Article

Why Doesn't Lean Have a Seat at the Table?

Why hasn’t Lean spread more widely, asks Steven Spear, suggesting that it has not been framed in a way that addresses the strategic concern of…

by Steven Spear

Article

Focus Your Operating System To Bring Your Strategy to Life

A strategy can just turn into wallpaper if you don't have the right systems in place to support it. Jim Morgan has seen this happen…

by James Morgan, PhD

Article

Your Gemba Isn't the Only Gemba to Walk

We all know the critical importance of gemba walks in our organization. But what many of us forget is that sometimes visiting OTHER gembas can…

by Aaron Hunt

Article

Toyota and Sudden Acceleration: Facts from the NASA Report

NASA just released its highly anticipated report about the Sudden Unintended Acceleration (SUA) charge in Toyota vehicles. The verdict is in. And Toyota’s electronic throttle…

by John Shook

Article

What Level of a Problem Requires an A3?

Here are some thoughts to help you determine what type of problem you have, and how to apply A3 thinking to it most productively. You…

Article

Lessons From Japan: Day Three

Is Toyota improving productivity or developing people? What we saw today suggests not just that the answer is both but that the two are inseparable,…

by Lean Leaper

Article

Fundamentals Redux--An Appreciation of Kaizen Express

Kaizen Express is the expression of an approach to kaizen that is at once a return to basics while at the same time emphasizing the…

by John Shook

Article

Using A3 Problem Solving to Make the Thinking Process Visible

In this excerpt from The Toyota Way to Lean Leadership, authors Jeff Liker and Gary Convis share a story of how Gary learned the value…

by Jeffrey Liker

Article

Grit, PDCA, Lean and other four-letter words

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the nature of what author Angela Duckworth calls Grit. She defines grit as a sort of mash-up between passion…

by Josh Howell

Article

Designed In Quality

Extraordinary quality is not only designed into the product, it is designed into the development process itself, says Jim Morgan, who suggests that the next…

by James Morgan, PhD

Article

Rebuilding Homes and Disaster Recovery Processes

When Liz McCartney and Zack Rosenburg left their careers to help desperate victims of Hurricane Katrina rebuild, they knew nothing about construction or lean management.…

by Zack Rosenburg

Article

Counteracting the Big Project Blues

Lean thinking is well and good, Erin Urban says, but often it takes time to see the real fruits of your labor. "Not all improvement…

by Erin Urban

Article

"But TPS Doesn't Apply to Us...."

Yes, cars are not weaving looms. Patients are not cars, either. Airplanes are not cars. Electric vehicles are not the same as internal-combustion engine vehicles.…

by Mark Graban

Article

Pursuing Dreams, Facing Reality

In this letter shared to his fellow Menloians, Rich Sheridan acknowledges the new reality they all must fact, and commits to making the most with…

Article

Managing Suppliers

Dear Gemba Coach: We've done a lot of kaizen work in production and have something of a pull system running. We've started measuring on time delivery…

by Michael Ballé

Article

4 Core Principles of Lean Product and Process Development Explained

The ability to consistently create “insanely great” products, as Steve Jobs would say, is the ultimate competitive advantage. But many companies struggle to develop profitable…

by Katrina Appell, PhD and John Drogosz, PhD

Webinar

The Case for Good Jobs: Unlocking Productivity and Profits Through Employee Investment

Watch Sarah Kalloch, Executive Director at the Good Jobs Institute, as she presents the compelling business case for good jobs. Learn how prioritizing superior job…

by Sarah Kalloch

Article

Muda Corporation: Improving Your Suggestions System

Anyone who's had to implement a suggestions system in their organization knows it's not an easy task, especially from a cultural aspect. Marius Gil may…

by Marius Gil

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