“A real irony is that ‘respect for people’ requires that people feel the pain of critical feedback.” — Akio Toyoda Illustration by Julia Yes, that’s me; the Bad Boy of Lean, el chico malo de Lean. I am an irritant to some Lean movement leaders because I freely challenge their work. As a result, I […]

Lean continuous improvement is a systematic approach to perfecting business processes and operations by eliminating waste, increasing efficiency, and delivering more value to customers. The “lean” philosophy emphasizes eliminating non-value-added activities and processes to create more value with fewer resources. Lean is built on best practices for continuous improvement, including employee engagement and focusing on […]

If you observe carefully, you will notice that the people with the best problem-solving skills tend to have poor social skills, while those with the best social skills tend to be poor problem-solvers. The former are curious and go deep into their analysis of a problem to understand its root causes and identify solutions that […]

These discs are “visual controls.” They remind people that if their Lean efforts are not living up to expectations, then they are trapped in BAU (Business as Usual) and the status quo, and must regain their focus on kaizen. A hallmark of classical management, rooted in batch-and-queue material and information processing, is the existence of […]

Over the decades, Lean has turned into something very messy and confusing. And lots of bad advice is dispensed for organizations that are starting their so-called “Lean journey,” such as shown in the image at right. Below are brief explanations why each piece of advice is bad. Don’t Copy Toyota People learn by copying — […]

Thank you Matt Turner both for inviting me and for sharing so promptly the video of last night’s talk: Between spaces, scopes, and scales: What the scaling frameworks don’t tell you (linkedin.com) PDF, references, and other goodies here. The talk continues to iterate rapidly towards the keynote I need it to be! Tomorrow, courtesy Bill […]

Physical books are still a good thing! And Lean books should be paired with Lean bookmarks — including my books. I created these unique bookmarks for you to use. Tuck one of these two-sided beauties into your books or your boss’s Lean books. But these are more than just bookmarks. You can also use them […]

When the topic of sense of urgency comes up, most leaders would agree it’s a discriminator which can mean the difference between thriving or surviving. It shows drive and purpose in an individual or business. It’s usually contagious, so the display of urgency will influence others to demonstrate drive as well. As a leader, I’ve […]

The two major forms of progressive management practice that emerged over last 100-plus years both struggled to survive. Why does today’s form of progressive management, Lean management — something with proven benefits and so much potential to do good for humanity — struggle to survive against the long-established practice of classical management? The image above […]

In business, the word “unicorn” means a startup company that has a billion-dollar valuation. Unlike the mythical beast, unicorn companies do exist but are rare. Much like unicorn companies, Lean companies are also rare, as are their CEOs. Lean companies are a different kind of company and Lean CEOs are a different kind of CEO. […]

Thursday, I’m hosting and moderating the third and final webinar about “Habit Loops” as part of the KaiNexus Continuous Improvement Webinar Series, to be presented by Morgan Wright (Customer Marketing Manager) and Greg Jacobson, MD (co-founder and CEO), both from KaiNexus. Come join us! Sustaining Continuous Improvement with Habit Science The first two webinars about […]

The big benefit of TPS and Lean is the change from batch-and-queue processing to one-piece flow. This is what generates huge business impact in terms of lower cost, higher quality, shorter lead-times, higher throughput, better safety, and so on. But over the years, the focus on Lean tools, driven by conservative business leaders, has led to […]

Geolean is proud to provide a range of kitting carts catering to all delivery requirements. Whether you want to save space, transport items, or improve the efficiency of your operations, Geolean has you covered. We’ll dive into the benefits of kit carts and their various subtypes, so you can decide which is best for your […]

Here is a practical way to understand how Lean management usually fails to take hold in brownfield organizations that have for years been governed by classical management thinking and practice. Grafting is a horticultural technique whereby two plants are joined together to allow the graft to grow in an environment that would otherwise be unsuccessful. […]

A milk run is a popular way to supply materials to multiple locations. It can easily be combined with a pull system like kanban, where it merely replenishes what was consumed. But what are the best uses for milk runs? And when do you use them, and when would another logistics system be better? This […]

What is the future of Lean management when some of its leading proponents construct an alternate reality in which Lean transformation processes are claimed to be fail-safe? Perhaps Lean is unlike anything else in existence, given to us fully formed by its creator, and, in some magical or occult way, is not subject to failure. […]

I’m more of a coffee drinker than a tea drinker. But unlike Ted Lasso, I don’t dismissively think it’s going to taste like “hot brown water.” Not all tea is brown, of course. I really enjoy green tea and look forward to another matcha tea experience in Japan someday. Especially during winter months, I drink […]

As you likely know, William Edwards Deming created The System of Profound Knowledge, which was presented in his 1994 book, The New Economics for Industry, Government, Education. Deming’s book described how to improve and advance systems to create better outcomes for people. In 2018 I wrote a book called The Triumph of Classical Management Over […]

People employed by companies have no understanding of where the company’s system of management came from. And they have no understanding of its quality relative to other systems of management. The lack of understanding results in a lack perspective. The image below adds needed perspective on the origin of classical management, used by most companies, […]

In a recent post, “Ask Art: Where Will the Biggest Resistance to Lean Come From?,” Art Byrne accurately explains the people and parts of the organization that will resist Lean transformation based on his extensive experience. Art also offers some suggestions on how to overcome the resistance, the main focus being to get people to […]

In classical management, waste is utilized to make money. In TPS/Lean, waste is eliminated to make money. In classical management, waste is a feature, not a bug. It is only within the very narrow realm of Toyota’s management system and Lean management that waste is bug. This sets up a cognitive dissonance that Lean people […]

There are people in the Lean community who have enormous credibility when it comes to assessing the state of Lean management in corporations and other organizations. They include Mark DeLuzio, Art Byrne, Jean Cunningham, Jim Womack, Dan, Jones, Jeff Liker, and various others. Taken together, these people have seen a large number of companies in […]

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 […]

If you are a devoted Lean thinker and practitioner, you are a radical. You may not feel like one, but you are. Your desire is to turn business processes upside down, and in doing so turn people’s thinking and the corporate culture upside down. You wish to turn things upside down from the bottom up. […]

When organizations struggle or fail to produce a Lean transformation (the “effect”), the causes commonly cited include: Lack of management support Leaders not personally engaged Fear of change or failure Poor communication No sense of urgency No training or poor training Middle managers are the obstacle Leaders don’t treat employees with respect Lack of accountability […]

Starting today, and running through May 15th, Value Capture is hosting a new blog series that’s a collaboration with my friend Deondra Wardelle and other authors, including myself. The posts will lead up to and culminate in a panel discussion webinar with all of the authors, and you can register for that now: Getting to […]

People who identify with Lean management or the Lean movement tend to be dedicated and very passionate, which generates a lot of arguments about right and wrongs ways to think and do things. Most of it has to do with how people understand the fundamental truths (principles) and how and when to use the methods […]

One of the ongoing arguments that people have is that Lean is a system, while other things that have borrowed from Lean or attached themselves to Lean are somehow the same as Lean (and thus, a system). The image at right is an imperfect conceptual model featuring a 1971 Toyota Corolla that illustrates the point, […]

Sometimes this is how I think about things — hitching one’s derivative TPS product/service to Toyota. This is not necessarily a bad thing. The free riders shown in the image below can indeed be useful in certain circumstances. It is not as if they are without merit. You may agree or disagree with what the […]

The manufacturing industry is evolving rapidly as companies strive to remain competitive in an increasingly challenging business environment. Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is a lean manufacturing methodology designed to improve productivity, quality, and efficiency by eliminating waste and optimizing equipment performance. Implementing TPM requires an integrated approach, and the roles of mechanics, electricians, planners, and […]

In my decades of analyzing Lean management and the Lean movement, I often discover important problems and, being a university professor, I share my findings with others. My findings are more warmly received by Lean practitioners than my peer group of Lean movement leaders. Why is that? It seems there is a perceived need for […]

A lot of people say they are Lean experts. But is there such a thing as a Lean expert? Let’s assume there is. The next question is, what does “Lean expert” mean? Is a Lean expert someone who has comprehensive knowledge and skills in some Lean methods and tools? Or, is a Lean expert someone […]

There are often many challenges, disagreements, and arguments in social media about various aspects of Lean management that center upon data. For example, people will argue about the data on “Lean failure” — whether it is accurate, reliable, or just plain wrong. Or, something stated as fact is challenged by others who demand to see […]

Toyota’s management system (TMS), and its derivative Lean management (LM), can be viewed as variations in the population of management systems (the “species”). These variations are deliberate, not random, in their origin. These “offspring” resemble their parent, classical management, at the highest levels of comparison, but differ greatly in their details. Both TMS and LM […]