Welcome to Chain of Learning: Your Leadership Connection to Create a Culture of Continuous Improvement Listen now! The pressure to get results and outcomes, to deliver value for customers, and to stay ahead of the competition remains paramount for organizations to survive into the future. But what if the way to not just survive –  […]

Teamwork is the often underestimated tool that drives every successful business. Without a well-managed team, a company might not meet its full potential. Each person on your team has the ability to bring their unique skills and talent to the table, but teamwork is required to truly take advantage of that. Putting your employees into […]

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 […]

Creating engaged and productive employees starts with fostering a system of appreciation and rewards in the workplace. Employee rewards are an important part of any company culture, regardless of the industry you work in. In this article, we briefly discuss the importance of rewarding your employees and list four top employee rewards you should offer. […]

“Today’s manufacturing systems have become more automated, data-driven, and sophisticated than ever before. Visit any modern shop floor and you’ll find a plethora of IT systems, HMIs, PLC data streams, machine controllers, engineering support, and other digital initiatives, all vying to improve manufacturing quality and efficiencies. That begs these questions: With all this technology, is […]

In Episode 42, Jamie Flinchbaugh visits Mark Graban and they get to record an episode in-person. This was the origin of the show – getting together in-person, enjoying whiskey, and talking about lean stuff. The last episode we did an experiment that was inconclusive – sometimes that’s how it goes. We had moved the whiskey […]

Photo by 2H Media on Unsplash   https://hbr.org/2023/10/5-questions-to-get-your-project-team-on-the-same-page Above is the link to the HBR article.  I believe anyone can get access. Here’s the opening paragraph: When a misaligned project team succeeds, it’s an accident. Without alignment — that is, a shared understanding and commitment — team members work at cross-purposes and doom projects to failure. […]

  In this episode of the “People Solve Problems” podcast, host Jamie Flinchbaugh sits down with guest, Cindy Hinds, the Global Director of Enterprise Excellence at A.O. Smith. Cindy brings with her a wealth of knowledge, boasting over 25 years of experience in implementing Lean principles within organizations. Their conversation explores the essence of coaching, […]

Maybe Albert Einstein was talking about continuous improvement when he said, “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Too often, we see organizations struggling to measure only those things that can be tied to a dollar amount and they, unfortunately, […]

In my series on the Toyota KPI dashboard, after safety, quality, and productivity, we finally arrive at cost. While for some companies it is the number one factor, for Toyota it is far behind safety, quality, and productivity. The argument is that if safety, quality, and productivity are in line, it is likely that cost […]

Recently, I sold my Sears Craftsman tool chest, which I bought 47 years ago, and in doing so I downsized my collection of tools. To do that, I asked myself these questions: 🛠 Which tools do I really need?🛠 Which tools do I use often?🛠 Which tools do I know how to use well?🛠 Which […]

I witness this breakdown in critical thinking far too frequently. Just because a person or an organization is highly respected and capable, does not mean that we should judge all of their decisions, actions, and opinions based on that respect. We should be skeptical. We should challenge. After all, Aristotle is one of the people […]

Earlier this year, I was invited to give a recorded virtual presentation for a conference in Malaysia on the subject of Lean in healthcare. More specifically, they asked me to present on the theme of “Spearheading change toward a lean healthcare organization.” I used this as an opportunity to experiment with a relatively new PowerPoint […]

Is it time to get rid of value stream maps? The first-ever value stream map of a value stream mapping event reveals mountains of waste. The lead-time to achieve actual improvement has increased by 425 percent! It’s worse than anyone thought. Some are calling this a “Lean crisis.” Others are calling it a “Lean disaster.” […]

Recently, I sold my large Sears Craftsman tool chest, which I bought 50 years ago, and in doing so I downsized my collection of tools. To do that, I asked myself these questions: 🛠 Which tools do I really need?🛠 Which tools do I use often?🛠 Which tools do I know how to use well?🛠 […]

Listen: In Episode 42, Jamie Flinchbaugh visits Mark Graban in northern Kentucky and they get to record an episode in person. This was the origin of the podcast series — getting together in person, enjoying whiskey, and talking about Lean stuff.  In the last episode, we did an experiment that was inconclusive — sometimes, that’s […]

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 Bureaucracy is GROSS Bureaucracy can creep in over the years and eventually consume your […]

Have you ever had a problem that kept on recurring no matter what you did to try and prevent it from coming back? Stubborn or recurrent problems are often symptoms of deeper issues. While “quick fixes” might seem convenient, they often only solve the surface issues. Moreover, they also waste resources that could otherwise be […]

Announcing: The immediate availability of the Leading with Outcomes Adaptive Organisation workshop And closely related to that: Adaptive Organisation (II): Between spaces, scopes and scales, v2.1 beta Updates on Leading in a Transforming Organisation, Manchester New experience/practice sessions begin next week 1. Announcing the immediate availability of the Leading with Outcomes Adaptive Organisation Workshop This […]

Here are some recent videos that I’m sure you will enjoy. Lot’s of great learning for improvement! “What Have We Learned in 50 Years of TPS and 35 Years of Lean?” with Calvin Williams of Impruver.com. Dr. M Vodcast: “From Shop Floor Kaizen to Speed Leadership“ “Transitioning to Lean Management,” an interview by Ashutosh Garg, […]

Having studied the thinking and actions of top business leaders for some 30 years, many things stand out as characteristic of most top leaders. Given that they tend to emulate one another and share most of the same preconceptions of their social group, it is not surprising that a discernable pattern, or recipe, emerges. This […]

Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #488 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is D. Lynn Kelley, Ph.D. She is the author, with John Shook (who has been a guest here many times), of the new book, Change Questions: A Playbook for Effective and Lasting Organizational Change. Lynn […]

tl;dr summary: In this exploration into the complexities of failure and learning, I draw from a range of entrepreneurs to debunk myths and advocate for a more nuanced understanding. The key takeaway is that failure is only harmful if we don’t learn from it. I argue against the idea of romanticizing failure and emphasize the […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]