In the previous blog post, Something Revolutionary Sees as Ordinary, I discussed how the representation of Lean as a means for wealth creation is a simplistic and conformist narrative of both the outcome and purpose of business that undercuts the revolutionary nature of the Toyota Production System and The Toyota Way. This blog post picks […]

Lean world has long had a “do as I say, not as I do” problem. Telling OthersDownload

The following describes the evolution of my Lean leadership training courses. First Generation | Behaviors | 2002-2005 I began teaching Lean leadership to executives in 2002 (and to university students since 2001, based on my work published in 1998). The first generation started as a half-day training course that consisted mostly of lecture focused on Lean leadership […]

It seems to be common knowledge that the Lean movement is now suffering from a midlife crisis. Lean movement leaders are perplexed at the widespread continuing emphasis on Lean tools, narrow focus on cost cutting, and the slow uptake of the “Respect for People” principle over the last 15 years. This is the outcome, despite […]

If Lean management were to pass away someday, what might its obituary be? Lean Management passed away this year at the age of 38. The cause was complications from confusion, complexity and, in the end, apathy and neglect. Lean management dedicated its life to helping people improve processes in ways that did not harm others, with […]

In recent years, many organizations have lost interest in learning about Lean tools and Lean management in a classroom setting. They choose an alternative learning method called “action learning,” and may augment that with “change management,” “systems thinking,” or “design thinking.” All of this in an effort to create “the adaptive enterprise,” “learning organizations,” “resilient […]

Nearly 30 years after the start of the Lean movement, there is widespread agreement that things have not gone according to plan. Of course, there have been some notable successes (particularly those who worked with Shingijutsu), yet they are far fewer in number than anyone expected given the wide-ranging benefits of Lean management to all […]

In today’s blog, we detail six different types of kaizen methodologies. But first, let’s briefly get into what kaizen is.  What is Kaizen? Kaizen is a Japanese term meaning change for the better or continuous improvement. It is a business philosophy that encourages all employees at all levels of a company to work together to […]

Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915) circa 1900. Every day, thousands of people confuse Lean management with “Taylorism,” properly known as Scientific Management. The negative association brings out those who work hard to create a great separation between Lean and Taylor. This is an ill-informed and inappropriate response. It is also an irresponsible response because it misleads […]

On 26 January 2016, Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy announced the status of LeanCT in a press release titled: “Gov. Malloy Announces State’s Use of Lean Tools Makes Government More Responsive and Efficient” (watch video here). As a long-time student of and advocate for Lean management, I am happy to see Lean in my state Government (Disclosure: […]

Nearly 30 years into the Lean movement, successes, failures, and future challenges are becoming increasingly clear. The successes make us happy and keep us motivated. The failures and their causes, however, are usually diminished or ignored. That means the information used to help define and execute future actions is distorted. That should be a source […]

It seems there isn’t a university administrator anywhere, and most faculty too, who claim the mantle of “academic excellence.” What is “academic excellence?” The words typically connote the span of university activities related to the degree programs, scholarship, learning, and teaching. It is common to read how funding must be preserved or increased to maintain or […]

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 […]

These slides were posted on LinkedIn on 8 June 2023 with the words “Let’s Get Real.” The slides push back hard on misinterpretations about my work by Lean community leaders as well as their disinterest in acknowledging the big problems. Click here to view the post and comments on LinkedIn. Lets Get RealDownload

Below is a video in four parts of me giving a presentation to a business school faculty in which I make the case that Lean management should be taught to MBA students. The video was recorded on 28 January 2016. What do you think? Did I make a good case for featuring Lean management in […]

In a previous blog post, I identified business schools as one of the existential threats to Lean management. I said: “If Lean management is not taught in the world’s top business schools, then how important can Lean be?” Below is a video in four parts of me giving a presentation to a business school faculty in […]

In today’s rapidly evolving professional landscape, continuous learning has become more than just a pathway to success—it’s the key to survival. There’s a unique solution that stands ready to empower your career journey, and it’s called Coursera Plus. The All-in-One Subscription Coursera Plus is not your ordinary online learning subscription. It’s a springboard toward many […]

In the spring and summer of 2021, I made several dozen LinkedIn posts on the topic of Scientific Management to refute the disinformation coming from prominent people in the Lean community that had appeared in the months and years prior. The posts and related content from original sources were combined into the 592-page compendium below. […]

Long ago, you did not have to possess a Ph.D. or be affiliated with a university to be a scientist. And the work of scientists was mainly conducted as a public good, in search of truths that benefit humanity. With respect to Lean management, there is a small cadre of people world-wide who do serious […]

Companies dedicated to the practice of continuous improvement invest a lot of time and resources into training their employees and creating a culture centered around positive change. One way to make this easier and to smooth the path to improvement is to hire people who already have the right mindset. Bringing up continuous improvement during […]

One of the great challenges of Lean in state government is the perpetual turnover among the political appointees who lead state agencies. Turnover typically sets back the agency’s Lean efforts to the dismay of career state employees. What might be a practical countermeasure, not to the turnover itself, but to the setting back of Lean […]

One thing that Lean people like to do is brag about when they first learned about Lean or who they learned it from. We want to show off how close we were to the beginning and who our teachers were. We do it to distinguish ourselves from a crowded field of Lean practitioners ranging from know-nothing self-proclaimed […]

The term “Lean” has been with us for nearly 30 years. We proponents of Lean tell others that Lean management is superior to conventional management in every way – better in every business metric and better for employees, suppliers, customers, investors, communities, and even for competitors because it helps them avoid complacency. The benefits of […]

What is Lean management? Many people offer definitions, but efforts to define it, while well-meaning, serve only to disable people’s ability to understand it which, in turn, impairs their ability to practice it (the same is true for the “Respect for People” principle). Isn’t it odd that definitions of Lean, whose intent is to clarify, […]

The Gilded Age was an era between 1870 and 1900, marked by industrialization, mechanization, economic growth, the rise of large corporations, build-out of railways, urbanization, and immense wealth creation among business owners. It also included monopolies, worker abuse, child labor, corruption, and other conditions that unsettled the American public and which thereby influenced political elections […]

Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more Joining us for Episode #478 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Zeynep Ton. She is a professor of the practice at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Previously, she was on the faculty of the Har­vard Business School. Ton received numerous awards for teaching excellence […]

As you may know, I am a serious student of the history of industrial management, specifically the origins and evolution of Scientific Management and its linkages to the origins and evolution of Toyota’s Production system (TPS, popularly known as “Lean production” from 1987 to 2007 and “Lean management” post-2007). This includes the life and times […]

VIDEO INTERVIEW – This hotel in the Canary Islands is bringing lean to its Kitchen Department, hoping to streamline the process and provide a better service to diners. Interviewees: Javier Gomez, Leo Milanesio, Aaron Quintana and Pedro González {youtube}9kPpdXPzIYc{/youtube} THE INTERVIEWEES Javier Gomez (left) is Director of Hotel Cristina. Leo Milanesio (right) is a Change […]

Photo by Mikael Blomkvist on pexels In today’s dynamic and fast-paced business landscape, organizations actively seek ways to enhance efficiency, streamline operations, and provide exceptional customer experiences. In response to these objectives, Business Process Management (BPM) has emerged as a powerful approach. What Is Business Process Management? Business process management (BPM) is an organized method […]

Why do people have an almost instinctive negative reaction to management innovations that affect their work, especially anything that might result in higher output? The negative gut reaction that workers have towards modern progressive management, ranging from suspicion to outright disdain, reduces the appeal of progressive management and one’s ability to advance it within a […]

Recently, I have been re-reading some old books that I bought years ago to gain deeper insights into the relationship between economics and the prevalence and persistence of Fake Lean. By that I mean, the narrow use of Lean management by business leaders for the purpose of cost-cutting, in the furtherance of profit, especially in […]

Organisations live with the status quo (old or new) or with failing or disappointing solutions because they let solutions replace strategy. Whatever goals they might have had, implementing the solution became the thing. Solution-driven, change-managed – call it what you like, it’s a disaster. And because a generation of leaders has been taught that this is […]

Click on image to read the open letter (.pdf) Organizations that promote Lean management teach people how to focus on the process, think scientifically, do experiments, observe, engage in problem-solving, identify root causes, respect people, improve continuously, and, above all, learn. Yet, when to comes to Lean transformations, their focus is Lean success, while Lean failures […]

We owe a debt of gratitude to the MIT researchers who introduced the world to Lean, led in part by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones. Their work changed lives in important ways, ranging from developing a stronger, more insightful intellect, useful in all facets of life, to embarking on challenging new careers and improving processes […]