This blog’s greatest hits of 2023: Nissan’s Quick Response Quality Control (QRQC) Runners, Repeaters, and Strangers among Components Where do “Value Stream Maps” come from? The Fox Knows Many Things, But The Hedgehog Knows One Big Thing Deming’s Point 4 of 14 – End the practice of awarding business on the basis of a price […]

For nearly 25 years, I have advocated for the concept of visual controls used in the shop or office to be applied to leadership development. Much like a checklist or leader standardized work, I view visual controls — combinations of key images and words (more of the former than the latter) — as an important […]

Last year, I looked at the free throw statistics of Andre Drummond of the Detroit Pistons. News headlines talked about how much he had improved his free throws, so I looked at one of his performance metrics (free throw percentage) to see if the increase was “signal” or “noise.” Why write about basketball? Well, there […]

The most read articles of 2023, book and podcast recommendations  Dear Subscribers and Readers, Thank you for your continued readership and support. 2023 marked another year of continuous improvement, improving organizational culture, and driving excellence in the workplace.  Following a brief hiatus in November, the Operational Excellence Mixtape is back at a new home on […]

If you’re involved in the manufacturing industry, you’ve likely heard the term “operational excellence” before. But what exactly does it mean? In short, operational excellence refers to the continuous improvement of processes and systems to optimize efficiency, reduce waste, and increase productivity. In this blog, we’ll delve deeper into the concept of operational excellence in […]

One of the most critical concepts in Lean organizations is the idea that it is essential to eliminate waste. Why is it so central to the practice of Lean? The principles of Lean say that the ultimate goal is to provide perfect customer value. Anything that provides value to the customer is preserved. Everything else […]

By Pascal Dennis (bio) Last blog we began to build a SIPOC analysis around a high level Jury Selection process: 1. Jury Panel Selection –> 2. Jury Selection –> 3. Court Case What can mess up the process? Last time we discussed an important Direct Cause: Poor information flow at step 1 Here’s a possible […]

A selection of highlighted blog posts from Lean bloggers from the month of December 2023.  You can also view the previous monthly Lean Roundups here.     Advice to Young Lean Professionals – Bob Emiliani shares advice that could help young lean professionals better succeed and avoid much stress and anguish.   Signs of a Failing Lean […]

What if HOW you go about setting your goals can change the impact you have – even more than the goals themselves? It’s that time of year for setting goals, to reflect on what you achieved – or didn’t achieve – in the past year and make resolutions and big goals for the coming year. […]

This post of my series on Practical Problem Solving (PPS) looks at what to do after you have done the “Do” part of PDCA. Yes, that’s right, after implementing the solutions you are not done yet. You need to monitor the outcome to see whether it has actually achieved the target you set much earlier. […]

I was recently going through my Shingijutsu files and came across this interesting slide. What is the meaning of these words according to Shingijutsu? Kaizen — Change for the Better Kairyo — To Change Things Kaikaku — Radical Change Kakumei — Revolutionary Change Lean (Lost in Translation) — Misunderstanding of Kaizen Kaizen encompasses defining a […]

For my Facebook fans you already know about this great feature. But for those of you that are not connected to A Lean Journey on Facebook or Twitter I post daily a feature I call Lean Tips.  It is meant to be advice, things I learned from experience, and some knowledge tidbits about Lean to […]

Every year, I like to close the year by reflecting on my past year. I find it to deepen the learning I’ve made, plus it makes me more appreciative of the power of a year. By definition, self-reflection involves deliberate thinking about your own behavior and beliefs. When you engage in this deliberate kind of thinking, […]

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 […]

For nearly 25 years, I have advocated for the concept of visual controls used in the shop or office to be applied to leadership development. Much like a checklist or leader standardized work, I view visual controls — combinations of key images and words (more of the former than the latter) — as an important […]

The end of the year is traditionally a time to look back and reflect. One way to reflect is to evaluate popular blog posts. I have been taking time to reflect on the year that was and as part of that reflection I have flipped back through the 150 blog posts I have written so […]

As 2023 comes to an end and we look toward 2024 I wanted to revisit some tips. The Lean Tips published daily are meant to be advice, things I learned from experience, and some knowledgeable tidbits about Lean to help you along your journey. Here are the top 10 Lean tips from this past year: […]

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 this journey because without learning we cannot improve. 10. […]

In the realm of project management, aligning sales, inventory, and operations is more than a practice—it’s an art. Let’s delve into SIOP, a five-fold path to synchronizing your business heartbeat with market pulses. Step 1: Data, The Foundation Before building castles in the sky, we lay the groundwork with robust data. From historical sales to […]

I’ll be off on vacation through the New Year holiday. See you in January with more blog posts and podcasts! Happy Holidays! The post Happy Holidays from Mark Graban and LeanBlog.org by Mark Graban appeared first at Lean Blog.

In 1914, Thorstein Veblen wrote a book titled The Instinct of Workmanship and the Industrial Arts. In that book, he coined the phrase “trained incapacity” (p. 347). What he meant by that was the people in a company, trained in the specific fields through education or work experience, usually work at cross-purposes with one another, […]

Are you looking to streamline your business processes and boost efficiency? If so, you may want to consider using lean enablement software. This powerful tool can help you eliminate waste, optimize workflows, and improve your bottom line. In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at what lean enablement software is and the benefits […]

In the United States, most top business leaders became aware of Toyota’s Production System starting in the late 1970s and Lean management in the late 1980s. During that time, federal rules for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) were loosened such that it was far more attractive, from profit, market share, and stock price perspectives, for companies […]

Lean process management is a method for building a company culture that supports continuous improvement. It involves a long-term approach to daily work that encourages small, incremental changes in process operations to improve quality and efficiency. The primary objective of Lean process improvement is to create value for the customer by optimizing resources and creating […]

In this episode of “People Solve Problems,” Jamie Flinchbaugh engages in an enlightening conversation with Mel Zehnpfennig, Managing Partner at Dynamic Improvement Group. With a wealth of experience spanning over two decades in lean manufacturing, Mel shares his approach to tackling complex problems in various industries, from automotive to more diverse sectors like pet toys […]

As the year draws to a close, it’s a pivotal time for reflection, both on a personal level and within our teams and organizations. Traditionally, we might engage in a ‘plus/delta’ analysis, probing into what went well and what could be improved. However, I propose a slightly nuanced approach. Let’s shift our focus to positive […]

Thanks, everybody, for reading my blog here in 2023. And for listening to podcasts… oh so many podcasts. This blog post is the “year end” report with the most read posts of the second half of the year. On one technical note, I updated the core WordPress “theme” that runs the site because the old […]

In this post of my series on the Toyota Practical Problem Solving (PPS), we finally get to the part many were excitedly waiting for—the development of countermeasures and their implementation. Some people like this part of actually doing the improvement (and hence finally the “Do” part of PDCA) so much that they skip the “Plan” […]

Whether you have followed Agendashift and Leading with Outcomes over the years or have only just found us, thank you for your interest and support. As we approach the Christmas and New Year break, let me wish you a time of peace and renewal. In this end-of-year edition: December looking forward; Top 10 posts of […]

I’ve noticed that sometimes people are reluctant to speak with me. So now, if you like, you can talk to my AI chatbot instead! Just click on the illustration of me on the lower right-hand corner of any page. Like me, the AI chatbot is a friendly guy. Sometimes he talks in a tough tone […]

This post is built around excerpts from the book The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation. Read more about Toyota, including stories and key lessons learned in the book. Download a free preview Today, we explore the transformative power of embracing failure, inspired by Toyota’s pioneering culture of continuous learning. In […]

Last week’s Leading with Outcomes trainer/facilitator Zoom [1] confirmed some changes. The first two relate to two of our favourite exercises: The exercise Good Obstacle, Bad Obstacle has been renamed Obstacles Fast and Slow (yes, both names are indeed references to books). As time passes, the more we have learned to appreciate this exercise, and […]

As a Lean professional, what is your vision of the future? It is narrowly focused on you to… acquire new knowledge? acquire new skills? gain certifications to add to your resume? learn how to use more problem-solving tools? build your resume for advancement? speak in ways that only a select group understands? get promoted or […]

Let’s begin with a quote worthy of reflection: It is difficult to see how knowledge in the social sciences will ever be cumulative, if social scientists ignore, rather than build upon, the work which has already been done. — Source: Lipset, S.M. and Bendix, R. (1951), “Social Status and Social Structure: A Re-Examination of Data […]