Article
It Takes 2 (or more) to A3
No one can create a useful A3 in isolation. It takes at least two individuals and often many more. Developing an A3 involves an organizational…
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Article
Lean & Scrum: Complementary Methods with a Shared Lineage
Lean coach Steve Bell shares his thoughts on Jeff Sutherland's presentation at the Lean IT Summit earlier this month in Paris.
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Article
Just in Time, Just in Case, and Just Plain Wrong
Jim Womack responds the the January 12th Wall Street Journal headline “Just-In-Time Inventories Make U.S. Vulnerable to a Pandemic”
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Ask Art: What sets lean accounting apart from traditional accounting?
"You can’t really become a lean enterprise without making the shift from traditional standard-cost accounting to lean (i.e. plain English) accounting," writes Art Byrne. Read…
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Article
An Interview with Executive and Lean Practitioner Gary Berndt
Gary Berndt, who has led lean transformations in a variety of companies, answers questions about connecting lean efforts to strategy and financial objectives, executive behavior…
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The Lean Farm: Better Food, Productivity, and Profits -- with Less Work
Farming may be the next industry ripe for disruption. For example, Ben Hartman grew up on a 500-acre corn and soybean farm where success meant…
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Article
Ask Art: Does lean compromise innovation?
To some, lean and innovation seem counterproductive. But Art Byrne is not one of them. Find out why he says "lean and innovation are and…
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Article
Passing the Baton
Jim Womack and John Shook reflect on passing the baton of leadership at the Lean Enterprise Institute
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How do I introduce kaizen to IT?
Dear Gemba Coach: Based on your experience, what is the best strategy to introduce kaizen as social, ongoing events without start and end dates in…
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No Mani Pedi, But Keepers Improve Elephant Foot Washing
Supporting process owners includes stepping in for zoo keepers when their better idea for washing an elephant’s foot gets rejected as this Lean Talks video…
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Article
The Innovation Interview with John Shook
Culture matters but don’t use it as an excuse for failing to engage people, says LEI CEO John Shook in a wide-ranging interview on innovation.
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Learning to Help Anna Elevate Her Game
Anna was trained by NUMMI to identify and solve challenges via experiments with her team, notes Jeff Smith, sharing a story from NUMMI; she had…
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Article
Seeking Radical Quality in the Tech Industry
The CTO of a website design firm explains how a recent book on radical quality improvement in manufacturing inspired him to initiate similar experiments in…
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Podcast
Becoming the Change with John Toussaint and Kim Barnas
Lean has always promised great improvements for health care providers, but has there been a personal element that has been lacking to date? In this…
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A Brief History of Lean
Although there are instances of rigorous process thinking in manufacturing all the way back to the Arsenal in Venice in the 1450s, the first person…
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