The OKR (Objective Key Results) method has gained popularity as an objectives management approach for both development and product goals. However, the “by the book” approach is often dogmatically applied, relying only on a few simple rules and hints from the OKR books. This “copy-and-paste mentality” does not deliver the expected results and often leads […]

I have long been concerned about organizations that struggle with Lean transformation and the impact on the company, its employees, and other stakeholders. People’s lives and livelihoods depend upon Lean, so it’s no small matter when Lean succeeds or fails. This has been a major focus of my work for over 20 years because I […]

Continuous business improvement refers to the ongoing process of identifying, analyzing, and enhancing various aspects of a company’s operations and processes. This process management approach constantly seeks ways to make the organization more efficient, effective, and competitive. This article will describe many of the most popular continuous improvement techniques and methodologies. These and other improvement […]

Branding, promotion, and the stated or implied close association with Toyota; e.g. “…Toyota, the leading lean exemplar in the world…” In this statement, the former university researchers who gave us Lean take credit for Toyota’s work. See the image below to understand why the statement makes no sense and is factually incorrect. “The practical expression […]

The Toyota Production System (TPS) is the archetype of lean manufacturing. Lean is often used as a synonym for the Toyota Production System, and that is generally quite accurate. It is also sometimes referred to as the “Westernized” version of the Toyota Production System. However, there are some smaller differences in the underlying approach, as […]

Why is rigorous thinking and the Business Model Canvas vital for entrepreneurs? The BMC has been a popular tool and method for the entrepreneurial world. Books are written, workshops are attended, and people talk about it. Yet hardly anyone seems to do one, and many who do will not maintain it. This bothers me, and […]

The Lean column reflects the design of Lean by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones (i.e. Lean in 2017). In the previous post, Why Lean Keeps Thriving, I used the image at right to show how Lean has drifted far from it’s original interpretation in 1988 as being synonymous with the Toyota Production System (exclusive […]

I recently posted a truncated version of the graphic below with caption: “Not perfect, but close. It’s about right.” The response was overwhelmingly positive. A great majority of people recognized it as a unique comparison, one that they had never seen before, and also an accurate comparison that effectively captures differences that actually exist (click […]

This is the back story to the book Critique of Lean. Lean is a product. Products are designed. Designs have weaknesses. Critique of Lean examines weaknesses in the product and its design. In the nearly 30 years since the term “Lean” was introduced, we have a just handful of examples of (Real) Lean transformation. Unfortunately, there […]

The Lean Enterprise Institute’s Lean Transformation Framework encompasses five questions. The first question is: “What problem are we trying to solve?” For most people, it is a reasonable first question to ask. But there are two other important related questions: 1. Who should answer that first question? and 2. Is there a common answer? In LEIs Lean Transformation Framework, it […]

Only recently Michael Ballé said: “Let’s not confuse lean and TPS… they are related, but not the same.” Finally. This year is the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI). There will surely be a big celebration. But in my view, there is less to celebrate than meets the eye. Here’s […]

Monday, I gave a talk at the annual KaiNexicon (KaiNexus User Conference) on the theme of: PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY: A Pre-Condition for Continuous Improvement In advance of the conference, we invited customers who are attending to fill out a survey to gain some feedback and thoughts about how they view Psychological Safety in their workplaces. I’m […]

What standard do you hold yourself to when someone asks you questions about Lean management or Toyota management?  The standard could vary as widely for a person as it can from person-to-person. There are at least eight possible standards to choose from: Say “I don’t know” Guess at the answer Say what you heard Say […]

Being a business leader in the 21st century is a tall order. You’re responsible for the health and happiness of your staff but also need to run a profitable, efficient business. Accounting for the differences among employees can be tricky, too, as some folks appreciate a hands-on approach while others need space to spread their […]

In a previous blog post, “Final Exams, Final Mistake,” I described how students in my courses make two types of visual controls to help them remember and apply what they learned. One visual control is in the form of an 8.5×11 inch sign that reflects the 10-20 most important things they learned in the course […]

Kaizen is practical method for improving any processes, and thus it can also be applied to the design and delivery of courses. In order for kaizen to be effective, kaizen participants must be given strict conditions under which improvements are made. These conditions take the form of “Nos” or “must-nots” – things that people must […]

It’s obvious Lean and TPS are not the same. If you had to pick one, which would you choose and why?                 (Click on image to enlarge).

Higher education thought leader Jeffrey J. Selingo has a new thought: It’s time for colleges to cut costs. Hasn’t this been obvious for the last 10 or 20 years? (See my 2005 article, “Lean in Higher Education“). In his 26 May 2017 article in The Washington Post, “Forget the marketing gimmicks: It’s time for colleges […]

This is the back story to the book Conversations with Taiichi Ohno. Why write a fictional account of conversations with Taiichi Ohno (1912-1990)? There are a several reasons for doing so. The first reason is that people are losing touch with Taiichi Ohno. They don’t know who he was. They don’t know what he did. […]

Image: https://www.slideshare.net/chetanbirla/chetan-birla Professors typically give lots of feedback to students over a semester to help them learn and improve. Professors, however, often complain about the feedback that students give concerning the professor’s performance in a course. I eagerly accept student feedback because it helps me understand what I need to improve. But I also give […]

Excellence in teaching? Not quite. The results of the U.K.s 2017 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) have been released. Click here to view the results of the Gold, Silver, and Bronze university awards (official government results are here). The purpose of TEF is to “…shin[e] a spotlight on learning and teaching in higher education, with a […]

In the 30 years since the term “lean” was introduced as an interpretation of the Toyota production system, great efforts have been made by many people to gain the interest of CEOs due to the widespread recognition that Lean must be led from the top. While there have been some notable successes in the use […]

Outliers always get lots of attention. John Smyth, the author of The Toxic University, talks about his book in this interesting article: “Author discusses ideas in his new book, ‘The Toxic University’” (IHE, 12 July 2017) My key takeaway is that those responsible for pricing tuition and fees bear full responsibility for the toxic conditions described […]

University of Miami geology department graduation ceremony circa 1979, led by Professors Emiliani, Nagle, and Stipp. My father, Cesare Emiliani (Dott., Ph.D), was a long-time chair of the Geology department at the University of Miami in Coral Gables Florida. He was a creative, outgoing, and fun person who applied his gifts to how the department […]

A new president of a public university has these four goals*: Increase student enrollment Maintain academic excellence Expand community engagement Develop additional sources of funding Notice anything odd among the four goals? It should be Goal 2, “Maintain academic excellence.” Goals 1, 3, and 4 imply some sort of improvement over time, but not Goal […]

Unfortunately, most people mindlessly believe the statement: “What gets gets measured gets managed.” Click here to learn how this statement is easily proven to be untrue. The commonly believed statement “If the worker hasn’t learned, then the instructor hasn’t taught” is also easily proven to be untrue. Statements such as these must be verified before they […]

Click on image to enlarge. I have been a professor for close to 20 years now, after having spent the previous 15 years in industry where I worked in engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain management. There are many positives associated with teaching that I would like to share with you, as well as a few frustrations. […]

In higher education, the job of a professor is well-defined. It consists of three things: teaching, research, and service to the university and one’s profession. Teaching involves three tasks: preparation (of the course), execution (delivering the course), and follow-up (guiding students’ work, feedback, grading, etc.). Teaching is usually a solitary activity, where the faculty members […]

When I worked as a supply chain manager in the mid-1990s, I faced tremendous pressure from company leaders to offshore large chunks of the $106 million in annual spend of the work supplied to us by some 50-plus first-tier manufacturers located in the Connecticut river valley. I resisted that pressure and, in the end, it […]

From 2011 through 2013, I ran weekly web advertisements on Mark Graban‘s LeanBlog to promote my books (I paid Mark an annual fee for the service). About once a month I also posted an ad that parodied or satirized something about Lean that was prevalent at that time, or poked fun at myself and other prominent Lean people. Occasionally, humor […]

WEB SERIES – Season 2 is here! In the first episode of this season, we visit a company in Chile that shows us how sustainability can be the cornerstone of an improvement project… and not just an afterthought. Scripted, edited and narrated by: Roberto Priolo In its production of packaging products and film, Winpack strives to […]

When it comes to quality assurance in manufacturing, precision is paramount. The ability to accurately measure and test is a non-negotiable tenet that is the foundation of robust quality management. Every detail matters, and the role of measurement and test processes cannot be overstated. Measuring the Vital Aspects of Quality Measurement is the bedrock of […]

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 Ask your customers how you can improve – and then share the results “We […]

So here we are, 30 years into the Lean movement. That means a new generation of executives, ages 40 to 50 or so, are now beginning to lead corporations. To their predecessors, Lean “production” (as it was then known) was new and exploding with potential. Today’s leaders experienced those Lean efforts when they were in […]