In the context of both Lean management and a professional networking site such as LinkedIn or on social media such as X, the discourse is filled with post after post telling top leaders that they must do this or they must do that to be better leaders. Like many others, I have done a lot […]

Wow, time flies! 15 years ago, Jamie Flinchbaugh and I embarked on our first-ever video podcast adventure as part of my Lean podcast (a podcast I started in 2006) Back then, my hair was much darker, and Jamie… well, let’s just say some things never change! 😂 Take a trip down memory lane with us […]

Nearly forty years ago, Toyota’s production system (TPS) was given a new generic name, “lean production.” Most people called it “lean manufacturing” owing to TPS’s manufacturing origin. The term “lean production” existed until about 2007 when there became a broader realization that Lean principles and practices apply to the work in all parts of a […]

One of great failures of Lean community leadership (pick any prominent name you like) is to give credit where credit is due. Shingijutsu, co-founded by Yoshiki Iwata and Chihiro Nakao, has the best track record of any consultancy since Shingijutsu was established in 1987. The article below tells one such story of success at Porsche. […]

  In this episode of People Solve Problems, host Jamie Flinchbaugh welcomes Lee Moore, Director of Foundry and Fab Materials at Qorvo. With nearly 25 years at Qorvo, Lee is deeply committed to developing a culture of proactive problem solvers within the organization. His role not only involves negotiating capacities and prices with external foundries […]

I was talking recently with a trusted friend in the Lean community. He told me a story. It’s certainly believable, even if it’s second or third-hand to me. He had no reason to make up a story like this. A relative of his works in a U.S. factory. Yes, we still have factories here. I’ll […]

Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #506 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Tim Hobbs, the founder and president of Hobbs Technical Consulting. He is an author and an in-demand international keynote speaker, trainer and business consultant. He is currently working in the semiconductor industry as a […]

On Forbes: When The Big Picture Can Be Counterproductive Sometimes, the big picture can be overwhelming. When it is, it leads to doubt, delay, overthinking and other counterproductive behaviors. Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius, who we could call Marcus the Practical, offers some helpful advice in this regard: “Remember—your responsibilities can be broken […]

The Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, or short BMW, is a maker of luxury vehicles, sport cars, and motorcycles. As part of my Grand Tour of German Automotive I visited their plants in Munich and Leipzig, and was quite impressed. In my view, it these are the best-performing automotive plants in Germany, and close to the […]

When writing or speaking, I use the words “mistake” and “error” interchangeably. The definitions in some dictionaries are comically circular. Dictionary.com defines an error as: “a deviation from accuracy or correctness; a MISTAKE, as in action or speech.” It also defines a mistake as: “an ERROR in action, calculation, opinion, or judgment caused by poor […]

In Lean world, it is part of the responsibility of supervisors and managers to develop people. Let’s take that a step further and say that supervisors and managers should help people — diverse in education, experiences, insights, and motivations — to do more than grow; to flower. Developing people effectively requires close attention to people’s […]

In the years since the six books shown below were published concerning the Institution of Leadership and System of profound Privilege, some people now and then come to the simple-minded conclusion that I believe top business leaders conspire to achieve certain ends that are favorable to themselves at the expense of others. There is no […]

Most companies try to be everything to everyone— claiming to provide better quality, service, and prices than their competitors. However, after decades in lean manufacturing consulting services, the Geolean team understands the importance of focusing on specific strengths. We’re not just in the business of selling products and equipment; we’re in the business of providing […]

Just about any person who has developed their creative capabilities to a high level will tell you the importance of looking at problems with a “beginner’s mind” (BM). Having a beginner’s mind means to free yourself of the preconceptions and social pressures that limit your thinking. It means to see everything for the first time. […]

In this edition: Organising Conversations; Olivier’s PhD research; Leading in a Transforming Organisation; Featureban on Kanban Zone; Top posts Organizing Conversations As announced on Wednesday (linkedin.com), I’m thrilled to announce that my fourth book, Organizing Conversations: Preparing Groups to Take on Adaptive Challenges is now out – first on Kindle and now in print too. […]

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 What is OpEx? Operational Excellence is a bit of […]

Effective maintenance planning and scheduling are essential for any organization’s success and can lead to significant improvements in wrench time. Let’s explore the steps and best practices for enhancing your maintenance processes, ensuring smooth operations and maximizing productivity. Step 1: Identify and Eliminate External Distracters Start by identifying and addressing common external distracters that can […]

Effective maintenance scheduling is the backbone of efficient operations. Maintenance teams can follow a set of well-established principles to ensure that all tasks are completed on time, reducing downtime and enhancing productivity. In this post, we will explore six key principles of maintenance scheduling and how they can enhance your maintenance operations. Principle 1: Detailed […]

This post is a thought experiment. It examines the question “Why do most top leaders resist, reject, or ignore progressive management” from the direction of politics, an ever-so human predilection, rather than business. It reconsiders CEOs principally as politicians, and secondarily as businesspersons, to explain their general desire to maintain the status quo with respect […]

Register for the free live stream Next Tuesday, join me as I host a panel discussion with Josh Howell (of the Lean Enterprise Institute), Bruce Hamilton (of GBMP Consulting Group & The Northeast Lean Conference), and Ken Snyder (of Shingo Institute) to preview the upcoming “Future of People at Work” Symposium, which will be held […]

Maintaining high-quality standards is essential for success in the dynamic world of manufacturing and production. Quality Department Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are critical tools that help organizations measure and improve their processes. In this post, we’ll explore the essential KPIs for quality management and how they can be leveraged to enhance overall performance. Understanding Quality […]

Harness the Power of Kaizen What do you think of when you hear the word “kaizen”? An event? A process that you are working on improving? Something else? The Japanese word “kaizen” is usually translated to mean “continuous improvement.” But there is a deeper meaning. It’s actually the lynchpin to creating a real culture of […]

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. This shortish book (at a little over 100 pages and a shade under 30,000 words, half the length of my other […]

When someone utters the phrase “problem solving”, what is the first image that comes to mind? For most people, those words immediately take you into problem solving tools and templates. This is because many of us have gone through training program after training program to learn various tools. For myself, just some of my tools-based […]

In today’s hyper-connected world, where digital innovation accelerates at a breakneck pace, transformation has become imperative for businesses aiming to stay competitive. However, embarking on this journey without a clear understanding of progress can lead to uncertainty and missed opportunities. 

Give them a book! When someone lower in the corporate hierarchy gives a book to someone much higher in the hierarchy (e.g., CEO, vice president, or general manager), they run a high risk of insulting the leader. Most top business leaders will accept the book with a smile and might say they can’t wait to […]

The digital business model transformation is a profound shift in how businesses operate, driven by integrating digital technologies across all aspects of an organization. This process fundamentally changes traditional business models of how companies deliver value to their customers, engage with stakeholders, and conduct internal operations. The transformation includes various technological advancements, such as cloud […]

In 2017-18, I had the chance to visit factories of all seven Japanese car makers as part of my Grand Tour of Japanese Automotive. In the last few weeks, I had the chance to repeat this for Germany and do a Grand Tour of German Automotive. Let me show you what I saw and what […]

On Forbes: Improve Your Attention Management With Three Strategies In my previous article, “Forget Time Management—Manage Your Attention,” I outlined why attention management is a powerful mechanism for effectiveness. The goal is to allocate our attention to fewer things, whether tasks or decisions. Do fewer things better. Go deeper on fewer decisions and problems. Read […]

Business owners and big company business executives often say they have a hard time finding employees or that there is a shortage of workers. Excluding the possibility that such concerns a) reflect an unwillingness to offer sufficient pay for the work, b) is not an excuse to drive down wages, or c) an excuse to […]

By Pascal Dennis (bio) Are We Ahead or Behind? And if so, why? Perhaps the most basic Lean questions & an important test in any gemba. Can the zone leader articulate the production/provision target & actual, and explain any gaps? Or does she equivocate, and say, “Well, it’s in the computer.” If the latter, Job […]

I’m very happy to announce the release of my new Mistake-Proofing course, which is available through Karen Martin and TKMG Academy. Well, it’s a mistake to call it “my” course. This course, available now, is the result of collaborating with a great team, including working with Karen on the script, Karen and her team lining […]

Every person, in their own way, marvels at the stupidity of other people, organizations, politics, laws, policies, rules, traditions, customs, processes, products, services, etc. It would not be human to do otherwise. Our brains are wired to think critically, but that is often ineffective due to deeply embedded ideologies. Nevertheless, what emerges is a heartfelt […]

What is liminality? It means “of, relating to, or being an intermediate state, phase, or condition; in-between, transitional.” It comes from the Latin, limen, meaning threshold. Liminality then, is an in-between state of being, a transition area or space between one state and another. It is often felt to be a strange, ambiguous, or paradoxical […]