Article

Lean Leadership

On my gemba walks I often get comments and questions about leadership. “We can’t seem to get anywhere because we don’t have any leadership.” “Who…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Article

Why Yoda Was Wrong

Aspects of lean can be found almost anywhere - even in a galaxy far, far away. Inspired by a new trailer for the upcoming Star…

by Aaron Hunt

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How the Hoshin Kanri Process Coupled with Coaching Drives Lean Transformation, Part 2

Discover how a coach can help leaders execute a successful organizational transformation using the hoshin kanri process.

by Laura Mottola

Article

LEI's indicator that can't lie: Doing the math

Jim elaborates on the idea of using inventory turns as a measure of lean transformation

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Article

Does implementing lean mean creating a lean management system?

Dear Gemba Coach: My understanding is that implementing lean means setting up a lean management system. You seem to disagree. Would you explain?

by Michael Ballé

Article

The Road to Production Hell is Paved with Lack of LPPD

The real work of companies like Tesla who face stupendous challenges in launching a product should have happened long before production commenced, says Jim Morgan,…

by James Morgan, PhD

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How to Coach a Person Who Doesn't Want to be Coached?

How do you coach someone who doesn't need your help or who thinks they know everything? This was one of several interesting questions raised during…

by Lex Schroeder

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Lean Thinking and My Navy Experience

When you think of lean organizations, does the U.S. Navy come to mind? Probably not, but it's an organization with a rich history of lean…

by Mark Minukas

Faculty

Mike Orzen

With a consulting and coaching career spanning more than 20 years, Mike has gathered a unique blend of lean, IT, healthcare, and operations experience that…

Article

How to Rehab Colleagues With Status Quo “Addiction”

If you work with leaders or colleagues who resist changing their behaviors -- maybe they literally can’t change. They could be “addicted” to the status…

by Ron Oslin

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Lean Lessons from Japan: Day One

This week, LEI is in Japan with 19 eager learners. The purpose of this trip is not just to see Just-In-Time. The purpose is to…

by Lean Leaper

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LEI looks for success stories to share

I routinely end my talks by offering to give anyone 15 minutes of fame in my and Dan Jones’s next book if they will do…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

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CLean and Green: How SunPower Used Lean to Address Sustainability

After years of lean practice, solar-device manufacturer SunPower wanted something more. They wanted to continue their journey of continuous improvement and become a more sustainable…

by Lean Leaper

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Lean Change Is Organizational and Personal

"Lean management is less about providing the right answers than asking the right questions and exploring those questions by engaging others in experiments to learn…

by Lean Leaper

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The Problem with Creative Work and Creative Management

Categorizing the existing steps is a great way to start lean thinking, and it’s pretty easy in a factory environment when drawing a value-stream map.…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

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Lean Transformational Leadership Webinar - Follow-up Q & A and Reading List

During the Transformational Leadership webinar, many of you asked for the list of related books and articles that presenter Jim Luckman cited. He has provided…

by Jim Luckman

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Getting Back to Basics

I recently had a request from a Detroit newspaper to write a brief piece for the Motor Show on how American car companies can get…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Article

When should I push and when should I praise?

Dear Gemba Coach: I am in charge of a service activity and have started a lean approach with a sensei. In our last gemba tour, one…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Ten Years and Counting

What do we at LEI -- and in the whole lean movement -- need to do now? This is the all-important “act” step in the…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Article

Lessons Learned from the Cleveland Indians’ Historic 22-Game Winning Streak

In the wake of the Cleveland Indians' record-shattering 22-game winning streak, George Taninecz reflects on some important business lessons that we can learn from this…

by George Taninecz