Article

Hanging Up My Cape

"Managers and front line workers hustle to work around problems resulting from poorly designed work systems... and with such pride!" writes lean coach Josh Howell.…

by Josh Howell

Article

What Will Be the New Social Contract for the 21^st Century?

The current volatility in tech employment portends a shift from the sector’s earlier people-centered visions — and that’s concerning.

by Jeffrey Liker

Article

Practicing Constructive Discontent At SBP

To become an organization of problem solvers, talking about problems couldn’t merely be something that we did, shares Zack Rosenburg of St. Bernard Project. It…

by Zack Rosenburg

Article

Do You Practice Routine Personal Development?

Once we learn lean we often start seeing it everywhere, even in places we might least expect it. In this instance, Katie Anderson saw a…

by Katie Anderson

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How Respect for People Animates the Lean Spirit

Practicing respect is an animating force of lean leadership that colors how one coaches and develops people. This roundup of articles from our archives shares…

by Tom Ehrenfeld

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Why We Believe Micromanagement is Worth A Deeper Conversation

The Lean Sensei Women explore how poorly-focused micromanagement destroys trust--while well-placed micromanagement supports Lean fundamentals and delivers exceptional results.

by Lean Sensei Women

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Go and See: Where The Magic Is

To reconnect with the reality of your business, go to the gemba, advises CEO Nicolas Chartier of Aramisauto. But to really experience the magic that…

Article

Creating Basic Stability

The lean movement's founder explains why you must achieve consistent operational availability before introducing continuous flow.

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

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How Lean Thinking and Practices Helps Manage Rapid Growth

The cofounders of a successful digital startup share their experience navigating uncertainty.

by Michael Ballé and Nicolas Chartier

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A Lean Walk Through History

Most of us don’t realize that we are heirs to a remarkably long struggle in human history to see beyond isolated points in order to…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

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How do I re-size supermarkets when demand changes or to keep pace with seasonality?

Dear Gemba Coach: How do I calculate re-sizing supermarkets when demand changes or to keep pace with seasonality?

by Michael Ballé

Article

What is Lean Leadership and How Do You Get it?

Jeff Liker, author of The Toyota Way, describes what organizations need to do to develop their leaders' lean leadership capabilities.

by Jeffrey Liker

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What do you think are the pros and cons of merging lean and TOC?

Dear Gemba Coach: In the DevOps movement, the amalgamation of agile, lean, and IT service management practices, there is a new entry that is making…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Ask Art: What Do You Mean When You Say “Productivity equals Wealth”?

Productivity is the greatest wealth creator whether you talk about countries or companies, says Art Byrne. If you go about it correctly, the best ideas…

by Art Byrne

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Ask Art: Can Lean and “Make-the-Month” Co-exist?

"Make-the-month" programs are not unusual in manufacturing organizations. But, many people have asked Art Byrne, are such programs compatible with lean? Isn't the intense focus…

by Art Byrne

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Ask Art: Why Focus on Why When Doing A Lean Turnaround?

In switching to lean, understanding the WHY is the most important thing, argues Art Byrne. It helps people overcome their traditional beliefs about how something…

by Art Byrne

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Forward to Fundamentals Redux – Kaizen Express

Thanks to those of you who joined last week’s webinar. We had some great questions, only a few of which we dealt with during the…

by John Shook

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Forms and Templates

Downloads for A3 problem solving, standard work, project management, and value stream mapping.

Article

Are morning team huddles that go on forever a waste of time?

Dear Gemba Coach: Our company has made morning team huddles mandatory. I don't see how that helps. On my team, huddles seem to go on…

by Michael Ballé

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