Article

How Do I Keep My Lean Team Motivated for the Long Term?

Dear Gemba Coach: My team often feels that they are alone in their improvement efforts. Even after all our work we continue to encounter resistance…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Should value-stream mapping come before 5S?

Dear Gemba Coach: Shouldn’t VSM come before 5S so we see the whole picture first?

by Michael Ballé

Article

How effective is a book club?

Dear Gemba Coach: How effective is a book club? Should we invest in book clubs?

by Michael Ballé

Article

What the heck is a dojo?

ear Gemba Coach: What is a “dojo”? I hear about it but don’t find it referenced in the lean tools. Is it important?

by Michael Ballé

Article

Are Design Thinking and Lean Thinking the Same?

Dear Gemba Coach: As a practitioner and advocate of design thinking, I’ve been curious about lean, but it seems to me we’re talking about the…

by Michael Ballé

Article

My CEO, who supported lean, has left and been replaced by a pure finance guy. It doesn't look good for the lean effort. What should I do?

Dear Gemba Coach: My CEO, who supported lean, has left and been replaced by a pure finance guy. It doesn’t look good for the lean…

by Michael Ballé

Article

How can I speed up my team’s lean learning?

Dear Gemba Coach: How can I speed up my team’s lean learning?

by Michael Ballé

Article

How do we pass the baton from one lean leader to the next?

Dear Gemba Coach: What are your thoughts about ensuring that a lean transformation persists past a leader’s tenure at an organization?

by Michael Ballé

Article

As someone who is new to lean, is there something I’m not being told?

Dear Gemba Coach: I’m new to lean, and I find it fascinating. Is there something I’m not being told? Is there an elephant in the…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Gemba, workplace, genchi genbutsu, go-and-see ... What’s the difference?

Dear Gemba Coach: Is there a difference between “gemba” as used in lean texts and “genchi genbutsu” as they appear in Toyota literature?

by Michael Ballé

Article

Ask Art: What Role does Human Resources Play in a Lean Turnaround?

Although you shouldn’t expect HR to lead the kaizen effort or set up extensive training programs, there is still plenty for them to do that…

by Art Byrne

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Take Baby Steps Towards Improvement

As you think about your 2019 resolutions, ask yourself if you’re making the change too big and, therefore, too scary, suggests Mark Graban. Instead of…

by Mark Graban

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7 Elements of Quality on the Shop Floor

"How do you lean out a quality approach that can work on the shop floor (maybe even compatible in a healthcare environment as well)?" people…

by Andrew Quibell

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Ask Art: Is there a formula to predict or evaluate the success of a lean implementation?

Art Byrne is often asked how to best measure the success of a lean transformation -- but does such a measurement even exist? He's been…

by Art Byrne

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Mining the Lessons From Designing the Future

Designing the Future shares a wealth of insights that transcend product development minutiae; this articles shares the broader argument presented by the authors in this…

by Lean Leaper

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5S Is a Way of Thinking and Practice

It would be impossible to find a valid description of lean that does not include the importance of 5S for organization, standardization, and continuous improvement.…

Article

Is Lean Getting Lost in Translation?

As we struggle to learn together as a global lean community, what’s more important, lean “orthodoxy” (pure TPS) or lean integrity (true to the fundamentals,…

by Lex Schroeder

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Lean Books Roundup

"Several years back, LEI CEO John Shook discussed the need to explore the “frontiers and fundamentals” of lean..." writes Tom Ehrenfeld. "Three recent books reveal…

Article

Tackling the Problems at the Heart of Coaching

What is the best way to navigate the tough challenge of coaching someone productively? What is the best way to both challenge the individual while…

by Lean Leaper

Article

The Courage to be Lean

A meaningful purpose is not what you are doing or how you are doing it, argue Joanna McGuffey and Tom Richert. It’s why your team…