Article

How to Know If Your Team is Ready for Kaizen

"Do we even know what the Kaizen aim of “engaged employees” means, beyond the clichés?" asks lean coach Lesa Nichols. Read Lesa's tips for getting…

by Lesa Nichols

Article

Developing Your Obeya, Stage-by-Stage

In his years as a LPPD coach, John Drogosz has seen that "most teams do go through several stages of evolution before obeya becomes an…

by John Drogosz, PhD

Article

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…

by Jeff Smith

Article

The Essence of Developing People and Yourself

Jane Delaney is the CEO of a medium sized software company in the UK. As her company faces crisis upon crisis she finds herself forced…

by John Shook

Article

Focus Your Operating System To Bring Your Strategy to Life

A strategy can just turn into wallpaper if you don't have the right systems in place to support it. Jim Morgan has seen this happen…

by James Morgan, PhD

Article

7 Things Coaches Need to Get Over

"Over the years, I have noticed some common misperceptions about coaching effective problem solving skills and developing lean thinking," writes Mike Orzen. Read more to…

by Mike Orzen

Video

Videos from WLEI: Deep Dives on the Factory Floor with Cliff Ransom

Cliff Ransom walks through a factory with us, emphasizing how lean thinking improves the quality and efficiency of the work at hand.

Article

Competing with China

There are two sea changes going on in the world economy. The first is the rise of the “low cost” producers in China and the…

by Dan Jones

Article

When Do You Stop Learning?

Lean is about learning continuously and asking the right questions, not just providing answers. But, Orry Fiume wonders, does the learning ever stop? Do we…

by Orest (Orry) Fiume

Podcast

Developing 35,000 Problem Solvers: OhioHealth's Journey in Lean Healthcare with Alli Kulp and Emily Swaney 

How one large healthcare system is developing problem-solving skills across 35,000 employees through standardized lean processes, daily huddles, and leadership assessment tools.

by Alli Kulp, Matthew Savas and Emily Swaney

Article

The End of the Beginning

NUMMI closes today. The GM-Toyota joint venture assembling motor vehicles in California lasted 25 years - a very long time for a joint venture -…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Article

Making Your Work Work in the First 90 Days

In your first 90 days as a lean leader, what path will you take to support transformation? Andrew Quibell details the elements of both a…

by Andrew Quibell

Article

How Teaming Produces Execution-as-Learning

Amy C. Edmonson, Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, shares a concept she calls "teaming", a way of working that brings…

by Amy C. Edmondson

Article

Ask Art: What Lean Books Should I Start With?

Art Byrne shares with us his book recommendations to newcomers on insights into the philosophy and general approach behind lean.

by Art Byrne

Article

It's Not the Crisis; It's How You Respond to It

He probably didn't ask for a problem of quite this magnitude, but like it or not, Akio Toyoda has his crisis. Akio took the reigns…

by John Shook

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Article

Ask Art: How Useful is Six Sigma and the Black Belts and Green Belts that Come with It?

Several specific examples demonstrate why lean continuous improvement practices are usually superior to six sigma for solving problems.

by Art Byrne

Press Release

Join the Product Development Revolution That’s Changing the Way New Value Is Created at the Second Annual #Lean Product And Process Development Conference

The Designing the Future Summit, set for June 27- 28, 2019, will examine concrete continuous improvement practices for product design and development, not broad generalizations…

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