Prozanta Template
Hoshin Kanri / X-Matrix
Strategy deployment from vision to daily actions with catchball
Company:
Plan period:
Prepared:
How to use this template
Hoshin Kanri (Japanese: "compass direction" or "policy management") is a method for translating a company's 3-5 year vision into concrete, measurable actions at every level. The core principle is catchball: goals are thrown back and forth between management levels until everyone agrees on the ambition and the resources — the opposite of a traditional top-down budget process.
North — 3–5 years
Long-term strategic goals: where do you want to be in 5 years?
West — this year
Breakthrough goals: 2-5 ambitious goals that move the company decisively
South — projects
Improvement initiatives and projects that realise this year's breakthrough goals
East — KPIs
Metrics and milestones that show progress toward the breakthrough goals
Step by step
- Define 3-5 year strategic goals (North) — typically 3-5 overall directions.
- Translate them into this year's 2-5 breakthrough goals (West): concrete, measurable and challenging.
- Identify the projects and initiatives (South) that realise the breakthrough goals.
- Run catchball: share the draft with managers and team leaders, adjust based on capacity and feedback.
- Update status quarterly — not just at year-end.
Watch out
- Hoshin Kanri is not a budgeting tool — it's a focusing tool. Choose 3-5 goals, not 30.
- Without genuine catchball it is just a top-down order — employees who aren't heard don't deliver.
- This template is a simplified linear representation. The classic X-Matrix is a diamond-shaped matrix — search "Hoshin X-Matrix" for the full format.
Example
North (3 years): Market leader in Nordic lean solutions.
- West (this year): Reduce lead time by 30%, raise the customer score to 4.5/5
- South (project): SMED on 3 key lines, VSM mapping of 2 product families
Method: Yoji Akao, “Hoshin Kanri: Policy Deployment for Successful TQM” (1991). The catchball principle is central to Toyota's strategy deployment.
3–5 year strategic goals (North)
| # | Strategic goal | Metric | Current state | 3-5 year target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||
| 2 | ||||
| 3 | ||||
| 4 |
This year's breakthrough goals — Year (West)
| # | Breakthrough goal | Target (what, when) | Related 3-5 year goal (#) | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||
| 2 | ||||
| 3 | ||||
| 4 | ||||
| 5 |
Improvement priorities and projects (South)
| # | Project / Initiative | Related goal | Project lead | Start | End | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | □ Plan □ Active □ Done | |||||
| 2 | □ Plan □ Active □ Done | |||||
| 3 | □ Plan □ Active □ Done | |||||
| 4 | □ Plan □ Active □ Done | |||||
| 5 | □ Plan □ Active □ Done | |||||
| 6 | □ Plan □ Active □ Done |
Catchball log — negotiation up and down
| Date | Theme / Goal discussed | Participants | Outcome / Adjustment |
|---|---|---|---|
Prozanta · prozanta.dk
Hoshin Kanri / X-Matrix
Plan period: · Approved: