Article

Surfer Culture Meets Standardized Work

Can surfing instructors and students really learn standardized work? Read the surprising story of how lean coach Sammy Obara worked with Pacific Surfing School to…

by Doug Bartholomew

Video

The Art of Lean: Use These Tools to Help You Improve a Process, Part 2

Take a closer look into this four-step approach that will help you "pinpoint the tricky parts" of a process as you work to improve it,…

by Art Smalley and Art Smalley

Article

Thoughts on Digitization, Work, and Continuous Improvement

The opportunities and changes presented by digitization are issues for all lean practitioners not only those in IT. Here are some additional insights from a…

by John Drogosz, PhD

Article

Follow-up Q&A for Jim Lancaster's Work of Management Webinar

“The Real Work of Management” webinar drew very engaged attendees who submitted hundreds of questions. We now present some of the most-frequently asked questions (plus…

by Jim Lancaster

Article

We Have Been (Lean) Thinking

In the many years since we launched Lean Thinking, events amply confirm our long-held view that managers will try anything easy that doesnít work before…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Article

Advice from the Gemba: Top Mistakes Lean Leaders Make II

Everybody makes mistakes, lean leaders included. Our previous list of mistakes made by lean leaders was the highest-performing installment in the Advice from the Gemba…

by Ken Eakin, Mark Hamel and Adam Hillsamer

Article

Lean Without Limits

We come up with many different types of answers that sort Lean conveniently into categories for easy understanding and storage, says Renee Smith; but what…

by Renée Smith

Article

What does developing people mean?

Dear Gemba Coach,Are people tools? Should bosses use people? What does development mean? How should we think about it?

by Michael Ballé

Article

Book Review: The Toyota Engagement Equation by Tracey and Ernie Richardson

In their book The Toyota Engagement Equation, authors Tracey and Ernie Richardson don’t hit you over the head telling you what to do or how…

by Tom Ehrenfeld

Article

Raised by Toyota: A Question and Answer with Tracey and Ernie Richardson

In this extended interview, Toyota veterans Tracey and Ernie Richardson share how they learned at the source, explain how they apply their lessons widely (including…

by Ernie Richardson and Tracey Richardson

Article

Lean in the IT Department

Dear Gemba Coach: My company has been doing lean for a while now, and I've been asked to start lean in the IT department. I've…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Four Types of Problems (Introduction)

An excerpt from Four Types of Problems IntroductionThe four types of problems are:Type 1: Troubleshooting: Reactive problem solving that hinges upon quick response and dealing with immediate…

Article

Learning the Hard and Soft Skills of Lean Coaching

While lean is often associated with process improvement, error reduction, and greater efficiency in a wide range of numbers; most veterans argue that above all…

by Lean Leaper

Article

Starting Points for Different Value Streams

No lean transformation story is the same. Read Dan Jones's take on gaining traction for lean learning within your organization and industry.

by Dan Jones

Article

Leadership Q&A: An Interview with Jerry Bussell, co-founder, Jacksonville Lean Consortium

From the LEI senior executive series on lean leadership:As vice president of Global Operations at Medtronic Surgical Technologies in Jacksonville, FL, Jerry Bussell helped lead…

by Chet Marchwinski

Article

Managing to Create Problem-Solvers: A Lean Transformation Summit Roundup

Countless people have asked us over the years, "My organization can't be lean without a problem-solving culture. So how do I create one?" The answer:…

by Lean Leaper

Article

New Book Explains How to Create “Steady Work” in Unsteady Times with Standardized Work Cadences

In Steady Work, the new book from the Lean Enterprise Institute, author and former Starbucks’ Regional Manager Karen Gaudet offers astute business guidance for turbulent…

by Karen Gaudet and Chet Marchwinski

Article

Lean Accounting Is Simpler, Faster, Cheaper, and More Accurate Than Traditional Management Accounting, so Why Don’t More Companies Use It?

Five thought leaders of the movement recently held a special conversation about what lean accounting is and isn’t, why it is vital to sustaining a…

by Lean Enterprise Institute

Article

Using Lean Thinking and Practices to Shrink the Time Between Disaster and Recovery 

SBP leveraged a continuous-improvement model based on the Toyota Production System to devise and execute creative solutions to rebuild a devastated community.

by Andy Stofleth

Podcast

Embracing Regret for Better Living: A WLEI Podcast with author Dan Pink

LEI chats with author Dan Pink about his new book and how it relates to retrospective outlooks and continuous improvement.

by Tom Ehrenfeld