The second plant of Mercedes-Benz (also known as Daimler) in my Grand Tour of German Automotive was their plant in Bremen. This was also their second final assembly plant. It produces a few cars more than Sindelfingen, and hence claims to be the largest Mercedes-Benz plant by the number of cars. It was also a […]

There’s a common misconception about Toyota’s “Andon” system, often expressed as: “When a team member pulls the cord, the line stops.” But that’s not entirely accurate, as this enlightening Toyota video demonstrates: In some plants, the Andon system is activated by pressing a button rather than pulling an overhead cord. I wrote about that a […]

Two data points are not a trend. Two-data-point comparisons can be mathematically correct but practically meaningless. This is true in workplaces and news articles like this one. Multiple two-data-point comparisons (comparing last month to the previous month AND comparing it to the year before) don’t paint the full picture the way a simple run chart […]

As you’ve seen I have been revisiting a previous series I started in 2012 called the Meet-up. One of the things I am so found of in the Lean community is the general wiliness to share with each other.  I have learned some much from my very experienced colleagues since I have been an active […]

If you are old enough, you may remember the lever-release aluminum ice cube tray. It was invented by Edward H. Roberts, a design engineer at General Electric, in the mid-1940s. The trays were great in their day and remained in use into the 1970s (for those who had old refrigerators). The lever-release ice cube trays […]

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 Skunk Works Truly the most satisfying experiences of my […]

In this edition: Organising Conversations; Leading in a Transforming Organisation and TTT/F; Conferences; Olivier’s phylogenetic study; Top posts Organizing Conversations Organizing Conversations, my fourth book, has been out for four weeks now. If you missed the original announcement, it includes a short video interview I did with series editor Gervase Bushe: “Organizing Conversations” is now out […]

Operational excellence is a management philosophy that focuses on continuously improving an organization’s processes, systems, and workflows to optimize performance and deliver value to customers. Operational excellence happens when an organization consistently and reliably outperforms the competition through constant improvement and a dedication to customer value. When two companies have the same strategy, the operationally […]

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 […]

As a Throwback Thursday, I’m sharing this webinar that I did back in 2012, as hosted by Karen Martin: On this theme of “The Suggestion Box is Dead,” I thought to prompt ChatGPT to create an image of a burial scene and mournful employees: That got me thinking even more… I also worked with ChatGPT […]

Digital transformation is about rethinking and reinventing with digital tools. For over 13 years, KaiNexus has moved beyond the outdated suggestion box model. Traditional suggestion boxes, whether paper or digital, often fail (or usually fail!–ideas get locked away, reviewed by a select few, and lead to frustration. We believe in dynamic platforms that foster real-time […]

A selection of highlighted blog posts from Lean bloggers from the month of June 2024.  You can also view the previous monthly Lean Roundups here.     Beyond Developing People – Bob Emiliani uses the simple analogy of plants, blooms, and pollination applied to the work of managers to help us understand what they must do.   […]

Influence Executives with Confidence and Credibility Have you ever received blank stares from leaders when you’ve advocated that they adopt an improvement method or tool you know will help them?  Perhaps the problem is not your idea but rather that you aren’t communicating in a way that connects these concepts with the business outcomes they […]

Below is a research paper from a former graduate student, Michael Dauphinais, examining the need for and value of maturity assessments that are used to evaluate the “leanness” of organizations. It also examines managers’ response to maturity assessments. It concludes: “Once an organization is mature enough to be able to perform a maturity assessment, its […]

My latest book, The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation, is turning one year old! Join me, along with my co-host Elisabeth Swan, for what we hope will be an engaging, insightful, and fun discussion about learning from mistakes. We’ll be joined by special surprise guests who will share their […]

On Forbes: Why More Employees Should Learn Hanlon’s Razor Hanlon’s Razor isn’t part of any company’s new employee orientation, but maybe it should be. It can make you a more effective employee and also make the organization better, especially in tricky situations. But before I explain further, we should probably delve into what Hanlon’s Razor […]

As a former university professor and now emeritus professor, one of my job requirements was to do research in my fields of interest, write papers, and submit the papers for review and eventual publication in peer-reviewed academic and practitioner journals. I have loved doing research and writing from my days as an undergraduate student, where […]

My Grand Tour of German Automotive continues now with plants from Mercedes-Benz (also known as Daimler). I visited a total of four plants from Mercedes-Benz, including all three automotive final assembly plants Sindelfingen, Bremen, and Rastatt. I also had a tour at their quite good Daimler truck plant in Wörth, the largest heavy-duty truck plant […]

By Pascal Dennis (bio) “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born, and the day you know why.” Craig Forman Great piece on the Power of Purpose. Nothing beats it – not talent, courage or luck. Talent & courage, exercised in the wrong direction, are aimless. (At worst, they […]

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 […]

Psychological Safety means everybody gets their say, but it doesn’t mean you get your way. Psychological Safety is an individual’s belief, feeling, or perception that it’s safe for them to speak up in a situation. When people are rewarded for speaking candidly, that leads to rigorous debate and better decisions. Psychological Safety doesn’t mean freedom […]

I’m very happy to be participating in Jared Thatcher‘s “Global Lean Summit” event this September in Indiana. I’ll be there to network and learn, which includes time visiting a Toyota Material Handling factory. I’ll be speaking and facilitating: Learn more and register The post I’ll Be Speaking, Learning, and Facilitating at the Global Lean Summit […]

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 […]

In this episode of “People Solve Problems,” Jamie Flinchbaugh hosts Frank L. Douglas, CEO of Safe Haven Dialogues. Frank brings a wealth of experience as a former Executive Vice President and Board Member of Aventis, now Sanofi, and shares insights from his storied career in the pharmaceutical industry and beyond. Currently, Frank leads Safe Haven […]

Register Now We’re excited to announce another edition of our popular “Ask Us Anything!” webinar series featuring the dynamic KaiNexus Lean Strategy team. Mark your calendars for June 20 from 2:00 – 3:00 ET for an hour of engaging and informative discussion. I’ll be your host and moderator. Meet the Presenters: What to Expect This […]

Hindsight is 20/20. The term “hindsight is 20/20” is often used to describe the phenomenon of being able to see things more clearly after they have happened. This phrase is derived from the idea that our vision is usually better when looking backward than forwards. Despite many believing we should always look forward instead of […]

My fourth book, Organizing Conversations: Preparing Groups to Take on Adaptive Challenges is now out, and it’s time to spill the beans on why a relatively short book took me so long. It wasn’t because I was working on book five at the time (hard as it was, I resisted that urge), but because my […]

Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #508 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Mike Hoseus, Executive Director of the Center for Quality People and Organizations and President of Lean Culture Enterprises. He supports organizations in their lean journey, focusing on leadership and cultural aspects of the lean […]

July 2024 will mark the 30th year that I have been involved with the Toyota production system and Lean. It started with my participation in genma kaizen led by Shingijutsu kaizen consultants. From there it led to the practice of TPS and the Toyota Way (TPS/TW). It also led to the exploration of Lean production […]

I’m thrilled to announce that my fourth book, Organizing Conversations: Preparing Groups to Take on Adaptive Challenges is out on Kindle. Fingers crossed, the print version will be out in time for Friday’s monthly roundup. [Update: it was ] This shortish book (at a little over 100 pages and a shade under 30,000 words, half the […]

I’m excited to share my breakout session at the Michigan Lean Consortium Annual Conference! In this session, I dive into the critical role of Psychological Safety as a Foundation for Continuous Improvement. We explore how fostering an environment where team members feel safe to share ideas, take risks, and learn from mistakes can drive remarkable […]

On Forbes: 14 Executive Skills Middle Managers Need To Become Senior Leaders While leaders at all levels need effective communication skills to succeed, the required interpersonal competencies can vary significantly between the C-suite and middle management. Generally speaking, lower-level managers are often more involved in direct, task-specific interactions with employees, whereas executives need to master […]

The last plant of BMW I visited in Germany was in Spandau, Berlin. This was different from BMW Munich and Leipzig. For one, it makes motorbikes, not cars. But its performance was also not as stellar as the best of (German) benchmark plants Leipzig and Munich. But despite some issues, it still performed on an […]

Poka-yoke or mistake-proofing is the use of process design features to facilitate correct actions, prevent simple errors, or mitigate the negative impact of errors. It is essentially used to make the process easier. To assess how effective your solution is, you must look at three factors: the power of the mistake-proofing solution, whether it can be overridden, and […]