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Front-loading Product Development
Anyone in product development is familiar with the agony of late-stage changes, sometimes called loopbacks. The common advice to head off this problem is to…
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Columbus Public Schools Use Process Thinking to Improve Academic Achievement
Principals and staff at Columbus, Ohio, schools created current states and future states of a diagnostic testing process in order to identify students' weaknesses and to improve the processes…
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Challenge: Understand and Adapt for Sales Pace Growth
It's our first Lean Challenge post! Come up with a plan to help a machining business deal with the technical and social challenges posed by…
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Doing Versus Being – How Mindfulness Supports Better Lean Thinking
Most companies don’t get the expected results from their lean transformations, according to Mike Orzen, lean practitioner and LEI faculty member. The reason is that…
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After Lean Progress, Fighting the Challenges of Backsliding
After accepting the tough challenge of reducing deliver lead-time, CEO Nicolas Chartier and their entire team learned "to react at the first sign of backsliding…
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Lean Thinking at 20: A Q&A with Jim Womack and Dan Jones
Twenty years ago Jim Womack and Dan Jones helped launch the lean movement as we know it today with their key book Lean Thinking. Yesterday…
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The Value of Key Performance Indicators in a Lean Transformation
We all know to watch out for key performance indicators (KPIs) in the workplace - but are you tracking the RIGHT KPIs? Ernie and Tracey…
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In Lean and On the Green, Adaptability is Key
What parallels can be drawn between lean learning and achievement on the golf course? The concept of continuous improvement is certainly one, but Francesco Possio…
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Lean Expansion: Spreading Lean from One Store to a Region at Starbucks
Scaling up is a challenge often talked about in lean circles. How can we best leverage our individual or small-scale wins to spread lean throughout…
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Product Development Is Where to Cut Carbon Emissions; Here's How
Consumers want products updated more frequently, which is great for consumers and business but not so great for the environment because a third of man-made…
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Is a lean CEO's job different from a traditional CEO?
Dear Gemba Coach: How does the role of CEO in lean management differ from that in traditional management?
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What personal qualities should I work on to improve my practice of lean?
Dear Gemba Coach: What personal qualities should I work on to improve how I practice lean?
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Lean, Agile, Joy
Rich Sheridan, CEO of Menlo Innovations, shares his thoughts on why the lean software and lean manufacturing communities need each other.
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Reflections From Ten Years of Michael Ballé's Gemba Coach
Since his first Gemba Coach column of ten years ago, Michael Balle has consistently tied his advice to a faithful application of core Toyota Production…
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5 Steps to Empowering Your Team
Empowering an entire team can seem daunting, but it doesn't have to be. You just need a good background understanding of empowerment and a simple,…
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Waste in Process: Squeeze Before You Lean
"It seems intuitive to start applying lean to our processes, right?" writes Andrew Quibell. "Maybe so, but all that says to me is that we're…
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The Importance of Team Leaders on the Shop Floor
Why does upper management often fail to invest in team leaders on the shop floor? Andrew Quibell has his money on a lack of perspective.…
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The Magnificent 7 of Lean Manufacturing
How do you establish stability on a shop floor that’s chaotic? Andrew Quibell recommends “7 manufacturing basics,” his personal selection of lean improvement tools, methodologies,…
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Lean Management Meets Artificial intelligence, Machine Learning, the Internet of All Things
What part, if any, will lean principles – or humans – play in a manufacturing future of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the internet of…
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Ask Art: Why Should I Set Stretch Goals?
Art Byrne urges you to take the lean leap and set stretch goals. Setting ambitious goals shows respect for your people. Use the lean tools…
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