Transform Your Approach to Problem-Solving Through Uncertainty Do you ever feel like you’re stuck between chaos and bureaucracy, unable to break free from the status quo? You are probably facing a common challenge that other leaders and change practitioners experience: how to navigate uncertainty while trying to drive innovation and agility in your organization. In […]

A selection of highlighted blog posts from Lean bloggers from the month of October 2024.  You can also view the previous monthly Lean Roundups here.     Leadership Failure: How Refusing to Be Wrong Hurts Teams and Innovation – Mark Graban explains true leadership isn’t about projecting infallibility–it’s about fostering a culture where mistakes are seen as […]

Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #518 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Jerry Wright, author of the new book The Insanity Trap: What Your MRP Consultant Won’t Tell You. Jerry M. Wright, PE, MBA, is an accomplished operations executive and teaching professional with over 39 years […]

I recently attended the National Association of Corporate Directors Summit, which I’ve done several times since being appointed to my first board seat 15 years ago. The lineup was impressive, including Bill Gates, Wayne Peacock, CEO of USAA, James Gorman, longtime CEO of Morgan Stanley, Clare Martorana, Federal Chief Information Officer of the United States […]

Henkaten is an approach by Toyota to deal with changes in their manufacturing system. It is one of the lesser-known words of the lean vocabulary. Often translated as “change point,” it is about managing a change. However, there is no magic behind yet another Japanese word. It is all just the basics like most methods […]

I’m very excited to return to Japan on Sunday for the first time in five years! I’ll be part of Katie Anderson‘s Japan Study Trip, this time after five previous trips between 2012 and 2019 with Kaizen Institute and Honsha Consulting. Read my posts about past trips. Each time, I’ve learned something new, visited new […]

By Pascal Dennis (bio) “Every day a little up…” an esteemed sensei taught me. Doing so entails focusing your energy of the critical few improvement areas. What will we emphasize in 2025? What’s holding us back? What’s the root cause of each obstacle? What are the countermeasures? Strategy is all about emphasis. Failure modes are […]

For an organization to run smoothly and meet its goals, it is important to foster a work environment that supports collaboration amongst colleagues. Unfortunately for most organizations, team cooperation does not occur naturally. You must make an effort and take steps to help build and sustain a cooperative work environment. Team cooperation in the workplace […]

DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) is a data-driven, structured, customer-centric problem-solving methodology. Each phase builds on the last to arrive at practical solutions for challenging problems. Define tells you what to measure. Measure tells you what to analyze. Analyze tells you what to improve. And Improve tells you what to control. Each phase has […]

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 […]

I’m happy to announce a live-streamed recording of my Lean podcast with my guest Jarvis Gray. You can join us Live on Linkedin on Wednesday, October 30 at 1 pm ET. EVENT LINK The episode will also be released as a podcast via the normal feeds and my YouTube channel. But if you attend live, […]

Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for this bonus episode of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Bruce Hamilton, who is joining me on the show for the first time. Bruce is a renowned figure in the Lean world, serving as the President of GBMP Consulting Group and Director Emeritus […]

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 […]

Opening and Urgent Issues Have you noticed that total production capacity is not keeping up with demand (just a 0.4% growth rate year-on-year in Q3 2023 while demand rises; Source: UNIDO)? With uncertainties in Cost Control, Cost Improvement, Supply Chain, and Technological Advances (expensive/uncertain/slow implementation), the “customer is king” era is on the decline. Gone […]

In this second post on KPIs, I will look at the quality of key performance indicators (KPIs). These are essential tools for measuring an organization’s progress toward its strategic goals. The quality of these indicators is critical as it impacts management’s decision-making and subsequent actions. Let’s have a look! Quality of the KPI Another important […]

Hi, I’m very grateful and excited that AME Australia has invited me to participate in what they call a “road show” in March and April 2025. It will be my first trip down under. AME Australia has started sharing some early information, with more details and early bird registration coming soon. I’ll be in Melbourne, […]

It’s my favorite time of year and I don’t mean fall which I enjoy. In a few short weeks the best of New England’s Lean Community will gather at the 20th Annual Northeast Lean Conference. It truly is a goldmine of practical insights & inspiration for Lean practitioners – from those just starting out to […]

Episode 48: “Lockout Tagout Your Equipment, but Not My Whiskey”  In Episode 48, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh begin by comparing two whiskeys from the same distillery. Mark selected Woodford Reserve, and had a pour of both the Double Oaked (which we both agree is underrated) and their Historic Barrel Entry, a nod to production […]

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. Operational Excellence, Improvement, and Innovation Does Lean Startup Work for Deep Tech? Lean startup techniques […]

Ever dreamed of studying at Yale University? Now you can—right from the comfort of your home and absolutely free! Yale University offers a treasure trove of open courses covering a wide array of subjects. Whether you’re passionate about history, science, literature, or economics, there’s something enriching waiting for you. Let’s embark on a journey through […]

That’s the name of a webinar recorded last week in celebration (a couple of weeks late) of the 10th anniversary of the publication of my first book, Kanban from the Inside. The discussion ranged over all four books and the upcoming “book 5”. Many thanks to hosts Albena Georgieva and Nora Pavlova of Businessmap (formerly […]

Listen: In Episode 48 of the Lean Whiskey podcast, Jamie Flinchbaugh and Mark Graban begin by comparing two whiskeys from the same distillery. Mark selected Woodford Reserve, and had a pour of both the Double Oaked (which we both agree is underrated) and their Historic Barrel Entry, a nod to production methods in the past. […]

Kaizen: How Small Steps Lead to Big Improvements In the world of continuous improvement, Kaizen stands as a foundational concept. It’s not just a tool or a one-off event—Kaizen represents an ongoing philosophy where every process is continuously evaluated for improvements in time, quality, and resources. But how do you translate this philosophy into action? […]

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 […]

  Alexander Senchak, Managing Partner at Duarte Pond Investments, joined Jamie Flinchbaugh on the People Solve Problems podcast to discuss the importance of “meeting the moment” as a leader and innovator. Alex, a management consultant and investor focused on business intelligence and technologies to support performance in the hospitality and higher education sectors, shared his […]

How Often Does This Happen? It’s a story I’ve heard too many times. An organization spends years, even decades, entrenched in a top-down, command-and-control culture. In this environment, employees are micromanaged, decision-making is reserved for those at the top, and when things go wrong, the finger-pointing begins. “Blame and shame” becomes the norm. Then, someone […]

In the ever-evolving landscape of modern workplaces, organizations are recognizing the transformative power of fostering a coaching culture. It’s not just a trend; it’s a strategic approach that empowers individuals, enhances teamwork, and propels businesses toward unprecedented success. In a coaching culture, managers and leaders act as coaches, guiding their team members towards achieving their […]

Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #517 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Jacob Stoller, a journalist, speaker, facilitator, and Shingo-Prize-winning author of The Lean CEO. We talked about that in Episode 221. His latest book, Productivity Reimagined: Shattering Performance Myths to Achieve Sustainable Growth, was just released by […]

The Shift from Doer to Leader to Drive Change the Right Way Do you ever feel stuck as a leader? It may seem like no matter how many problems you solve or tools you implement, you’re still not seeing progress toward a sustainable organizational culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence. Maybe you have been […]

To control any kind of system, you need to know its status. For a simple system like heating, the indoor temperature may be the key input. For something as complex as manufacturing, however, there could be a myriad of different measurements that can help you to control the system. In this context, KPIs (key performance […]

I’m happy to share some exciting news related to Lean and Psychological Safety. For a long time, there have been very few books directly connecting the term “Psychological Safety” with Lean thinking and the Toyota Production System (TPS). Until recently, my book, The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation, and […]

By Pascal Dennis (bio) Hubris is the ancient Greek word for arrogance, excessive pride or self-confidence. Hubris is a common root cause of unethical behavior and, arguably, the most dangerous enemy of great companies. (Check out this fine book on hubris and the Enron catastrophe entitled The Smartest Guys in the Room.) What’s the countermeasure […]

There are many important and valuable life lessons that we can gather from the adventurous life of one of history’s most famous pioneers. Christopher Columbus had many ups and downs in his life, but he never let that stop him from what he wanted to achieve. I think we can learn most from Christopher Columbus […]

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 […]