Article
Kaizen Learning vs. Traditional Problem-Solving
"Lean offers a fundamentally different approach to problem-solving than most traditional companies practice," writes Art Byrne. "Most [traditional] companies delegate important problems to teams of…
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Article
Learning to Teach the Soft Side of Lean
If there’s one common theme among virtually any failed effort, it boils to a failure to engage people in the purpose, says Tracey Richardson. That's why…
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Article
Learning from Managing to Learn
It has been about four months since the release of Managing to Learn, now already in its second printing. I’ve received incredible response from many…
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Case Study
Cultivating a Lean Problem-Solving Culture at O.C. Tanner
O.C. Tanner is in the appreciation business. It develops employee reward and recognition programs and manufactures a wide variety of emblems, rings, trophies, and other…
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Article
Are You Ready for the Next Crisis?
The Cleveland Clinic's lean management and operating system helped it handle the challenges arising from the pandemic. Here are several key principles they learned that…
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Article
Getting Started with Lean Accounting
Before your organization gets started with lean accounting, the accounting function must first expand its thinking beyond transactions and into practices. Here's how.
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Article
Operations IS Your Customer
Discover how redefining operations as the primary customer of engineering can transform product development, enhance collaboration, and drive unprecedented improvements in quality and efficiency.
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Article
The Value of Key Performance Indicators in a Lean Transformation
We all know to watch out for key performance indicators (KPIs) in the workplace - but are you tracking the RIGHT KPIs? Ernie and Tracey…
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Article
How to Go to the Gemba: Go See, Ask Why, Show Respect
Here are some guidelines I use when doing a gemba walk as an outside advisor.
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Article
The Crucible of Innovation
Innovation is key to a successful successful development project, we always read. But innovation is a fickle term that gets tossed around like a coin.…
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Article
What does “separation of human work and machine work” mean?
Dear Gemba Coach: I’ve been trying to learn more about Jidoka and I keep coming across references to “separation of human work and machine work”…
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Sometimes Less Lean is Mo' Lean
After seeing a great concert by blues legend Keb' Mo', Brent Wahba reflected on some lean principles embodied in the ways this event delivered such…
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Case Study
Putting Lean Principles in the Warehouse
While lean principles and practices have been widely adopted in manufacturing over the last couple of decades, their use in the warehouse and distribution center…
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Lean Transformational Leadership Webinar - Follow-up Q & A and Reading List
During the Transformational Leadership webinar, many of you asked for the list of related books and articles that presenter Jim Luckman cited. He has provided…
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Follow-up Q & A to the Webinar "Integrating Leader Standard Work with Visual Management Tools”
This webinar was one of our most popular and highly rated. From among the hundreds of questions that we received during the webinar, we selected…
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Unique Philanthropy Does Well by Doing Good
An internship program enables students to attain real-world lean management experience while helping community service organizations reach more people.
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Article
Human Resources and Lean; It Really Is About People
Despite an expert’s exhortations to “do more kaizen, develop kaizen mind” this lean transformation failed. Find out why from someone who saw it happen and…
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Article
My CEO has asked me to take a hard look at the lean program at our hospital – where should I start?
Dear Gemba Coach: I am ops director of a large hospital. We have been doing lean for several years now, with a lean office of…
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Lean and Financials
Dear Gemba Coach: During the webinar, you mentioned the importance of quantifying the financial impacts of lean efforts before introducing the system. This is a very…
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New Book Explains How to Create “Steady Work” in Unsteady Times with Standardized Work Cadences
In Steady Work, the new book from the Lean Enterprise Institute, author and former Starbucks’ Regional Manager Karen Gaudet offers astute business guidance for turbulent…
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