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How do we get started with standard work?
How do we get started with standard work? The literature seems to say there can’t be meaningful kaizen without standards, but although we have procedures…
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Why audit standard work? And what is the best approach?
Dear Gemba Coach: Can you help me determine the best way to conduct audits of standard work (SW)? The Toyota Way Fieldbook describes a layered…
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Should producing products with zero defects be my top goal?
Dear Gemba Coach: Is zero defects really the first goal? The number of defects doesn’t necessarily relate to the user’s experience with a product, does it?
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What should I expect as a lean manager?
Dear Gemba Coach: I’m currently a team leader, and I’ve been offered a job as a lean manager – what should I expect?
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How Do Lean CEOs Learn To Improve?
What, and how, do I have to learn? This key question confronts all CEOs who are practicing lean seriously, argues CEO Nicolas Chartier, who shares…
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Ask Art: What Incentives and Bonus Programs Best Support Lean?
Bonus and incentive plans work best when they serve an underlying purpose, says Art Byrne, who advises that management design them to boost teamwork, learning,…
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Change Your “Pet” Problem Solving Method
Got problems with your problem-solving method? This interview by LEI's Chet Marchwinski with Four Types of Problems author Art Smalley shares advice on how you…
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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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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…
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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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Lean Thinking at 20: A Q&A with Jim Womack and Dan Jones
Twenty years ago Jim Womack and Dan Jones helped launch the lean movement as we know it today with their key book Lean Thinking. Yesterday…
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Lean Thinking at 20, Part 2: A Q&A with Jim Womack and Dan Jones
Twenty years ago Jim Womack and Dan Jones helped launch the lean movement as we know it today with their key book Lean Thinking. Now,…
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Lean Consortia “Lessons Learned”
Here is a quick overview of the lessons learned by experienced leaders in our case study on lean consortia.
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Why Social Entrepreneurship is Dead
Despite all the hype, entrepreneur Nathan Rothstein (of Project Repat) believes social entrepreneurship is dead. Read what he recommends for those of us looking to…
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Lean Without Limits
We come up with many different types of answers that sort Lean conveniently into categories for easy understanding and storage, says Renee Smith; but what…
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Lean Thinkers Are Systems Thinkers
Lean thinkers are systems thinkers, argues Rich Sheridan: "Intentional cultures thrive when the simple systems put in place reinforce every cultural intention and that systems…
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How Does LPPD Help Create a Lean Enterprise?
What is LPPD? As noted by Jim Morgan LPPD is a set of principles and practices that promote collaboration, transparency, and rapid learning, in the…
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Do we need more research to understand what works and what doesn’t when implementing lean healthcare?
Dear Gemba Coach: There are controversies over whether lean/TPS works in healthcare or not. Authorities in lean practice suggest conducting research that compares outcomes with…
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Toyota the Disrupter
Toyota may not be the first company you think of for disruptive product and process development, but perhaps they should be, argues Jim Morgan. The…
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Your Product Isn't Everything, It's the Only Thing
Jim Morgan, former product/process development executive at Ford (and co-author of The Toyota Product Development System), reflects on what should really matter to you and…
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