Article

If lean is all about people, why are the discussions impersonally cold and rational?

Dear Gemba Coach: Lean thinkers say it’s all about people, but the debates are then all so cold and rational. Where are the emotions and the…

by Michael Ballé

Case Study

Lean + Circular Principals = a New True North for Manufacturer

SunPower's lean journey resembled most others until it defined a new mission, a new True North. The mission statement changed from the business-like “install 10…

by Doug Bartholomew

Case Study

Manufacturing Balancing Act: Pull Versus ERP

In this follow-up story to our case study about Phase 2 Medical Manufacturing, Inc., the company faces an enviable dilemma: because the lean transformation has…

by Chet Marchwinski

Article

How Pall Corporation Accelerated the Covid-19 Vaccine Process Development using Lean Thinking and Practice

Learn how Pall Corp developed and deployed a full manufacturing process in eight weeks – an 80% reduction compared to typical development times.

by Mark Ayles, Clive Glover, PhD, Tony Hill, Byron Rees, Kevin Thompson and Matt Zayko

Article

Lean in Sales and Marketing

“Half my advertising budget is wasted – trouble is, I don’t know which half,” department store magnate and marketing pioneer, John Wanamaker, famously said. That…

Article

Create Constancy of Purpose

Looking back on the admirable work of two lean leaders who established constancy of purpose, Jim Womack asks: what would have happened to the world…

Article

How to Respond to the ‘Great Resignation’

A trip to the gemba reveals an overlooked management strategy that could be the most effective way to keep your employees from quitting their jobs.

by Josh Howell

Article

Lean thinkers, doers unite to discuss workplace challenges

Explore how the Future of People at Work Symposium tackled today’s workplace challenges, with leaders urging us to embrace lean principles and emerging technologies for…

by Tonya Vinas

Article

Manage the Contract or Improve the Value Stream?

As much as I would like to, I can't walk frequently along every type of value stream. As a result, it has been a while…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Article

The 5 Diseases of Prioritization

Prioritization is rarely a problem by itself. Instead, it’s a symptom of a set of illnesses: Swervy, Thickets, Costeoporosis, Planemia, Politicitis. Here’s the cure from…

by Jim Benson

Article

More Evidence That ThedaCare Rocks

LEI coach Danielle Blais reflects on her recent gemba visit to the lean healthcare organization, Appleton Medical Center in Appleton, Wisconsin—a ThedaCare hospital widely known…

by Danielle McGuiness

Article

Personal Kanban: You Can’t Manage What You Can’t See

Think personal kanban can't be applied to knowledge work? Think again. Drawing on examples from Jim Benson and Tonianne DeMaria Berry's book "Personal Kanban: Mapping…

by David Drickhamer

Article

Everyday Kaizen

"With the right teaching and guidance, a good process, and a target of one kaizen activity per day, team leaders should develop [problem solving] skills…

by Emmanuel Jallas

Article

Developing Your Obeya, Stage-by-Stage

In his years as a LPPD coach, John Drogosz has seen that "most teams do go through several stages of evolution before obeya becomes an…

by John Drogosz, PhD

Article

The Case for Lean Thinking in Retail and Service Organizations

Josh Howell, senior coach at LEI, recently joined Ron Pereira at Gemba Academy for podcast conversation on coaching, lean thinking for retail and service organizations,…

by Josh Howell

Article

The Question All Healthcare Leaders Should be Asking Themselves

Lean healthcare expert Mark Graban takes a common problem he sees again and again in hospitals (errors with hourly rounds or inconsistent hourly rounds) and…

by Mark Graban

Article

The Hard Work of Making Hard Work Easier

We persevere by struggling to overcome the challenges of hard work, argues Mark Reich. And, he says it is also our responsibility, as coaches and…

by Mark Reich

Article

Is Your Improvement Project Headed Down the Road to Nowhere?

"The scientific method applied consistently [can mean] beginning a continuous improvement journey that lasts, well... forever," writes Tim Kane. Read Kane's reflections on how to…

Article

A Lean Leap of Faith

Michael Ballé reflects on a core assumption of Lean that is often disregarded and explains why it is worth taking a lean leap of faith.

by Michael Ballé

Article

What Role Should a Quality Department Play in a Lean Organization?

Dear Gemba Coach: How can you improve quality overall while reducing the number of people who are developing policies, supporting training, and doing their best…

by Michael Ballé