Article

What I Could Only Learn from a Sensei

Some aspects of lean can be learned through experience, but other aspects can only be taught by an experienced sensei. Michael Balle reflects on some…

by Michael Ballé

Article

How can firing people be part of developing people?

Dear Gemba Coach: Can you explain how you reconcile the principles of "developing people" and "firing people," especially in light of the challenges illustrated in…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Practical Approaches for Making Innovation an Enterprise-Wide Activity

Jim Morgan tells an interviewer how to make innovation an enterprise-wide endeavor, based on his years of experience as a product development researcher, author, and…

by Chet Marchwinski

Article

It's Not All About the Data on Value-Stream Maps: An Interview with Judy Worth

Data is a critical component of value-stream mapping. But it's not the only component you should be concerned about. All too often we find mappers…

Article

Ask Art: People are Nervous about Too Much Change, Can I Lead Lean Incrementally?

Resistance to change is a classic part of lean transformation, and it's not uncommon to see efforts to skirt around that resistance. Art Byrne was…

by Art Byrne

Article

No Do, No Learn

Developing new skills and capabilities at work requires regular, ongoing practice. But despite our good intentions, many of us struggle practicing new skills and behaviors.…

by Eric Ethington

Article

Testing the Lean Transformation Model in India

Dhirendra Kumar Dubey of Lean Management Institute of India (LMII) shares what he's learned about the effectiveness of the Lean Transformation Model through institute projects.

Article

Process Leadership

I first heard the term Kaikaku over ten years ago when travelling with a Toyota Sensei around Japan, while researching our Lean Thinking book. As…

by Dan Jones

Article

Respect for People

For years I've visited companies where "respect for people" is a core element of the corporate philosophy. So I've asked managers in many companies a…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Article

Show Respect by Exploring Problems With Your Workers

I trust that all of us want to show respect for people, writes Jim Womack, adding: The challenge for those of us in the Lean…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Article

Strategy Deployment In Action: One Executive's Perspective - Follow up Q & A

Webinar presenters David Brule and Pascal Dennis answer questions from their webinar about strategy deployment on March 12, 2009.

Article

Who, or What, Is Your Company Investing In?

A frontline supervisor's stellar work resolving a significant problem prompts a question for leaders: Will you have technology work for your people or the other…

by Josh Howell

Video

How Lean Thinking and Practice, Grounded in Purpose, Helped Drive Amazon’s Success

Marc Onetto shares his experiences in Amazon, underlining the importance of a customer-driven approach in times of heavy demand and production.

by Lean Leaper

Article

Visual Management – the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Visualization is a good thing. We all know that. And many of us in the Lean Community practice it, to greater or lesser degrees of…

by John Shook

Article

Engineering Checklists

Dear Gemba Coach: How do I apply standardized work to product development?

by Michael Ballé

Article

How do I introduce kaizen to IT?

Dear Gemba Coach: Based on your experience, what is the best strategy to introduce kaizen as social, ongoing events without start and end dates in…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Ask Art: Where Will the Biggest Resistance to Lean Come From?

Resistance to Lean will come from every part of your organization, senior management included, says Lean veteran Art Byrne. Knowing where the biggest resistance will…

by Art Byrne

Article

Orchestrating Your Product Development Process with Milestones

"Effective milestones are an important part of a company’s development process, especially in today’s era of team-based sprints and stand-ups," writes Jim Morgan. "Yet many…

by James Morgan, PhD

Article

A Real S&OP Opera

Have you been implementing Lean but are still losing money due to inconsistent customer demand? Well, don't blame the customer. Brent Wahba suggests a different…

by Brent Wahba

Article

What Experience Tells Me About How Change Happens

Dave LaHote reflects on his earliest experiences learning lean thinking and practice. "We all became increasingly better at making improvements and solving problems using simple,…

by Dave LaHote