In Japan, there is omotenashi. In its basic translation, the word means hospitality. But even in Japan, it means something else: it is the aim for perfection with a customer. This idea can be extended to product design, aiming for a product that gives the customer a perfect experience. The Word Omotenashi The word omotenashi […]

Charts like this always make me wonder why we throw away the additional context of data from 2016 when we start the 2017 chart. It’s unlikely that January 1st in any given year is the magical creation of a new system or a new process. In other words, January 2017 was likely the same process […]

With the hustle of the holidays over we turn to the New Year.  This is the time of year when people are trying to turn over a new leaf. The New Year is the perfect time to make a change. This is when people make New Year’s Resolutions. But good intentions tend to fade out […]

This is the back story to the book A Changed Perspective. People do not often realize that the idea for a book can percolate for a long time. The idea sits in the back of your mind, waiting for the right time to emerge. In the interim, other work — teaching, training, coaching, etc. — […]

For some 20 years I have been writing and teaching about leadership information processing. My primary concern has been blocked information flows, which, like hypertension (high blood pressure), is the “silent killer” of companies. The calamities caused by blocked information flows impact all stakeholders and are very expensive to correct. But how do we avoid […]

Cpk and Ppk are both measures of process capability, which is a way to evaluate the ability of a manufacturing process to produce parts within specified tolerances. They are used to assess whether a process is capable of consistently producing parts that meet the required specifications and to identify areas for improvement if the process […]

PDCA stands for “Plan-Do-Check-Act.” It is a four-step management method used for continuous improvement and problem-solving. The 8-step version of PDCA is a more detailed version of the original 4-step process, and it is often used in businesses and organizations as a systematic approach to problem-solving and continuous improvement. The 8-step PDCA process involves the […]

Project management is a discipline that involves planning, organizing, and managing resources to achieve specific goals and objectives. It consists of several key processes and tools, including scope definition, scheduling, budgeting, risk management, quality assurance, communication, resource management, stakeholder management, change management, status reporting, and earned value management. Project management is used in various contexts, […]

There are various lean programs, one of them being world class manufacturing (WCM), and that is what we’ll be focusing on here today. World Class Manufacturing Defined Fiat, an Italian automobile manufacturer, and the best European and Japanese experts came together with the goal of enhancing production standards to a recognized world standard. As a […]

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… Top 10 Most-Clicked Links I shared hundreds of articles with my readers in 2022, and I’ve learned one thing […]

A selection of highlighted blog posts from Lean bloggers from the month of December 2022.  You can also view the previous monthly Lean Roundups here.     10 Top Books on Culture, Organizational Change, and Strategy – Katie Anderson shares her top 10 list of books on how to build an intentional lean culture, lead transformational organizational […]

In the business management context, continuous improvement means a never-ending effort to identify and eliminate the root causes of problems that produce errors or diminish customer value. Most often, it consists of many incremental improvements rather than one drastic change. Continuous improvement is an integral part of Japanese culture, which endeavors to improve on an […]

This week’s guest is Alex Judd. Ron and Alex listened to and discussed David Foster Wallace’s famous commencement speech, “This Is Water.” This is a very powerful episode that contains some great food for thought for the new year. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you’ll […]

Each day we are presented with experiences that can teach us key aspects of leadership. Halloween is today! Whether you’re going to a party or have kids you have to rope into their costumes, Halloween is a holiday you shouldn’t be sleeping on. Let’s take a moment to think about how this fall holiday can […]

Mechanical engineering is considered the most interdisciplinary of all engineering majors because of its intersections with other academic fields, including civil, chemical, and industrial engineering. Therefore, mechanical engineers can work on various projects in many companies. Due to the diversity of the industry, mechanical engineers have always had a wide range of employment options, and […]

If you’re a leader looking to improve employee engagement and performance at your organization, it pays to spend time working with the people who can deliver more impact than any other—managers. Middle managers play a key role in employee engagement, creating a respectful and trusting relationship with their direct reports, communicating company values and setting […]

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 […]

It is a goal-setting methodology used by companies to set clear, measurable objectives and track progress toward them. OKRs are designed to be ambitious and stretch goals and are typically developed quarterly or annually. Introduction The concept of OKRs was introduced by Andy Grove, the former CEO of Intel, in the 1980s. Since then, OKRs […]

Complacency is all around us, but it (and the problems it brings) can be especially noticeable in the workplace. If people have stopped going the extra mile and if they seem totally content with the status quo, their complacency could be hurting your organization. The good news is that complacency often comes after some success, […]

Introduction Managing a project is a multifaceted process that requires planning, scheduling, reporting, and tracking. Gaps in communication, resource allocation, or backup plan can affect project progress and business profitability. This article sheds light on the importance of project management and the pivotal role it plays in ensuring business profitability. What Is Project Management? Project […]

By Pascal Dennis (bio) Recently, I spent several days with the great Joe Lodato and the Constrada team of homebuilding & maintenance contractors. Joe & team have for years now helped maintain & improve our charming but somewhat old (1940’s) family home. Things always come up – this time it was water leaks in the […]

‘Tis the season for giving — that’s what they say, anyway. There are times when in order to take care of others you need to take care of yourself first. It sounds counterintuitive and certainly against the spirit of the holidays, but sometimes it’s true. Here are three tips to help you make more time for […]

By Pascal Dennis (bio) What a terrible waste of humanity – Taiichi Ohno Our recent blog on Bozos generated some buzz – thanks, all. Thought I’d expand on a few points. Poor HR policies and processes create bozos. In the absence of purpose, and easy ways of getting involved, people lose their energy and optimism. […]

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 […]

By Pascal Dennis (bio) Like many of you, I was lucky enough to go to a professional school in a well-known university. My studies were in business and engineering. Chats with colleagues who went into law, medicine, nursing, architecture and so on, suggest we picked up similar mental models and habits. Many of my courses […]

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 […]

“Bridging the gap between Industry 4.0 vendors & manufacturers” As an unintended consequence of my lean work I’ve spent the last 2 years advising clients on where digital manufacturingmight add value. Might is the word to ponder in the previous sentence. For example, I’ll encourage a client to run anexperiment to test a simple hypothesis […]

By Pascal Dennis (bio) Good problem solving entails moving fluidly between the worlds of Reflection & Experience. Go See (genchi genbutsu) is central to the latter. Analytical tools like the famous Q7 Quality Tools are abstractions that exist in the world of Reflection. Problem solving begins in the world of Experience. What is actually happening […]

The modern business landscape is full of buzzwords and passing management fads, so it isn’t surprising if you hear of a new “methodology” and just let it go in one ear and out the other. However, it’s a good idea to make an exception for Lean business management. The Lean approach is one of the […]

Every business wants to be successful and generate results. If only there was a simple formula we could use to make that happen. Well actually, for decades there has been. Maybe you’re not familiar with it but that’s what I’m sharing with you today. We are looking at John Adair’s Action Centered Leadership model. Back […]

A blog like this would usually be titled “Best of…” but I don’t subscribe to the idea of “best” when it comes to knowledge transfer. It’s tough to compare the benefits of person A picking up the right bit of knowledge at the right time to help them with their own situational conundrum, to person […]

By Pascal Dennis (bio) Just finished Dreadnought, Robert Massie‘s splendid account of the years leading up to World War 1. My favourite character is Admiral John (Jackie) Fisher who transformed the Royal Navy – just in time. Fisher was a Lean thinker, far ahead of his time. His obsession was improving the speed and accuracy […]

Agile and Waterfall are two different approaches to project management. Agile is a project management approach focused on flexibility and continuous delivery. It is based on delivering small pieces of working software frequently rather than trying to deliver everything at once at the end of the project. Agile approaches encourage collaboration and adaptability, and they […]

Anyone who has taken an introductory course in probability, or even SPC, has heard of the law of large numbers. It’s a powerful result from probability theory, and, perhaps, the most widely used. Wikipedia starts the article on this topic with a statement that is free of any caveat or restrictions: In probability theory, the […]