Article

How the Toyota Way and Toyota Kata Fit Together

The author of The Toyota Way explains where Toyota Kata fits with Toyota’s broader management principles — and how each enhances the other to help…

by Jeffrey Liker

Article

Are You Having Problems with Your Problem-Solving?

Here are some useful questions to ask about how you approach problems. Following them may help you avoid some common mistakes and form better habits. 

by Tracey Richardson

Article

What is Your Line of Sight?

Coach Tracey Richardson explains why having a line of sight aligns you with the organizations purpose, and helps you determine how to define your own…

Article

Lean Leadership Lesson: First Thing, Grasp the Situation; Last Thing, Grasp the Situation

In this appendix to his eletter on lean leadership, LEI CEO Joh Shook explains how leading in a lean management company requires a radically different…

Article

“Lean Production” Turns 25

Author and management expert James Womack talks with The Leaning Edge about the state of lean management and what’s new in his latest book, the…

Article

Get On Your Sneakers and Start Conversations, Learning How to Create End-to-End Excellence

Take a (gemba) walk on the sustainable improvement side with Ingersoll Rand.

Article

Small Batch: Hand-Picked Articles form the Global Lean Community (Vol. 2)

Our picks for the best high-impact learning stories and columns from Planet Lean.

by Lean Leaper

Article

Small Chart, Big Impact: How a Simple Spaghetti Chart Led to Huge Wins at Thrustmaster of Texas

Sometimes the simplest lean concepts can make all the difference in ensuring a successful transformation. Marine-propulsion manufacturer Thrustmaster of Texas found this out after creating…

by Lean Leaper

Article

Understanding the 4S Help Chain, Part 2: Lessons from NUMMI on How to Adapt the Model to Product Development

How do you create an andon signal for your product and process development process? Matt Zayko, a technical coach for LEI's Lean Product and Process…

Article

How to Start the A3 Problem-Solving Process

Why the best, most productive way to “start an A3” is by recognizing that the A3 problem-solving methodology is a “slow-thinking” process.

by David Verble

Article

Improving Information Technology Processes with Lean Principles: An Interview with Steve Bell

Steve Bell, a lean IT coach, practitioner, and author is a trailblazer in the use of lean to improve information technology. Bell is the author…

by Doug Bartholomew

Article

A Lean Management System Starts with Senior Leaders

"From events, projects, and A3s to focusing on a lean management system, we’re discovering a new way to run and lead our healthcare organizations, or…

by Steven Leuschel

Article

A Consciousness of Reality

There are countless cases of lean thinking being applied masterfully with the word lean (or the Toyota Production System) nowhere in sight, writes John Shook,…

by John Shook

Article

Is the digital revolution a more important business development than lean?

Dear Gemba Coach, Isn’t the digital revolution, especially in services, a more important business development than lean?

by Michael Ballé

Article

An Interview with Executive and Lean Practitioner Gary Berndt

Gary Berndt, who has led lean transformations in a variety of companies, answers questions about connecting lean efforts to strategy and financial objectives, executive behavior…

by Chet Marchwinski

Article

How Lean Can Help You Go Green

How to use lean thinking and practices to create sustainable business practices.

by Gary Cundill and Rose Heathcote

Video

A Video Primer on Improvement and Coaching Kata

A veteran kata instructor offers a brief explanation of two vital problem-solving and innovation-driving practices.

by Beth Carrington and Lean Leaper

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Article

Putting Customers First

The cofounders of a successful startup share how lean thinking and practices helped ensure they kept their focus on the customer from startup to scaleup.

by Michael Ballé and Nicolas Chartier