Article

Why won’t senseis ever give a straight answer?

Dear Gemba Coach: Why won’t senseis ever give a straight answer?

by Michael Ballé

Article

We meet daily to examine a new customer complaint. What do we do next?

Dear Gemba Coach: We’re a start-up and have taken your advice: we now have a customer wall and we meet daily to look into a…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Why a Lean Transformation Requires a New Quoting Process, Part 1

How to ensure your lean transformation leads to improved profitability.

Article

Leadership and Having an Effective Plan

You wouldn’t want to be known as a source of “fake news” but are you practicing

by Andrew Quibell

Article

The Problem of Partial Participation: Why Failing to Fully Commit to Lean Is Not An Option. An Interview with Chris Vogel

It's surprising how many lean implementations fail due to an organization's employees not fully embracing the idea. There are many root causes of this common…

by Chris Vogel

Article

"It's Only A Failure If You Don't Learn"

"It's only a failure if you don't learn" says Toyota veteran Isao Yoshino, whose experience developing an ultimately failed water-ski boat venture for Toyota is…

by Lean Leaper

Article

The Value of Sharpening Skills Through 'Jishuken'

Jishuken, or self-learning, is a wet stone that grinds a worker's brain down to a start point, says Matt Savas--and is key to a disciplined…

by Matthew Savas

Article

What it Takes to Share One's Wisdom: A Q&A with Tracey Richardson

"When you make a decision to change the way you do business, it should hold you accountable for certain leadership actions – new [behaviors that…

by Lex Schroeder

Video

Lean in One Drawing

An LEI faculty member explains in a brief video why it’s vital to view lean thinking and practice as a system.

by Dave LaHote

Article

Advice from the Gemba: How Can I Change a Culture?

One of the most common questions asked by lean leaders is the question of culture change. How, they ask, can we change a firmly rooted…

by Lean Leaper

Article

Creating New Value and a Lesson in Fundamentals

After a recent trip to Toyota's headquarters in Japan, Jim Morgan made an epiphany about the Toyota Production System and the fundamentals at its core.…

by James Morgan, PhD

Article

Step 1: Open Mouth, Step 2: Insert Foot

Joshua Rapoza, Customer Strategy Officer at LEI, reflects on whether working longer hours necessarily means more productivity and the power of our words in motivating…

Article

Lean Lessons from Tesla

This piece throws no shade at Tesla, a company that serves as a highly-charged conduit for many a heated debate about the future of manufacturing,…

by Tom Ehrenfeld

Article

What I Learned by Coaching at the Gemba Virtually

Lean Coach Mark Reich shares an example of how lean thinking is itself continually renewed, as leading practitioners use it to solve new problems.

by Mark Reich

Article

The Lean Farm

A cold wet fall Saturday at the Talking Farm in Skokie, IL was a workshop day of learning for a group of 25 urban farmers and urban…

Article

The Obstacle is the Path

Deborah McGee, LEI's Learning Activities Manager, reflects on the most common obstacles she sees people facing when they first try to introduce lean ideas in…

Article

Accelerating Justice with Lean Forensics

One of our most popular subjects on The Lean Post is the use of lean in unorthodox places. But one gemba that we have yet…

Article

What To Do When Executives Think Continuous Improvement Smells Fishy

Top executives are smart, but they don't always see the value of continuous improvement efforts. And continuous improvement professionals don't always communicate that value well…

Article

The "Playbook" of Sustaining Change

In a world where most lean transformations fail, what can we do to learn from others' mistakes and help our own transformations succeed? After 30…

by Lynn Kelley

Article

Encountering Problems and Resistance

The doctor entered with a comforting bedside manner. We small talked. She asked about my work and I answered, in short. “Lean? You mean that Toyota thing?” In spite of the mask, I could read ‘Oh Brother’ on her face. “Yeah,…

by Josh Howell