In his book, Toyota Production System (Toyota Production Method in the original Japanese) Taiichi Ohno said: “The tool used to operate the system is kanban, an idea I got from American supermarkets… A supermarket is where a customer can get (1) what is needed, (2) at the time needed, (3) in the amount needed…the supermarket is a […]

In recent years, healthcare providers increasingly want you to do an “online check in” prior to your appointment. I can see the benefits — when it works well. I’d rather type information into my phone or computer instead of writing it into paper forms. These paper forms are often badly designed, with lines and boxes […]

What does Lean teach? 👉 Get the facts, don’t guess. Irrational-FearDownload

“Respect for People” has come into vogue in the last year or two as people have finally realized, after decades, that focusing on Lean tools yields Fake Lean. The “Respect for People” principle and Lean leadership have been my area of interest for more than 20 years. These topics have been the central theme of […]

John Seddon has made an amazing discovery: Lean is failing! In a paper much anticipated by few, “An exploration into the failure of Lean,” Seddon and co-author Brendan O’Donovan “…show that the ‘Lean’ (Womack and Jones 1996) movement is based on a flawed interpretation of innovations” created by Toyota beginning in the 1950s. They argue that Lean […]

In December 2004, I wrote an article, “Lean in Higher Education,” about the future of higher education in the United States. I made the case that due to declining enrollments and other factors, “…some schools will go out of business, some will merge with other schools, and others will exist for a period of time as zombie […]

We all know that Lean must be led from the top. That means we must engage top leaders and convince them of the merits of Lean – REAL Lean. Progressive leaders might listen, but have you stopped to think about how business traditionalists view Lean management and its advocates? Business traditionalists are people who believe […]

Lean Big Shot: “Please keep writing those terrific weekly posts.” Bob Emiliani: “So you like my weekly blog posts? They seem to be upsetting some people. Why not you?” Lean Big Shot: “Of course your posts upset people — you’re opinionated, contrarian, and aggressively attack what you see as bullshit in the lean community. They […]

This is the back story to the book Kaizen Forever. In the spring of 2014, I was approached by Rudy Go, a retired colleague from Pratt & Whitney and kaizen consultant. He  worked for Shingijutsu USA and asked me if I would be interested in writing a book about Shingijutsu. I said that I would […]

As both a participant and witness to the practice of Lean management in higher education, I would like to point out methodological errors in relation to how Lean is practiced in industry. Those in industry who practice Lean management correctly provide us with a standard by which we can compare the practice of Lean in […]

Some Abnormal Conditions vs. Normal Conditions Abnormal Condition Normal Condition VP of Continuous Improvement All executives engaged in kaizen Learn Lean using games and simulations Learn Lean by doing kaizen at the genba Creating value stream maps in a conference room Improve processes via genba kaizen Bronze, silver, gold levels for Lean achievement  Kaizen forever […]

A recent article “More College Students Selling Stock—in Themselves” (The Wall Street Journal, 5 August 2015) highlights the terrible outcomes that fall onto students shoulders when universities are run for the benefit of self instead of students. This, from institutions that claim to serve the greater good, and create citizens that can function in and […]

Outsourcing of services by colleges and universities is again in the news (see “The Ins and Outs of Outsourcing,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, 24 August 2015).  Having been a purchasing/supply chain manager while working in industry, there are four fallacies that university leaders should be aware of: Outsourcing = Savings. Maybe, maybe not. The […]

For some years now I have been both an occasional participant and ongoing witness to the practice of Lean management in State governments. I continue to see methodological errors in relation to how Lean is practiced in industry. Those in industry who practice Lean management correctly provide us with a standard by which we can […]

This article, “Giving College Administrators a Business Education” (The Wall Street Journal, 27 August 2015), by Bruce Benson, president of the University of Colorado, has received high praise. Let’s look more closely at his work to operate the university “more like businesses” and to better understand if his fiscal accomplishments are truly worthy of the praise he […]

Top leaders of higher education institutions inevitably hope leave a legacy. Presidents who began their tenure in the late 1980s or thereafter presided over an era of uncontrolled costs, large increases in expensive administrative and other overhead positions, new buildings and facilities construction, and annual tuition increases at double the rate of inflation. This is […]

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 Kata-lyze your thinking Thinking scientifically is a long-held principle of operational excellence but it […]

Email continues to be a popular method of communication, both in and out of the workplace, thanks to its speed and effectiveness. It has numerous applications, such as recapping important meetings, requesting input, or sending cover letters and expressions of gratitude, among other uses. Nine Guidelines for penning professional emails Prioritize the Subject Line. The […]

This is the back story to the book Speed Leadership: A New Way to Lead for Rapidly Changing Times. The basic idea expressed in this book reflects a frustration that most, if not all of us have had to endure. Namely, the boss tells us how important leadership is to the success of the organization, […]

I was saddened to learn today that Masaaki Imai passed away, as announced this week by the organization he founded, KAIZEN Institute. He was 92. Kaizen Institute Announces the Passing of its Founder, Masaaki Imai Mr. Imai was well known for his books, including KAIZEN, his follow up Gemba Kaizen, and his latest, Strategic KAIZEN™ […]

The PPT framework, also known as the Golden Triangle, has been used by many businesses to improve the operational efficiency of their employees and tools. Everything from leadership to digital transformation, organizational talent, and management practices, need to work closely together. This will lead to effective business growth and development. In short, The PPT framework, […]

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 […]

There are many ways to improve your thinking skills. One way is by practicing critical thinking. Teachers require their students, from elementary school on through college and graduate school, to do research to gather information, analyze the validity of data, determine the strengths and weaknesses of arguments, and so on. The product of critical thinking […]

There is an important saying in Lean management: “Without standard there can be no continuous improvement.” That saying should be Interpreted as a rule. Standards are important because they establish the “normal” condition – the way the process should be in order to achieve good results in terms of quality, quantity, time, etc. Lean management uses […]

The Kanban method is a work management approach focusing on visualizing work, limiting work in progress, and improving efficiency. Originating from the Toyota Production System in the 1940s and the manufacturing field, various industries later embraced the approach, including software development.   Its key component is the Kanban board to visualize the workflow. Kanban principles and […]

Lean people, understandably, possess a streak of idealism in how they would like the world to be: No waste, value propositions fulfilled, social well-being, economic prosperity, and so on. It is good to have a dream and strive, over the long-term, to achieve it. Yet, there is a tell-tale sign that most Lean people are […]

How do you grow tomatoes? If you are a backyard gardener, you buy plants (or maybe raise from seed), plant, tend, harvest. Simple as that. However, while the resulting harvest may be acceptable for one’s needs, it will surely be less flavorful and less bountiful than it could have been. Knowledge of the details of […]

Non-academic educational credentials – certifications, badges, etc. – have blossomed in recent years. Credentials have become popular with both prospective employees and employers. What has happened to make them as attractive, if not more attractive in some cases, than academic degrees? I’ll offer some possible answers to this phenomenon, which began to unfold in tandem […]

In the early days, late 1970s to late 1980s, there existed just a few small organizations to help people learn about and implement Toyota’s production system (TPS). They were led by people with decades of hand-on practice at Toyota and its affiliated companies. Some organizations, however, were led by people who only studied TPS and […]

It is time to re-discover Kaizen and Kaizen Spirit, and renew confidence in our abilities and the future. I, along with my co-authors Ralph Wood and Michael Herscher, are extremely proud to bring to you this very special new book: Shingijutsu-Kaizen: The Art of Discovery and Learning. It is a book about how sensei from […]

I’m a big fan of the KaiNexus Continuous Improvement webinar series that’s a monthly fixture on my calendar (and hopefully yours). 

I have a confession to make. I still haven’t delivered the revised manuscript for my fourth book, but in spare moments I have begun work on my fifth, working title Wholehearted: Inside the Deliberately Adaptive Organisation, business agility at every scale. There’s nothing like writing to make you revisit things that you thought were settled, […]

This is the back story to the book Shingijutsu-Kaizen. In 2007 or 2008, a book project was initiated by Shingijutsu USA to write about the method used by sensei from Shingijutsu to teach kaizen. A manuscript was produced, but the project was abandoned. Several months after my work had commenced on the book Kaizen Forever, […]

When discussing business strategy, there is often a debate between OKRs and KPIs. However, is it necessary to choose between the two? Should we prioritize setting challenging objectives with OKRs or constantly monitoring our business with KPIs? When discussing business strategy, there is often a debate between OKRs and KPIs. However, is it necessary to […]