Article
What Strategy Is and What It's Not
"In my career, I was always more interested in what it would take to create and sustain competitive advantage than just doing good things," writes…
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Reimagining the Restaurant Industry in a Post-COVID-19 World
The impact of COVID-19 has proven how ill-prepared we are to deal with crises. It’s time for hospitality businesses like restaurants to rethink how we…
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It's About Best Practicing
"Just like practicing to learn to play an instrument, practicing the Improvement Kata helps us learn to view uncertainty more as an opportunity," writes Mike…
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Short Stories and Quick Kaizens
Lean coach Danielle Blais continues to see opportunities for lean thinking just about everywhere she goes.
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The Lean Power Stance
"Yoga is more than the physical movement of postures," writes Rachael McKay, an industrial engineer at lululemon athletica and yogi. "As a result of [practicing],…
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Coping with COVID-19: Lessons from The Plague
In this time of pandemic, John Shook shares some ways this novel coronavirus is impacting him personally, noting "For Camus, hope is the enemy. But,…
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Article
Should I bother reading lean management books or rely on experience implementing lean?
Dear Gemba Coach: Should I bother with reading lean books, or just work from experience? There are so many, and they seem to contradict each…
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Is Lean Mean?
I was recently asked a question that demanded an answer: “How can you advocate ideas that improve efficiency but destroy jobs? What the world needs…
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Levelled Production: Why Do It?
Ian Glenday explains how levelled production and "economies of repetition" make way not just for stability, but improved business performance.
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Why don’t middle managers practice A3 thinking?
Dear Gemba Coach: I’m a lean consultant, and have been hired by a large service organization to develop an A3 problem solving training program for…
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Contributor's Corner: How Synchronizing Workflows Helped TechnipFMC Develop Its Latest Robot
Following the lean product and process development principles yields significant benefits. Just ask Scott Fulenwider and Hanna Schell as they report the results of their…
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Lexicon Term
Toyota Production System
The production system developed by Toyota Motor Corporation to provide best quality, lowest cost, and shortest lead time through the elimination of waste. TPS is…
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Why reduce inventory further?
Dear Gemba Coach,We have a lot of machining operations in our process, and we carry inventory. What is the best way to show employees the…
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Tips for Proving the Financial Value of Lean to Leadership
Of the many aspects of lean accounting, one that has proven especially useful is the principle of “cost avoidance.” Today on the Lean Post, lean…
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How Lean Changed My Work: Lean Without Knowing It
Last month LEI sent out an email asking the lean community how lean changed their work. For Jeremy Venable of Shell Chemical, lean not only…
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The Challenges of Coaching
I’ve stepped into a new role recently, assuming responsibility for a variety of new-to-me jobs. One of my new jobs is writing this monthly e-letter.…
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Why Bother Making It Visual?
What to do when you need to make the work visible, but your people aren't behind it? Leslie Barker has some suggestions based on this…
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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…
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