In the previous posts on this series of the Toyota Practical Problem Solving (PPS) I went into detail on how to understand the problem by clarifying the problem and breaking it down to get the prioritized problem. In this post I will look at target setting and root-cause analysis. Setting the target and doing the […]

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: The Role of Senior Leaders (Part 1). Hope you enjoy it! 2 minute tip: Best regards, Pascal In case you missed our last few blogs… please feel free […]

Prologue: Occasionally I get feedback from people who perceive my work as being negative. It seems they get that perception mainly from my LinkedIn posts and perhaps from my recent books. When it comes to social media, I think it is especially important to challenge people’s thinking about the problems that the Lean community faces. […]

Below are lists of videos and podcasts organized from newest (top) to oldest (bottom). Videos Closing the Gap Between How Kaizen Is Understood and How Kaizen is Practiced What Have We Learned in 50 years of TPS and 35 Years of Lean? From Shop Floor Kaizen to Speed Leadership Transitioning to Lean Management Embracing a […]

In Episode 43, Jamie Flinchbaugh and Mark Graban begin by talking about each of our interviews regarding the new book by Steve Spear and Gene Kim, Wiring the Winning Organization. Mark interviewed Steve and Gene for the LeanBlog podcast, and Jamie interviewed Steve for a forthcoming episode of People Solve Problems podcast. We then shifted […]

Employee engagement is crucial for the success of any organization, and the manufacturing industry is no exception. In fact, according to studies, the manufacturing industry has one of the lowest employee engagement rates compared to other industries. In this blog, we’ll discuss the top reasons why employee engagement matters. From increased productivity to reduced turnover […]

Listen: In Episode 43 of the “Lean Whiskey” podcast, Jamie Flinchbaugh and Mark Graban begin by talking about each of our interviews regarding the new book by Steve Spear and Gene Kim, Wiring the Winning Organization. Mark interviewed Steve and Gene for the Lean Blog Interviews podcast, and Jamie interviewed Steve for a forthcoming episode […]

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 […]

Leadership behaviors: The continuing faith that the Lean community has on changing top leaders’ behaviors, from the old way of leading to the new Lean way of leading, is worrisome. Will people ever think to explore the domain that Taiichi Ohno considered most important: preconceptions? Leadership’s role in the culture of continuous improvement begins with […]

Based on the web pages for all 28 of Bob Emiliani’s books, he appears to be: 1. A management consultant and author: He offers various products and services related to leadership development, organizational improvement, and Lean management. His website includes books, online courses, coaching services, and speaking engagements. 2. A proponent of Lean management: The […]

Below are two thought-provoking chapters from a book written by Professor Edgar Swift and published in 1925. The main topic is sales, but it contains two very interesting chapters on how we (all humans) underutilize our intellectual and creative abilities in business. Why is that? There are three reasons: Precedents (and preconceptions) slow down or […]

In these early days of AI, one thing is clear: AI makes work easier. Leaders, like anyone else, want to make their work easier. And so they will turn to AI for answers to their questions and problems. Since AI learns from humans, it will almost surely perpetuate classical management until it can make associations […]

In the world of modern manufacturing, achieving a balance between material flow and ergonomic considerations can be tough. The relentless pursuit of cramming more material into confined spaces often leads to an undesirable compromise between efficiency and worker well-being.  But this isn’t a compromise you and your peers need to settle for. Understanding the relationship […]

In the People Solve Problems podcast, hosted by Jamie Flinchbaugh, John McCullough, Director of Continuous Improvement at Sharp Services, shares his expertise and experiences in problem-solving within the pharmaceutical industry. John, a global continuous improvement leader, strategic thought partner, and change agent, also extends his lean journey expertise to various other industries, achieving measurable performance […]

Are you interested in receiving the entire set of my 35 research papers shown in the images below? I am not looking for those who merely want to add papers to their collection for the fun of it. I am looking for serious individuals who have interest in studying the work I have produced. The […]

This is a repost from my blog post about a talk I gave in 2018… I always enjoy the KaiNexus User Conference (now called KaiNexicon starting this year) and they ask me to give a talk each year. Last year, I gave a talk called “When Being Right is the Wrong Strategy for Change” and […]

You will ❤️ this video! Click on the image to view the video. Description of my talk:“Over recent decades, kaizen — as fundamental as the 3Rs, Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic — has fallen out of favor and largely replaced with things like value stream maps, gemba walks, A3s, and kata. Where kaizen is practiced, it […]

How much of your day do you spend problem solving?  It could be responding to requests from senior leaders, helping team members work through an issue, or just figuring out where to park in the morning.  If you’re anything like me, it seems like every day is a stream of problems waiting to be solved […]

Our monthly webinar/AMA series “The questions that drive us” returns tomorrow to question #1: What if we put agreement on outcomes before solutions? Essentially, this is principle #1 framed as a question. Framing it that way makes it even less prescriptive than it would be otherwise and more likely to spark innovation. Moreover, asking it […]

In November 2007, the world was introduced to the Cynefin (pronounced ku-nev-in) “sense-making” framework in a Harvard Business Review article authored by David Snowden and Mary Boone titled, “A Leader’s Framework for Decision Making.” The online version of the article contains these words at the start of the article’s summary: Many executives are surprised when […]

In my last post I introduced the Toyota Practical Problem Solving approach (PPS) and gave an overview how it is rooted in PDCA and often used in the form of an A3. Now let’s dig deeper and go into the details of the individual steps. The first is to clarify the problem. The second is […]

Sharing my  fourth article for Forbes: Why ‘The Boss Said’ Is Not A Reason So many action-initiating conversations lead in with some version of “the boss said,” as if that’s a good reason to complete any task. Of course, it is one reason, but it’s a reason filled with waste and error. Read More The […]

You will ❤️ this video! Click on the image to view the video. Description of my talk:“Over recent decades, kaizen — as fundamental as the 3Rs, Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic — has fallen out of favor and largely replaced with things like value stream maps, gemba walks, A3s, and kata. Where kaizen is practiced, it […]

The Lean business process improvement methodology is a way of planning and measuring the long-term success in our organization, focused on improving safety, quality, delivery, cost, and employee morale. It seeks to eliminate waste and streamline the delivery of value to the customer. There are dozens of tools associated with the practice of Lean, such […]

The GE Lean Mindset event back in September was such an exciting day. One of my highlights was not just eating food prepared by Chef Wolfgang Puck’s team — but meeting the man himself! Later that day, Puck was on stage to have a fireside chat with filmmaker David Geld, director and producer of films […]

Running a business is the inverse of science, or almost the inverse of science. How do we know? Take decision-making by leaders, which can be anyone from supervisor to CEO or the board of directors. Surely you have witnessed many decisions whose logic confounds you. Yes, there may have been data to support the decision, […]

Here’s the latest episode of the KaiNexus Continuous Improvement podcast, this time featuring another conversation with Mark Graban and Greg Jacobson.

Gemba Walk is a crucial lean management technique that involves walking the shop floor to identify opportunities for improvement. Moreover, it’s important to have a Gemba Walk Checklist that outlines the key questions to ask during your walk. This ensures that you perform an effective and efficient walkthrough of your shop floor. In this article, […]

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 […]

People often think in terms of dichotomies, a division or separation (sometimes opposition) between parts or forces. This differs from “Manichaean thinking,” a division between good and evil. Both can be powerful motivators for change that alter the course of history. There is a healthy dislike for such thinking in some quarters because it simplifies, […]

In this edition: Adaptive Organisation; 15-minute FOTO; New podcast interview; More free sessions; Train-the-Trainer / Facilitator (TTT/F); Top posts Adaptive Organisation There is plenty to report here! Let’s begin with its online, self-paced version. Now that I’ve finished hand-editing the captions on all of its videos, Adaptive Organisation (II) is out of beta. That’s both […]

In the field of project management, one often overlooked aspect is reliability. This includes the dependability of your business operations and team members, as well as your own dependability to your team. Understanding Accountability in Project Management Accountability is a cornerstone of project management. It’s not just about assigning tasks; it’s about ensuring they are […]

Online forums do not often discuss quality fundamentals like characteristics and tolerances. You find arguments about process capability, but the requirements for process capability are taken as given. Tolerances on characteristics are objectives that production is expected to meet, and deserve an exploration of what they mean and how they are set. Quality Characteristics The […]

I’m happy to be hosting a webinar that will be presented by Stephanie Hill from KaiNexus, on December 5th at 1 pm. It’s titled: Engaging Senior Leaders to Accelerate Your Continuous Improvement Program You can register to attend live, ask questions, and interact with Stephanie. I recently recorded a preview with Stephanie, which you can […]