What is a leader’s role in creating a culture of continuous improvement? What is the real meaning of kaizen? What does “lean” mean in Japan? On my fourth edition of the Japan Study Trip – in October 2023 – we explored these topics and much more over a six day learning experience of a lifetime! […]

Research and analysis of Lean’s popularity to understand what happened and how it happened. Lean-Popularity-Study-1Download

Process improvement is the driving force behind organizational evolution, unlocking greater efficiency, quality, and innovation. It’s the key to staying competitive, reducing waste, and ensuring progress toward excellence. Embracing process improvement isn’t just a choice; it’s imperative for businesses and institutions committed to continuous growth and success. Lean Six Sigma is a robust methodology that […]

This post in my series on the Toyota KPI dashboard looks at productivity. After safety and quality, this is the third-most-important KPI group on the Toyota dashboard. The cost is least important. This section of the dashboard measures different KPIs on the productive output of the system. Let’s have a look. Introduction Productivity can be […]

tl;dr: In a riveting discussion, Ford CEO Jim Farley and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi delve into Lean principles, cultural shifts, and operational challenges. From crisis management to employee respect, discover how these transportation industry leaders are transforming their companies. A must-read (or watch) for those interested in Lean, leadership, and innovation. It’s time to review […]

Lean Agile, often called Lean-Agile or Agile at Scale, combines Lean principles and Agile software development methodologies for larger, more complex projects and organizations. It extends Agile concepts to address the challenges of managing large teams, multiple projects, and complex systems while still emphasizing customer value, collaboration, and adaptability. Lean Agile principles play a significant […]

So-called “Lean tools” should be used within the context of Toyota-style kaizen, not external to it. When you do the latter, you get some results — but the results you get are not nearly as good as when you use the tools in the context of kaizen. Lean-MistakeDownload

By Pascal Dennis Hi folks, recently I spoke with Brad Jeavons and the fine Enterprise Excellence podcast. Topic: Getting the Right Things Done in a Digital World: Key Differences Between Protecting the Core and Igniting New Growth with Pascal Dennis. Hope you enjoy it! 2 minute tip: Best regards, Pascal In case you missed our […]

tl;dr: In the blog post, we delve into MLB’s ongoing struggle with slow and lengthy games, analyzing recent rule changes aimed at reducing game time. Special focus is given to the newly enforced pitch clock for the 2023 season, its historical context, and its efficacy as tested in the Minor Leagues. Did the new pitch-clock […]

This photo is from my personal archives… If one sign doesn’t do the job, is it really helpful to add a second one? In both instances? What are some better ways to solve these problems? First off, what are the problem statements? Feel free to post a comment below or join the discussion on LinkedIn. […]

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on […]

Before you can implement the best maintenance management program with the right policies and strategies, you need the right people. So, what are the different types of maintenance workers that make up a maintenance team? Find out below. The 3 Different Types of Maintenance Workers Generally, there are three types of maintenance workers that make […]

In the vast landscape of production and manufacturing, one concept often stands out as a key challenge: bottlenecks. Having spent over two decades crafting compelling copy for industries across the board, I’ve seen firsthand the impact of production constraints on businesses and the importance of understanding and addressing bottlenecks. Let’s journey together into the world […]

Continuous improvement, often called Kaizen, is a fundamental concept in manufacturing that emphasizes the ongoing, incremental enhancement of processes, products, and operations. It involves a culture of constant vigilance for inefficiencies and a commitment to making minor, regular improvements. In manufacturing, continuous improvement is vital as it leads to increased productivity, higher product quality, reduced […]

    On this episode of the People Solve Problems Podcast, host Jamie Flinchbaugh engages in an insightful conversation with guest Andy Bailey, Founder of Petra Coach, Aligntoday.com, and Boundless.me. Together, they navigate the intricacies of business, weaving in their combined expertise and personal experiences. At the outset, Andy reflects on the growth journey of […]

Using mistakes to learn and improve requires that we hear about them. But leaders can’t just tell people to speak up. Telling them, “It’s safe” doesn’t make it true. Each individual decides if they feel a level of psychological safety high enough that the potential rewards of speaking up outweigh the perceived risks. As Harvard […]

Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guests for Episode #487 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast are two Lean leaders from GE Aerospace. They are Samantha Ruehle, Lean Operations Leader, Lean Transformation Team and Greg Pothoff, Executive Director – Business Management Aviation Supply Chain. I interviewed each of them after the […]

Most of us have memories of playing the game of catch either as children or with our children. I really shouldn’t call it a “game” because there are no winners and losers. There is no defense because everyone is on the same side. One participant tries to deliver the ball to the other in a […]

Last week I attended the Northeast Lean Conference in Worcester, MA. The Northeast Lean Conference was created by GBMP to provide information and inspiration to Lean practitioners – from those just starting out to seasoned Lean leaders from the manufacturing, healthcare, service and other vital industry sectors. The theme, It’s About Time, has a double […]

We all identify goals to improve ourselves in some way. Whether our goal is to eat better, exercise more, spend more time with our family, or increase our productivity, we all have something we’re striving for. However, in too many instances, we lose sight of our goals and fall back to old behaviors and the […]

In this third post of my series on the Toyota dashboard we will be looking in more detail at quality. The quality of Japanese car makers in general and Toyota in particular is quite a bit better than the rest of the world’s. After safety, quality is the second-most-important issue at Toyota, definitely before productivity […]

Join me for a LinkedIn Live session on Tuesday at noon ET, where I’ll be joined by my friend Billy Taylor. We’ll preview the panel discussion that Billy will be facilitating at the AME International Conference in Cleveland. The conference is being held Oct 30 to Nov 2. Learn more. The panel that Billy is […]

As you may know, A Few More Thoughts was my 28th and final book. Reflecting on 20 years of authoring books, I decided to summarize my work for my own interest and perhaps yours as well. Here is a complete list of books: And I was curious to know how many pages the books comprise… […]

On the second Monday of every October, we have a holiday in the honor of the European explorer, Christopher Columbus. Christopher Columbus is important for accidentally discovering America, thus starting the Age of Exploration, and causing world changing events that continually influence history even up today. This is a good time to talk about the […]

This is a writeup of What Lies Beneath, a new string of exercises that now forms the final session of the Leading with Outcomes module Adaptive Organisation (II): Between spaces, scopes, and scales, and by extension, the 3-day in-person training Leading in a Transforming Organisation. I tested it in that latter form in Melbourne, Australia […]

As you may know, A Few More Thoughts was my 28th and final book. Reflecting on 20 years of authoring books, I decided to summarize my work. And I was curious to know how many pages the books comprise… 5486 Pages As one reader noted: 5486 pages in twenty years. It would take an average […]

Have you heard of or read the book, Lean Politics: A Radical Cure for the State, published in 1995? It is a book about improving German politics. It references Shigeo Shingo, Kiyoshi Suzaki, and Horst Wildemann, authors who have written about Toyota Production System, Japanese management, and Lean management, respectively. Lean politics sounds like a […]

Auditing serves several essential purposes, both within an organization and in a broader societal context: Financial Integrity and Reliability: At its core, auditing evaluates the accuracy, completeness, and compliance of financial statements. This helps stakeholders—investors, creditors, and regulators—rely on the financial information companies present. Enhance Accountability and Transparency: Auditing holds entities accountable for their financial […]

It’s no secret that retaining employees today’s current job market has become increasingly difficult. This is especially true in the manufacturing industry, where turnover rates are high. In fact, voluntary turnover in manufacturing has reached almost 30 percent. So, to retain talent and maintain growth, manufacturing organizations must develop incentivized employee benefits strategies. But, what […]

Let’s be honest, it can be difficult to get people excited about the subject of business process improvement. The phrase itself has no personality, no flair. Of course, we know that continuous improvement and innovation are requirements for success in today’s hyper-competitive environment. One way to get teams excited about business process improvement is to […]

Thanks as always to Ryan McCormack for this… there’s always so much good reading, listening, and viewing shared here by him! Subscribe to get these directly from Ryan via email. Insights about improvement, innovation, and leadership… Operational Excellence, Improvement, and Innovation Don’t use your SPC chart as a process steering wheel (unless you don’t want […]

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on […]

15-minute FOTO, Agendashift’s Clean Language-inspired coaching game, has a cheat mode! It’s a question that’s not on the card*: The secret question: Why is that important? If you’re starting with an obstacle that seems to beg the answer to “What would you like to have happen?”, try “Why is that important?” instead. Much more interesting! […]

I’m happy to be playing the role of host and moderator for yet another webinar in the KaiNexus Continuous Improvement webinar series. Coming up on October 17th is a presentation by my friend Colleen Soppelsa: The Importance of Trust in Continuous Improvement Register now to be able to attend live. If the time (1 p.m. […]