Hoshin is made up of two characters,
‘ho’ and ‘shin’ which literally mean ‘shiny metal’ which means ‘compass’ which ‘points the way’.
Hoshin planning (also called Hoshin Kanri, as ‘Kanri’ means ‘plan) is a simple method of focusing on critical issues.
A Hoshin plan table includes the following sections:
Header showing the author and scope of the plan.
Situation to give meaning to the planned items.
Objective, being what is to be achieved.
Measure that will show when the objective is achieved.
Strategies for how the objectives are achieved.
Measures to check that the strategies are being achieved.
Hoshin planning also contains the principle of cascading objectives, where one person’s strategy can become their subordinates’ objective. There is a danger with this, however, that the actions in the lower levels do not add up to the higher-level objectives. This can be addressed by vigorous up-and-down review and communication, which is sometimes called catchball.