Toyota: Today's Top Source of Marriage Advice

Great brand for marriage advice. Makes good cars too.

So once you start looking for marriage tips in unexpected places, you find it everywhere. Today's source is Toyota.

Toyota is known for two things: darn good cars, and a really good manufacturing process. Those of you with any ties to industry know about their lean manufacturing efforts: assembly lines with unrivaled accuracy and efficiency.

Part of what makes Toyota's factories a success story is the principle of the Poka-yoke (which, if Wikipedia is to be believed, is ポカヨケin Japanese.)

What exactly is a Poka-yoke? Good question. Let me tell you:

A Poka-yoke is a mechanism that helps someone avoid mistakes. "Its purpose is to eliminate product defects by preventing, correcting, or drawing attention to human errors as they occur." (Thanks again, Wikipedia.)

Relationships need Poka-yokes too. Cliff and I have one we use with Sam, our often overly dramatic 4 year-old. Whenever he's in the midst of breaking down over something small, one of us grownups will make him aware of his near-breakdown by putting our hands behind our ears so our elbows stick straight out, and then flapping them wildly. Silly, but that's the point. It's a Poka-yoke that reminds him to watch his behavior.

Cliff and I also have a Poka-yoke we use when a conversation about something unimportant threatens to devolve into a monumental fight. We stop each other by saying, "Wait ... is this a ceramic snowman?" (For the extended version of this story, see here.)

I'm pretty sure we have a dozen other Poka-yokes, if I just think about it long enough. And our marriage could stand the creation of a few more warning signs, red flags, and blinking lights.

Do you have your own Poka-yokes? Share your story!