Nemawashi (根回し) literally means "going around the roots". It comes from the gardener's practice of carefully preparing a tree's roots before moving it. In business, it means talking a proposal through informally with everyone it affects before the formal decision is taken, so the meeting confirms a decision that is already understood and supported.
Updated in October 2026 by the TeamAssurance team.
What Nemawashi Means
The word combines ne (根), meaning root, and mawashi (回し), meaning going around or turning. In traditional Japanese gardening, a tree is not simply dug up and moved. Over a period of time, the gardener digs around it and prepares the roots so the tree can survive the shock of being transplanted and grow well in its new place.
The business meaning follows the same logic. A significant change is the transplant, and the people and teams it affects are the roots. Before the change is decided, each of them is given attention: they hear about the issue, have a chance to raise concerns and suggest improvements, and understand why the change is needed.
In Japanese business culture, nemawashi is a widely recognised part of how decisions are made. Proposals are usually discussed one to one or in small groups well before a formal meeting. By the time the meeting takes place, the main concerns have been heard and addressed, and the meeting itself is largely a confirmation. Surprising senior colleagues with a new proposal in an open meeting is generally seen as poor practice, because it puts people on the spot and risks public disagreement.
Outside Japan, people sometimes describe the same idea as "laying the groundwork", "smoothing the way" or "getting people on board". None of these quite captures it. Nemawashi is not about selling a finished idea. It is about letting the people affected shape the proposal, so that what is decided is better and more widely owned.
Nemawashi at Toyota and in Lean
Nemawashi became widely known outside Japan through Toyota. In The Toyota Way, Jeffrey Liker sets out 14 management principles drawn from the Toyota Production System and Toyota's culture. One of them is that decisions should be made slowly, by consensus, after thoroughly considering the options, and then implemented rapidly. Nemawashi is the process Liker describes for getting there.
The trade-off is deliberate. Many organisations decide quickly and then spend months dealing with resistance, rework and workarounds because the people who have to make the change were never asked. Toyota's approach invests the time up front. The decision takes longer, but implementation is faster and smoother because the problems have already been surfaced and the people involved already understand and support the plan.
In lean terms, nemawashi connects to several core ideas:
- Respect for people. The people closest to the work often know best what will and won't work. Asking them is both respectful and practical.
- Going to gemba. Good nemawashi often happens where the work is done, not only in meeting rooms.
- PDCA. Nemawashi strengthens the Plan stage. A plan tested with the people affected has fewer surprises in Do and Check.
How to Practise Nemawashi in 5 Steps
By the time the formal decision is made, everyone affected has already been heard.
Nemawashi is not a formal procedure, but it can be practised deliberately. These five steps work for most changes, large or small.
Step 1: Identify who is affected
List everyone the decision will touch: the people who will do the work differently, those whose resources or targets change, the people who will approve it, and anyone with expertise or a strong view. Don't forget other shifts, support functions and neighbouring departments. Missing a key group is the most common way nemawashi fails.
Step 2: Share the problem before the solution
Start with the problem and the facts behind it, not with your answer. Show the current situation, the gap and what you think is causing it. People who agree on the problem are far more open to a solution, and they may suggest a better one.
Step 3: Listen and adapt
Talk to people individually or in small groups, where they are more likely to speak openly. Ask what concerns them, what you have missed and what would make the change work for them. Then genuinely change the proposal where their input improves it. If nothing ever changes as a result of nemawashi, it is consultation in name only.
Step 4: Close the loop
Go back to the people you spoke to and show them how their input shaped the proposal. Where you could not act on a concern, explain why. This step is often skipped, but it is what turns people from consulted into committed.
Step 5: Take the decision formally
Bring the proposal to the meeting or approval step where the decision is properly made. Because the groundwork is done, the discussion can focus on final points rather than reopening the whole issue. Record the decision, the owners and the next steps so everyone can see what was agreed.
Nemawashi, Consensus and Ringi
Nemawashi is often mentioned alongside two related terms. They describe different things:
| What it is | When it happens | |
|---|---|---|
| Nemawashi | Informal groundwork: talking a proposal through with the people affected | Before the formal decision |
| Ringi (ringisho) | A formal written proposal circulated to the relevant managers for review and approval | During the formal decision, often after nemawashi |
| Consensus | Broad agreement and support for the decision | The outcome both are aiming for |
In many Japanese companies, nemawashi prepares the ground so that the ringi document, when it circulates, can be approved without surprises.
When Nemawashi Goes Wrong
Done well, nemawashi builds better decisions and stronger commitment. Done badly, it can create the very problems it is meant to prevent.
- Slow decisions. Without a clear deadline, nemawashi can drag on until the opportunity has passed. Set a date for the decision and agree who has to be consulted by then.
- Backroom politics. If private conversations are used to lobby and line up votes, rather than to understand and improve, people will see it as manipulation. Be open about what you are proposing and why.
- Excluding people. Talking only to senior or friendly stakeholders leaves out the people who know the work best. Include frontline teams and those likely to disagree.
- False agreement. People may nod along in private conversations to avoid conflict. Ask specific questions, invite objections and treat silence as a reason to dig deeper, not as approval.
The test is simple: after the decision, the people affected should feel they were heard and understand why the outcome was chosen, even if it was not their first preference.
Nemawashi in Strategy Deployment
Nemawashi plays a central role in hoshin kanri, the lean approach to strategy deployment. Strategic outcomes are a team sport. They need everyone to be clear, on board and committed, and that cannot be achieved by announcing a plan from the top.
In hoshin kanri, this happens through catchball. Leaders "throw the ball" by proposing objectives, and the next level catches it, considers how it can contribute and what it needs, and throws it back. The exchange continues until both levels agree. Catchball works vertically between management tiers and horizontally across departments, and it carries the strategy down to the frontline. Nemawashi is the behaviour that makes catchball work: open, informal conversations before targets are fixed.
This means supporting every management tier, not just the top. The insights and ideas that make a strategy achievable are not solely the domain of senior managers, so teams at all levels need clear, up-to-date information to contribute properly. The planning takes longer, but deployment is faster and more effective.
In problem solving, the A3 is often the document used for nemawashi. Its author takes a draft A3 to the people affected, walks them through the problem, the root cause analysis and the proposed countermeasures, and updates it based on their feedback. By the time the A3 is presented for approval, it reflects many people's input. See our guide to A3 problem solving for how the format supports this.
Nemawashi on the Shop Floor
Nemawashi is just as useful for everyday operational changes, which are quickly resisted or quietly ignored when introduced badly.
Take a change to standard work. If a new method is written in the office and issued to the line, operators may find steps that don't work in practice, and the old method creeps back. If the supervisor first walks the problem through with operators on each shift, trials the new method with them and adjusts it, the standard is more likely to stick because the people using it helped build it.
The same applies to tiered daily management. Changing what goes on a tier board, how escalation works or when meetings run affects every team in the structure. Talking the change through with team leaders and supervisors first, and using the tier meetings themselves to share the problem and gather feedback, means the new routine lands with understanding rather than confusion.
How TeamAssurance Supports Nemawashi
TeamAssurance connects strategy goals, A3 problem solving and tier meetings in one place, so proposals, decisions and follow-up actions stay visible to everyone involved, from the leadership team to the frontline.
Frequently Asked Questions About Nemawashi
What does nemawashi mean?
Nemawashi (根回し) literally means "going around the roots". It describes preparing a tree's roots before transplanting it, and in business it means discussing a proposal informally with everyone affected before the formal decision.
What is nemawashi in Japanese business?
It is the informal process of building understanding and support for a proposal before it is formally decided. Proposals are discussed one to one or in small groups, concerns are addressed, and the formal meeting then confirms a decision that is already broadly supported.
How is nemawashi used in lean?
Lean organisations use nemawashi to make decisions slowly by consensus and implement them quickly, a principle associated with the Toyota Way. It supports catchball in hoshin kanri, the review of A3s with stakeholders, and changes to standard work and tier meetings.
What is the difference between nemawashi and ringi?
Nemawashi is the informal groundwork done before a decision. Ringi is the formal process of circulating a written proposal, the ringisho, to managers for approval. Nemawashi usually comes first, so the ringi document is approved without surprises.
Is nemawashi the same as consensus?
No. Consensus is the outcome: broad agreement and support for a decision. Nemawashi is the process of conversations and adjustments that helps an organisation reach that consensus.
How do you pronounce nemawashi?
Nemawashi is pronounced "neh-mah-wah-shee".
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