itself. Many organizations adopt
the Hoshin Kanri method (also known as Hoshin Planning
or Strategy Deployment), which integrates daily management with
the strategic breakthroughs needed to propel the organization
forward. Hoshin Kanri helps create specific, actionable plans and
allocates the resources necessary to achieve them.


An important element of Hoshin Kanri is not just the setting of
top-down objectives but also ensuring a two-way dialogue between
leadership and employees, known as "catchball." This ongoing
feedback loop ensures that strategic objectives are both
communicated effectively and adjusted based on input from all
levels of the organization. The entire process becomes an
iterative cycle that aligns with the Plan-Do-Study-Adjust (PDSA)
framework, fostering continuous learning and improvement.


Here are the seven steps typically followed in the Hoshin Kanri
process: