In this edition: Book 5 update; Heads up on some forthcoming changes; The Great Consolidation: What it means and how it went; Top posts Book 5 update For the uninitiated, book 5 is Wholehearted: Engaging with complexity in the Deliberately Adaptive Organisation, which I hope to publish early next year. It’s “book 5” to distinguish […]

Six Sigma and Lean manufacturing are business methodologies focused on improving the quality of goods or services an organization produces by reducing variance in the production process. Leaders know that when a production process lacks the stability to create high-quality output consistently, it will continue producing defective products until someone intervenes and improves the process. […]

Being a business leader can be a joyful thing, but perhaps not for the reasons you think! The image below is a satirical and thus humorous look at The 15 Joys of Leadership that are associated with classical management — the traditional or “old way” of leading organizations that still remains widespread today. Senior leaders […]

  In the latest episode of the People Solve Problems podcast, host Jamie Flinchbaugh welcomes Jacob Stoller, an accomplished journalist, speaker, facilitator, and Shingo-Prize-winning author of The Lean CEO. Jacob, who is also the author of the upcoming book Productivity Reimagined, brings his extensive experience in demystifying complex business and technology topics to the forefront […]

Lean manufacturing is a process improvement methodology that started in the Japanese automotive manufacturing sector after World War II. Lean thinking aims to improve quality, speed production, and reduce costs by eliminating waste with continuous improvement driven by employees. Although the ideas were initially deployed in factories, the fundamental concepts apply to businesses of every […]

I recently purchased an excellent book titled Taiichi Ohno’s Records: Founder of the Toyota Production System written by Dr. Mitsumasa Kumazawa. The book was published in 2011 by Sankeisha Co., Ltd. Kumazawa-san, age 70, is a longtime professor (recently retired) of industrial engineering and production management. He had the good fortune of meeting Taiichi Ohno in 1977 […]

On IndustryWeek: Supply Chain Leaders Need a New Playbook, Focusing on Risk   For generations of supply chain leaders, the key words and phrases that dominated were optimization, rationalization, cost reduction, inventory reduction and so on. The basic performance of the supply chain was stable enough that it was often taken for granted.   Read […]

The VW plant in Emden is a well run plant, and among the best in the Volkswagen group. It is also producing only fully electric battery powered vehicles… which are not selling well. This leads to a lot of struggles and problems for the plant. Producing only one type of power train makes production more […]

Here’s a great opportunity for you to win TWO fantastic books–one for you and one for a young reader in your life! For the adults: You could win a signed copy of my latest book, The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation. This book dives into how embracing mistakes can […]

In the Lean methodology, we often talk about the importance of “going to the gemba” (or “genba“– the place where the real work happens. But it’s not enough to simply show up; the way leaders engage with employees on the frontlines matters just as much, if not more. Unfortunately, not every leader is equipped to […]

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 […]

Thanks, as always, to Ryan McCormack for this. He always shares so much good reading, listening, and viewing here! Subscribe to get these directly from Ryan via email. News, articles, books, podcasts, and videos about how to make the workplace better. As a Manitoban, I’m taking advantage of the narrow window of summer weather and […]

The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is a powerful metaphor for two important things: The first is the rare kind of workplace that people hope to someday work in, one that is exemplified by a “Lean transformation,” where the entire top leadership team is totally committed to “Continuous Improvement” and “Respect […]

While Lean/TPS is an unbeatable system to engage people and drive performance, its deployment is still limited outside of Toyota. This is a mystery we need to solve. — Bruce Hamilton Those words are from Bruce Hamilton’s blog post. titled: “Old Lean Dudes.” Here was my reply: I solved that mystery — from not one, but […]

The quote below is a wonderful example of “preference falsification,“ which is defined as: “The act of misrepresenting one’s genuine wants [and beliefs or interests] under perceived social pressures” (Source: Private Truths, Public Lies: The Social Consequences of Preference Falsification by Timur Kuran, p. 3). I praise K.D., whom I did not know prior to […]

The process you use to develop your strategic plan is as important as the plan itself. That’s why many organizations turn to the Hoshin Kanri approach, which focuses on creating a plan that takes into account both the daily management of the organization and the tactics necessary to reach those goals that will have the most significant […]

Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guests for Episode #512 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast are two of three co-authors of the upcoming book “Leading Excellence: 5 Hats of the Adaptive Leader” – Brad Jeavons and Stephen Dargan. Stephen Dargan A diverse and inclusive, customer-centric, driven transformational leader with 20+ […]

Summer 2024 is my 30th year of involvement with TPS and Lean. Here is a few things that stand out. Now I’m not saying Lean won’t do you some good. It will. I am saying there are profound differences.

Deming’s Influence on Continuous Improvement If you’re passionate about continuous improvement, quality, or operational excellence, chances are Dr. W. Edwards Deming has shaped your journey—even if you haven’t realized it yet. But do you know how this influence came about and the profound impact Deming’s management theories have had on shaping quality and improvement approaches […]

As the recent Gallup highlights many employees struggling with isolation and loneliness on the job. Overall, Gallup found 20% of working men and women saying they felt lonely “a lot of the day” at work the previous day. That number ticked slightly upward among workers younger than 35, with 22% of employees in that age […]

The classroom is a contrived environment to teach most things. Nevertheless, it exists and it can be a useful forum for transmitting ideas, principles, and practices. And that takes on much greater value for students when what is being taught is rooted in the “real world” rather than in theory. Another thing that higher education […]

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is an approach that has transformed how organizations maintain their equipment and optimize plant maintenance operations. This blog post will delve into the three parts of TPM and the eight-pillar activities that serve as the foundation for planned maintenance. Approach to Plant Maintenance (Management Concept of Maintenance) TPM Part I: Is […]

Empathy is a popular concept these days, for many valid reasons. However, it is often conveyed as a sense of acceptance and sometimes even passiveness. What I mean is that empathy often means that you CAN’T understand someone’s perspective because it is different from yours and so therefore accept the difference. This approach, which perhaps […]

Volkswagen is one of the largest car makers in the world, and the largest German car maker. The Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg is by far the largest German automotive plant. However, in terms of lean performance, it is merely mediocre. On the other hand, it is not easy to run a production in protected historic […]

I’m excited to invite you to join me on August 21st for a special webinar titled “Ask Us Anything! Psychological Safety and Continuous Improvement.” This session, running from 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET, is designed to be highly interactive, with a focus on your questions and insights. Register: Ask Us Anything! Psychological Safety and Continuous […]

In many organizations, moving away from a culture of punishment when mistakes are made is a significant leap forward. It signals a shift toward understanding, systems thinking, and improvement. But once you’ve made that change, what’s next? Do we need to replace punitive approaches with something better? If so, what? How do you ensure that […]

By Pascal Dennis (bio) One of my revered senseis always talked about Big Heart. The biggest weakness in contemporary business culture is an absence of heart. The scandals of the past decades – Enron, Wall Street, Madoff, McKinsey-Gupta and the like reflect it. In each case, the villains were ‘achievatrons’ at the trough, stuffing themselves […]

Employees in the U.S. continue to feel detached from work, according to research firm Gallup’s most recent employee engagement survey. Only 33 percent of employees were engaged, while 16 percent of workers reported being actively disengaged according to the survey. Gallup presents an insightful solution. “A manager having one meaningful conversation per week with each […]

The comment and questions shown below come from a person who works at a well-known company that has made a lot of noise recently about their Lean management efforts. Details that would reveal the company and person who made the comment have been removed. What is so familiar to me about this disturbing situation is […]

Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is a critical methodology used across industries to identify and mitigate potential failures in products, processes, or services. By following a structured approach, FMEA helps organizations proactively address issues that could lead to costly errors or safety hazards. This post walks you through the 12 essential steps of FMEA, […]

Gemba Walks are an invaluable tool in the pursuit of continuous improvement. By visiting the “actual place” where work happens, managers and teams can gain a deeper understanding of the current reality, identify areas for improvement, and build stronger connections with the workforce. This guide outlines the critical steps to conducting effective Gemba Walks, ensuring […]

How many times have you heard or said: “How do you create a Lean culture?” Akio Toyoda gives us the answer: You create a progressive management system to create a culture that drives improvement. People desperately want the culture but they do not want to do the work and change the thinking that is required […]

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 […]

Comprehensive Guide to the 2024 CSA Standards Updates The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) has released a broad range of updated standards for 2024, impacting numerous sectors, including construction, healthcare, electrical safety, and more. These updates reflect the latest technological advancements, safety requirements, and best practices, making it essential for professionals to stay informed and compliant. […]