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From Chaos to Kaizen: The Visual Way
In another of his visual depictions of the fundamentals of lean, Andrew Quibell illustrates the process of transforming a chaos-plagued organization into one of continuous…
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Ask Art: How Can I Engage All Our Leaders to Learn and Teach Lean?
What's the best way to teach lean to your internal leaders? By forming teams who will learn by doing, shares Art Byrne. This will drive…
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Ask Art: How Do I Get the Senior Management Team On Board with Lean?
Lean requires teamwork, and so getting your senior management team on board requires a great deal of work, including new mindsets, exposure to lean practice,…
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Ask Art: How Much Lean Training Should We Be Doing?
Why aren't more companies successful at Lean? Art Byrne says it has to do with an over-focus on planning and not enough learning-by-doing. "They don’t…
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Ask Art: Is Lean a Strategy?
The debate over whether lean should be considered a strategy, philosophy, methodology, etc. is a long one. Merriam-Webster defines a strategy as "a careful plan…
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Ask Art: What Does a Lean Manager Do Differently?
"The lean leader has a vision for growth just like the traditional manager, but he sees the source of growth quite differently," writes Art Byrne.…
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Effective Leaders Tackle Challenges Systematically
"It's not enough to simply set a challenge," writes Dario Spinola. "We need effective ways of working toward challenges." Read Spinola's suggestions for using The…
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Coachable: Facilitating Peer-to-Peer Coaching for Effectively Spreading Knowledge
Join the ongoing conversation on coaching by listening to this new episode of the Coachable podcast series, as Deb McGee talks with Lean Coach Bryant…
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Creating Value or Shifting Wealth?
How do we judge the progress of the Lean Movement? One critical indicator is our success in extending lean thinking to new industries and activities.…
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Anatomy of a Lean Leader (Introduction)
For 30 years, Jerry Bussell studied leadership while bringing lean practices to companies such as Medtronic and becoming a passionate, well-known advocate for lean. In this…
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A Connecticut Yankee Machinist in Toyoda’s Castle
“Culture matters,” John Shook tells us in his post about Charles A. Francis, an American who worked for Toyota group founder Sakichi Toyoda in the…
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A Principles-Based Approach to Changing Healthcare Management
"This year alone over 250,000 Americans will die due to medical error," writes Dr. John Toussaint. "How can so many smart people be making so…
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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…
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Accidental Soccer Coach
When she's not working on graphic design projects, LEI's own Lory Moniz now coaches her son's soccer team. The assignment got her thinking about continuous…
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As head of a lean office, what must I do to really walk the talk?
Dear Gemba Coach: I am the head of a lean office. I’d like to lead by example, but it occurs to me that we often…
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Do lean-minded finance professionals make a difference in appraising lean initiatives?
Dear Gemba Coach: I would like to ask lean-minded fellow finance professionals if they make a difference in appraising lean initiatives from other investments in…
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How can I help middle managers handle contradictory instructions from top management?
Dear Gemba Coach: As a lean coach, how can I help middle-managers who are faced with contradictory instructions from top management?
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How Can Lean Help Respond to Crises?
Although lean might seem fragile to crises, because of low inventories, it’s quite the opposite, says Michael Balle: Lean thinking is about training to solve…
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How Do I Plan for the Long Term?
Dear Gemba Coach: I don’t know how to plan for two or five years out. As a plant manager, my requirement is to be able…
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How Do We Manage Our Stock to Be Lean AND Responsive to Varied Customer Demand?
Dear Gemba Coach: We’re a tier two supplier and we’re trying to implement a pull system. We’re leveling our production schedules, but our customer’s variation in…
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