Coaching Articles

Building a Problem-Solving Culture: Insights from Barton Malow’s Lean University

LEI chats with Jill Katic and Grace Eovaldi from the construction firm Barton Malow about how to methodically build a…

Developing 35,000 Problem Solvers: OhioHealth’s Journey in Lean Healthcare with Alli Kulp and Emily Swaney 

How one large healthcare system is developing problem-solving skills across 35,000 employees through standardized lean processes, daily huddles, and leadership…

Connecting the Classroom to Industry: Experiential Lean Learning with Dennis Wade and Lisa Eshbach

In this episode of the WLEI podcast, we learn how two universities are creating hands-on lean learning experiences for students…

Extending Lean Thinking Beyond the Factory at MillerKnoll: a Conversation with Jennifer Trask and Brittney Heatherington

In this episode of the WLEI podcast, we learn how MillerKnoll brings lean thinking to its dealer network to drastically…

Unlocking Your Team’s Potential: Practical Methods for Developing People

People development is the foundation of the lean enterprise. The Lean Enterprise Institute explores how to lead, train, and coach…

Coaching to the Challenge

With coaching there is no black and white answer – everything depends on the criticality of the business situation, the…

Engaging Leadership in Lean at MassMutual

LEI talks with Mary Nell Egan and Lisa Karam on championing change at MassMutual, a leader in financial services

Why Lean Management Requires Humble Hubris

A lean coach reflects on the mindset and related behaviors that are the standardized work of “being the change you…

Assessing a New Way to Develop More Lean Thinkers

The James P. Womack Scholarship & Philanthropy Fund reflects on its experiments to improve the teaching of lean thinking and…

How to Get the Most from Your A3 Thinking and Practice

This selection of Lean Posts provides vital information that can help lean leaders and practitioners leverage the full power of…

Students Take the Lead in JPW Fund Internship

A hands-on, gemba-based “lean internship” gives participants broad-based lean management experience backed by professional and academic coaches.

A Philanthropic ‘Lean Internship’ Experiment Yields Unexpected Question About Purpose

To understand what could work in a hands-on, gemba-based lean learning experience, the LEI's JPW Fund did what lean practitioners…

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.

Making the World Better by Advancing Lean Thinking and Practice

When establishing a scholarship and philanthropy fund, the Lean Enterprise Institute practices what it preaches.

Building a Learning Organization: How Kata Empowers Team Members to Achieve Organizational Goals

This brief enhanced presentation explains how Improvement and Coaching Kata helps organizations foster a culture of continuous improvement through scientific…

Handling the Heat of the Kitchen: A WLEI Podcast

Hear how LEI coaches helped a flagship restaurant's kitchen staff find and eliminate waste in their work processes, which led…

The Fundamentals of Improvement and Coaching Kata

Whether you're a veteran needing a refresh or a beginner requiring the basics, this round-up offers guidance that will strengthen…

A Video Primer on Improvement Kata as a Funnel

A veteran kata instructor uses a visual model to explain the four routines of the Improvement Kata practice.

A Video Primer on Improvement and Coaching Kata

A veteran kata instructor offers a brief explanation of two vital problem-solving and innovation-driving practices.

Art of Lean on Problem-Solving, Part 7: Dreyfus Model and the Stages of Learning

Art looks at another external framework in an effort to help shorten your lead times of learning, development, and problem-solving.

Multiply the Improvers in Your Organization Every Day

Be prepared to commit the time, patience and tenacity to unleash the power of improvement your organization, says Andrew Quibell.…

What are the Three A’s of the A3?

John Shook explains the three A's of the A3 in this video clip from the presentation that he and Lisa…

Real Respect Feels Like Knowing You’ve Been Heard

Showing respect by actively listening to others--being present in mind and body, consciously attending to what is said, connecting with…

Why We Believe Questions Accelerate Learning

The key to achieving better outcomes over time is to develop the vital skill of asking questions designed to spur…

How To Fold a T-Shirt: TWI Job Instruction

In this updated video from the 2013 LEI archive, Josh Howell demonstrates and explains the Training Within Industry Job Instruction…

Art of Lean on Situational Leadership, Part 3: D2-S2 and Coaching

Part two saw Art Smalley discussing Toyota, Taiichi Ohno, and more examples of situational leadership being exemplified in real-time. This…

Improve Continuously by Mastering the Lean Kata

Lean is about learning, say Rose Heathcote and Daryl Powell. Learning to find real problems, learning to face the limits…

Who Cares? How to Engage Your People in Sustained Lean

If we want people to adopt lean practices because they will then be able to be more effective at work,…

Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn: A Podcast with Katie Anderson and Isao Yoshino

Join us for this WLEI podcast with Katie Anderson and Mr. Isao Yoshino on his experiences with Toyota that formed…

“It’s Only A Failure If You Don’t Learn”

"It's only a failure if you don't learn" says Toyota veteran Isao Yoshino, whose experience developing an ultimately failed water-ski…

Never Fail…To Create the Conditions for People to be Successful

In this excerpt from Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn, Katie Anderson shares the story of how Isao Yoshino learned…

The Power of Personal Yokoten

Personal yokoten to teach new mindsets and attitudes is an activity all of us can perform out in the world…

Lean Lessons from Cobra Kai(zen) and the Karate Kid

The unexpected wake-up call of the modest perfection of the original Karate Kid movie was that we need to move…

How the Coloplast Parts Distribution Center Reduced its Process Lead Time

How the Coloplast Parts Distribution Center in Tatabanya, Hungary, reduced its process lead time from 3 to 14 days to…

Tap the Power of Flow to Develop Lean Thinkers

Flow is personal--a moment of enrichment, and a mental state. It´s stretching oneself just that little bit extra, not because…

Exploring the Advantages of Online Learning

Learn how LEI is tapping into lean ways of learning and leveraging the latest learning technologies in the design of…

How to Develop Healthy Habits for Mindful Coaching

Powerful lean coaches help others create productive habits that over time produce a type of "muscle memory" that forms a…

Lessons Shared On Learning to Lead; and Leading to Learn

In her new book, Katie Anderson argues that, "being a leader means clearly defining a challenge or target for your…

Why We Believe Tough Times and Opportunity Go Hand in Hand

In this detailed set of suggestions for managing the current challenges posed by Covid-19, Rose Heathcote and the Lean Sensei…

What I Learned by Coaching at the Gemba Virtually

Lean Coach Mark Reich shares an example of how lean thinking is itself continually renewed, as leading practitioners use it…

How to Show Respect During a Pandemic

Lean Coach Katrina Appell shares how to use Maslow's hierarchy of needs to clarify how to show respect for people…

Don’t Just Go Back–Go Forward…With Kindness and A Little Creativity!

As we all grapple with ongoing changes imposed by the Covid-19 virus, we have reflected deeply, and humbly share the…

Why We Believe We Have All the Bricks to Build Our Future

In this wide-ranging article, lead author Catherine Chabiron and her fellow Lean Sensei Women propose a number of ways to…

Active Caring

Caring about others, caring about quality, caring about professionalism. When you care, continuous improvement and action come naturally. Turner Construction…

Why (and How) We Believe Lean Can Help During COVID-19

As Lean Sensei Women, we have put together some relevant lean suggestions and ideas for your organization to use (and…

The Courage to be Lean

A meaningful purpose is not what you are doing or how you are doing it, argue Joanna McGuffey and Tom…

Is it really necessary for a sensei to act obnoxiously?

Dear Gemba Coach: Is it really necessary for a sensei to act obnoxiously?

Coachable: Facilitating Peer-to-Peer Coaching for Effectively Spreading Knowledge

Join the ongoing conversation on coaching by listening to this new episode of the Coachable podcast series, as Deb McGee…

30. On the Job: My Personal Turning Point–Reflecting on a Decade as a Lean Coach

Josh Howell shares his decade-end reflections, focusing on why he left Starbucks in 2013. His reasons may surprise you. He…

28. Coachable: Creating the Environment for Effective Coaching

December 23, 2019Featuring: Deborah McGee and Jeff SmithAs this series continues to explore the implications and dynamic of “coaching” in a…

Tackling the Problems at the Heart of Coaching

What is the best way to navigate the tough challenge of coaching someone productively? What is the best way to…

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…

What Ever Happened to Mura?

If we really want to dig down into the root causes of waste, we need to bring the two lost…

24. Coachable: Insights and approaches to situational leadership

Join my conversation with Art Smalley as he walks us through two models for situational leadership and coaching. Hersey, Blanchard…

Can lean management help with toxic managers?

Dear Gemba Coach: Can lean management help with toxic managers?

Frame the Work For Safety and Learning

The most important skill to master as a leader is that of framing the work, says Harvard Business School Professor…

Why We Believe that Lean is More Than A Manufacturing Approach

Is Lean thinking a thing of the past from glorious manufacturing times in the late twentieth century? Or, on the…

Believe in One Thing All the Way

Who is a “superhero” in our companies, asks Darril Wilburn in this inspiring piece: Is it the person that can…

Why We Believe Lean is Worth Our Unwavering Commitment

Lean provides a powerful alternative to short-term enterprise driven solely by the goal of maximizing profits while externalizing human and…

Calling a Time-Out for Coaches

What's the most effective approach to coaching? Lean coaches Mark Reich and Laura Mottola share practical approaches that include methods…

Talking Coaching with Lean Sensei Crystal Davis, Rich Vellante, Josh Howell, and John Shook

In advance of the Lean Coaching Summit, coaches Josh Howell, Crystal Davis, John Shook, and Rich Vellante discuss the finer…

Talking About Lean: How Leaders Support Improvement With Words and Actions

In this comprehensive series of reflections, Lean Coach David Verble examines how the way managers and leaders talk to employees…

What Do Sensei Actually Do?

What do lean sensei do? Take you to the gemba, discuss what the real challenges are, prescribe exercises, teach PDCA,…

As head of a lean office, what must I do to really walk the talk?

Dear Gemba Coach: I am the head of a lean office. I’d like to lead by example, but it occurs…

How can I help middle managers handle contradictory instructions from top management?

Dear Gemba Coach: As a lean coach, how can I help middle-managers who are faced with contradictory instructions from top…

The Gift of Yokoten

In this article originally published in Planet Lean, after a visit to Goshen, Indiana, Jim Womack shared thoughts on the…

Why do lean practitioners use so many Japanese terms?

Dear Gemba Coach: Why do we use so many Japanese terms? I guess experts really want employees and students to think…

4 Actions that Solved My Lean Management Identity Crisis

Mike Orzen had lean management down cold – or so he thought. After all, he makes a living teaching it…

Should we seek professional help for our sensei who talks to parts?

Dear Gemba Coach: My sensei has gone crazy; he’s talking to parts. Everyone is looking at him funny on the…

Lean thinkers tell me not to give answers but my sensei keeps telling me what to do; which is it?

Dear Gemba Coach: My experience is that if you want to get anything done you have to ask very specifically…

Can you implement TPS if management doesn’t accept the fundamental values of the Toyota Way?

Dear Gemba Coach: How can we implement the principles of  TPS if our management doesn’t accept the fundamental values of…

How do I start to learn “real lean” when my company practices “fake lean”?

Dear Gemba Coach: I understand now there is “real lean” and “fake lean.” I suspect my company has been practicing…

“What Did I Transform Today?”

A lean approach to coaching is incomplete if nothing has changed for the better, says Josh Howell, who shares how…

Learning a New Skill

This month's 5-minute TK video is about deliberate practice for learning new skills. Specifically, Mike Boyd summarizes tips from his…

How to Rehab Colleagues With Status Quo “Addiction”

If you work with leaders or colleagues who resist changing their behaviors -- maybe they literally can’t change. They could…

Did Red Sox Lean on Lean for World Series Victory?

For starters (and for that matter, for relievers), this World-Series-winning Red Sox team was simply an outstanding and absurdly talented…

Factory physics was once the rage, but I don’t hear about it any more — was it wrong?

Dear Gemba Coach: What happened to factory physics? It used to be all the rage some years ago, but we…

Deploying Improvement Habits: From Starter Kata to Meta-Habits

Learners using the Kata routine approach every problem with the “skeleton” of the Kata routine, and understand that they are…

Value-Stream Mapping and Toyota Kata: Navigating to Your Desired Future

The video discusses utilizing Value Stream Mapping (VSM) to establish direction and Toyota Kata to develop the necessary skills for…

Getting Out of the Habit of Telling

In this engaging talk at the Lean Transformation Summit in Nashville, Katie Anderson talked about learning how to keep from…

What is the hardest conversation you ever had during gemba walks?

Dear Gemba Coach: What is the hardest conversation that you have during gemba walks?

Confessions of an Aspiring Coach

What I have found most striking about how managers approach building their coaching skills is the need to be more…

Are You Learning to Learn Faster? A Conversation with Steve Spear

Learning to close the gap in our learning cycle is critical to keeping our promises and achieving our goals, argues…

Cardboard, Duct Tape, and String: The Do-First Mindset & Meaning of Kaizen

Whatever field you work in, if you are responsible for kaizen in your company, strive for making quick changes in…

Sensing the Gemba

The next time you show up at the gemba to do a “go and see,” take a personal assessment of…

What personal qualities should I work on to improve my practice of lean?

Dear Gemba Coach: What personal qualities should I work on to improve how I practice lean?

Why haven’t lean tools changed our culture?

Dear Gemba Coach: I’m part of a team that has been tasked to implement lean tools across the company to…

Five Tips on Lean Coaching

Here are some key coaching tips culled from content written by some of the top lean coaches.

Thoughts on Coaching from John Shook and Edgar Schein

Excerpts from an in-depth conversation between John Shook and Ed Schein on the nature of coaching, humble inquiry, and the…

A Humble Conversation

For the past two years, John Shook and Edgar Schein have enjoyed the honor of engaging in an on-stage dialogue.…

Try These Three Deliberate Practices of Lean Coaching

A lean coach doesn’t do PDCA; she or he has three deliberate practices that keep the PDCA gear rolling with…

What Are the Most Valuable Ways You Learned Lean?

Each approach to learning lean brings value into my work and improves my capabilities. There isn’t one way (for me)…

Coaching the Uncoachable Comes Down to Rock Paper and Scissors

Breaking out of a thinking cycle that is already too full to learn anything can be found in thinking about…

Mindfulness and Leading with Respect

Mindfulness is both more essential today than ever, and a foundation for organizational lean excellence. Here John Shook and Mike…

Ep. 8 Mindfulness and Leading with Respect with Mike Orzen and John Shook

Author and and LEI faculty member Mike Orzen discuss connecting with people through leading with respect with John Shook.The conversation…

Expanding Our Perspective on Lean, Part 3: Lean is a Practice in Search of a Language

To explore the idea that there may be other angles for understanding lean management than business or analytical perspectives, a…

Lean Roundup: Respect for People

Respect for People is one of the most abstract and yet most concrete tenets of lean, a guiding principle that…

Ask Art: Am I Showing Respect for People by Asking for Fast Action?

Lean is a “learn by doing” exercise not a classroom training approach. The best method I know to achieve this…

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,…

Developing People Not Robots Through Karakuri

"Karakuri demonstrates that Toyota’s working currency is brainpower, grown through rigorous problem-solving and mentors who challenge their students," writes Matt…

Striking With The Zen Stick

A key part of lean coaching is the practice of striking with a zen stick, says Dan Prock. This helps…

Master the Meaning of “Giri”

"Giri" represents the profound obligation of the student has toward their teacher, the apprentice to the journeyman or the child…

Doing Versus Being – How Mindfulness Supports Better Lean Thinking, Part 2

Most companies don’t get the desired results from lean transformations, according to Mike Orzen, lean practitioner and LEI faculty member.…

Be a Better Coach; Learn to “Force” Reflection Part 2: Forcing Managers and Execs to Reflect

How to hold senior-level leaders accountable for expected behaviors and practices, such as the PDCA process' "check/reflect" phase.

Be a Better Coach: Learn to “Force” Your Team to Reflect, Part 1

Sustaining a lean thinking culture requires consistent leadership and coaching that reinforces expected behaviors and practices. Here’s an example of…

Thinking Fast and Slow and Lean with John Shook

On the 20th anniversary of Lean Thinking, John Shook delivered this Lean Talk on the principles the book introduced, how…

Starter Kata for Coaching

The latest Kata SlideShare (and embedded 8-minute video) traces an arc of practice and learning of coaching skill. Establish a…

ASK ART: “Why do you say lean is all about people?”

Lean is all about people, says author and former CEO Art Byrne, who has been successfully turning around companies for…

What Too Many Leaders Get Wrong with Coaching Kata

Think you can dive headfirst into Coaching Kata with your direct reports? Think again.

Why don’t people learn from experience?

Dear Gemba Coach: On the gemba, we have many problems to manage every day. People don’t seem to learn from…

Phases of Practice

Pierre Nadeau of soulsmithing.com talks about learning new skills, and phases of learning called "Shu Ha Ri." Those phases are…

The Art of Productive Inquiry

Last month Andrew Quibell released a sketch outlining a process for effective silent observation. His new sketch shares what to…

Back-to-School Lean: Lunchbox Kanban

Lean thinking is just as impactful on the home front as it is at work. In honor of back-to-school season,…

Back to Basics: Jim Womack on Why You Should Never Create an A3 Alone

In this eletter from 2008, Jim Womack (in honor of the then-recent publication of "Managing to Learn") shares invaluable advice…

Back to Basics: John Shook on the Role of Questions in Coaching

In this throwback to the classic John Shook eletter "Coaching and Questions; Questions and Coaching," we learn the impacts of…

What lean concepts are most difficult to teach?

Dear Gemba Coach: In your experience of teaching lean, what do you find most difficult to teach?

It’s All About the Mindset on Gemba Walks

Darren Walsh believes that there are few things more critical to a successful gemba walk than the right mindset. Do…

Summer Kata Video: Example Coaching Cycle

The five Coaching Kata questions are just the main headings for a coaching cycle, and prompts to help reveal how…

Want to Be a Better Leader and Coach? Listen to Yourself

Conduct this simple two-step analysis to learn whether you’re practicing the communication behavior that encourages a culture of engagement and…

Leaders’ Actions Speak, but Their Talk Matters Too

How leaders talk to employees can either help or hurt efforts to create and sustain a culture of engagement and…

How can I tell good lean consultants from bad?

If lean’s not a scam – but there are scammers -- how can I distinguish good lean consultants from bad?

7 Things Coaches Need to Get Over

"Over the years, I have noticed some common misperceptions about coaching effective problem solving skills and developing lean thinking," writes…

Isn’t lean just a scam to squeeze teams for more production?

Dear Gemba Coach: Lean is a scam. People like you who write about “respect” are pushing a smoke screen that…

Advice from the Gemba: How Do People Accidentally Make Change Unsustainable?

The only thing tougher than change is SUSTAINING change, we often hear. But does sustaining change need to be SO…

Changing High School Culture with Lean Coaching

Nearly eight years ago, headteacher Tony Lamberton of Christleton High School was struggling with poor reviews of his school. After…

“You Gotta Kata,” Now What?

After executing a plan to incorporate kata into his organization's daily routines, Craig Stritar was surprised to find that nobody…

Isn’t lean all about culture?

Dear Gemba Coach: Isn’t lean all about culture, really?

What do you mean by developing people?

Dear Gemba Coach: What do you mean by developing people?

The Future of Continuous Improvement

"Do not feel absolutely certain of anything." (From: Bertrand Russell's Ten Commandments of Teaching)

Do You Own Your Lean Learning?

Mark Reich recounts a pivotal experience with Andrea, a coffee plant manager who initially sought external solutions for operational challenges.…

Creating Trust: The Role of the Supervisor as Coach

"Organizationally, I believe that the coaching role needs to be fulfilled by the supervisor," writes Dave LaHote. But all too…

Advice from the Gemba: How Can I Change a Culture?

One of the most common questions asked by lean leaders is the question of culture change. How, they ask, can…

How to More Effectively Change Mindsets through Coaching

In her many years as a coach, Karyn Ross has found an alternative to the current paradigm of changing mindsets.…

What’s the lean take on learning?

Dear Gemba Coach: Our previous CEO used to preach “servant leadership,” but now’s he’s left and the new style is…

Lean Quotes from John Shook to Inspire You and Your Team

We share with you some inspiring quotes from LEI CEO John Shook.

Planning Meetings Around A3s

"How many times have you sat in a meeting to discuss solving a pressing, urgent or serious problem – and…

Managing to Create Problem-Solvers: A Lean Transformation Summit Roundup

Countless people have asked us over the years, "My organization can't be lean without a problem-solving culture. So how do…

Cracking the Talent Code

This month's installment is a fuzzy video by a sharp guy. Author Dan Coyle talks about how we acquire new…

Is promising that lean will make work more meaningful disrespectful to people?

Dear Gemba Coach: Can lean really make work more meaningful for everybody? Isn’t this overpromising to workers and disrespectful to…

What kind of conversation should I expect during a gemba walk?

Dear Gemba Coach: What kind of conversation should I expect during a gemba walk?

Advice from the Gemba: Best Tips for Designing a Work Experience

When designing a work experience, the benefits of having an experienced coach to guide you cannot be overstated. In this…

Does implementing lean mean creating a lean management system?

Dear Gemba Coach: My understanding is that implementing lean means setting up a lean management system. You seem to disagree.…

Mindfulness: A Practice, a State of Being, an Essential!

Many of us are familiar with the term "mindfulness," especially in the context of being aware of our surroundings. But…

Is there a spiritual dimension to lean?

Dear Gemba Coach: Is there a spiritual dimension to lean?

What’s the difference between a sensei and a consultant?

Dear Gemba Coach: Is there a difference between a sensei and a consultant? Beyond the way they market themselves, don’t…

How Do You Know If You’ve Created a Meaningful Challenge?

"Have you ever issued what you thought was an inspiring challenge for your team, only to discover they were underwhelmed…

Our new boss doesn’t ‘get’ lean; what can I do to convince him?

Dear Gemba Coach: We’ve had spectacular lean results with our old boss, but our new boss doesn’t get it. He’s…

Summit Reflections: Knowing What You Need to Improve

"As leaders, sometimes the things that we feel like we can more easily change are not the things that we…

Baby Steps for Behavior Change

Don't start with a 20-mile run! Effective change often begins with small tweaks to behavior, which build on one another…

Dear Professor, Am I Ever Glad You Covered Lean in Class!

Since 2008, the Lean Enterprise Institute has sponsored the Excellence in Lean Accounting Award to fund scholarships helping pairs of…

You Can’t Know If You Don’t Know

Recently LEI Chairman and CEO John Shook found an interesting blog by Dr. Helen Kales of the University of Michigan,…

A Kata Classic

The research that led to the book Toyota Kata ran from 2004 - 2009. The objective was to gain a…

Do we need more research to understand what works and what doesn’t when implementing lean healthcare?

Dear Gemba Coach: There are controversies over whether lean/TPS works in healthcare or not. Authorities in lean practice suggest conducting…

It’s About the Tools, Not the Terms

"I’ve never been a big fan of lean lingo," says John McCullough of Crayola. "It may sound expert-like, but I’ve…

A More Prepared Coach

"Many coaching situations we enter...with so little knowledge about the situation and how things work," writes Josh Howell. "Instead we…

Establishing Lean Healthcare Believers When Professional Society Allegiance Impedes Engagement

When implementing lean in a healthcare organization, it's not uncommon to encounter resistance from medical professionals set in their traditional…

Is there “mudagement” in your organization?

"Mudagement." What a strange word. But to Tony Lamberton, the concept behind that word has made all the difference in…

Reflections on Hansei

For many of us, Japanese lingo has become synonymous with lean. But according to Dan Markowitz, this just makes things…

Kaizen Means You Care

"Lean leaders, and lean consultants (like me), often talk about the organizational benefits of kaizen: lower costs, bigger profits, shorter…

Change Management: Is it Necessary?

"There are varying views on the role of change management in a lean transformation," writes Katrina Appell. In her latest…

Book Clubs Help Agricultural Company Cultivate Lean Culture

Two continuous improvement leaders explain how they successfully use book clubs to spread and align understanding of lean management at…

Kata Puts the “Continuous” in Continuous Improvement

In this 6-minute video, Drew Locher of Change Management Associates makes the 'Case for Kata’ by explaining what it takes…

Habits for Continuous Learning and Improvement

What routines can you practice to develop a culture -- a habit -- of continuous improvement? The Improvement Kata and…

TOYOTA KATA AT COOKSHACK

Stuart Powell and his team at Cookshack in Ponca City, Oklahoma strive to differentiate Cookshack from competitors by strategically applying…

Practical Guidance for Using Humble Inquiry in PDCA Problem Solving and Coaching

David Verble, a Toyota veteran and LEI faculty member, explains to lean coaches and continuous improvement professionals why "Humble Inquiry"…

KATA CREATES CULTURE

Tilo Schwarz and his team at Festool (Germany) used practice of the Improvement Kata & Coaching Kata routines to make…

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.…

Coaches Need Improvement Too

"Whether you are a coaching client or a coach yourself," writes Brent Wahba, "you both have decided to pursue the…

My Lean Journey: The 5Ss

Do you remember the first time you realized the true potential of lean in improving work output? Lean newcomer Cam…

IK/CK at Modine

Modine Manufacturing views practicing the Improvement Kata and Coaching Kata as a way to lead, manage and develop people... in order…

Is there a way to define standard work for senseis?

Dear Gemba Coach, I’ve been working on lean projects for years and my CEO has now asked me to act as…

Tough Empathy

"When grasping the situation we always focus in on the process... What about grasping the situation as it relates to…

5 Ways My Thinking Changed With the Help of a Lean Coach

"Coaching for development is different than being managed," writes Deborah McGee. "Lean coaching in our case was not directing an…

Does being “sensei-ed” show respect for people?

Dear Gemba Coach: If lean is based on respect for people, why are sensei gemba visits reputed to be so…

Standout Lessons from the 4th Annual Lean Coaching Summit

"A coach’s role is to help someone better understand their own process," writes Katie Anderson. How will you bring greater…

PDCA, Fitness Apps, and Using Social Media to Improve Our Health

"Health isn't about always being perfect," writes lean coach Tracey Richardson. "Just like in our organizations, we all have imperfect…

Step 1: Open Mouth, Step 2: Insert Foot

Joshua Rapoza, Customer Strategy Officer at LEI, reflects on whether working longer hours necessarily means more productivity and the power…

How can I tell if people “get” lean thinking; what signs should I look for?

Dear Gemba Coach: I’ve been training teams to do lean, intensively at first, and with paced-out coaching later. How do…

What it Takes to Bring Lean Thinking to Healthcare: One Leader’s Candid Reflections

Keith Murphy, a Senior Lean Process Improvement Leader in a healthcare organization, shares his greatest lessons learned with regard to…

Personal PDCA and How I Learned It

"In 23 years at Toyota, I had many assignments and different bosses, I managed many people," writes Mark Reich, "but…

Visualize the Invisible: Connect Improvement Work to Real Business Needs

Reflecting on one of her most powerful learning experiences, Lesa Nichols writes, "It struck me that I hadn’t coached my…

KATA SUMMIT KEYNOTE: JEFF LIKER

In this 16-minute video from February's Kata Summit, Professor Jeff Liker gives a revealing personal discussion of Toyota Kata from…

Why Coaching is the Hardest Job I’ve Ever Had

"In 2011 a new term entered my company... we went 'lean'," writes Kasey Corbishley. "The office buzzed with anxiety as…

Enabling Change Through the Power of Story

Roberto Priolo, editor of Planet Lean, shares why not just reflection, but writing (and storytelling) is so helpful for the…

The Hidden Benefit to A3 Thinking

"A3 thinking helps us think, solve problems, and strategize," writes José Ferro. "But it also helps us calm down, concentrate,…

WE ARE ALL APPRENTICES

Don't assume that your narrative is reality. Practice the Improvement Kata pattern to learn scientific thinking! Destin Sandlin of Smarter…

Do the Words You Use Create Clarity or Chaos?

"If words matter, shared understanding of words matters even more," writes Cindy Priddy. "The word coach reaches much further back…

No Change is Easy: The Starbucks Siren Steps into Dunkin Donuts’ World of Orange and Pink

Lean is about a willingness to experiment and if necessary, change our approach to our work and our daily routine.…

How Do I Measure People Development?

Dear Gemba Coach: What is the metric for people development?

Be More than a Coach, Be a Coach Who Listens

"When we hold on too tightly to our own assumptions of a problem and what we think are solutions, we…

Leadership Without Giving Solutions (from a Fire Fighter’s Perspective)

LEI faculty member Greg Lane shares a lean coaching story from his own life, in which he finds himself advising…

Book Value: What Every Manager Should Know About Training

Jeff Morrow, lean coach and faculty at Bainbridge Graduate Institute, reviews and recommends Dr. Robert Mager's 1999 book, What Every…

KATA AT THE PHOTO STUDIO

This month's Kata video is an example of what happens when a team practices a scientific way of working, rather…

Is there a difference between executive coaching and lean coaching?

Dear Gemba Coach: Is there a difference between executive coaching and lean coaching?

We’re Ernie and Tracey Richardson: Ask Us Anything

It's our second "Ask Me Anything" post, this time with lean coaches Tracey and Ernie Richardson. With a combined 54…

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…

Gather the Facts: How Does Your Organization View Lean?

It’s worth asking, what's your organization's REAL, honest perception of Lean? Do you hear words and phrases like engagement, problem…

Kata Konfusion

Author and LEI faculty member Drew Locher explains why it is important when using the kata improvement methodology to not…

The Obstacle is the Path

Deborah McGee, LEI's Learning Activities Manager, reflects on the most common obstacles she sees people facing when they first try…

The Lean Thinker Who is Capable of Creating Other Lean Thinkers

LEI faculty member David Verble explains what it means to be an effective manager or lean coach and why it's…

Two Years in Tanzania and a Whole New Understanding of Purpose

Mike Grogan quit his job in corporate America and moved to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania where he began working with…

How Wrong Assumptions about PDCA Problem Solving Destroy the Effectiveness of Lean Coaches

Problem solving based on the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle is very different from what we typically call problem solving. Here's why,…

Any tips for conducting daily stand-up meetings with my team?

Dear Gemba Coach: I’ve been told I should conduct daily stand-up meetings with my team to solve problems collaboratively. I’m…

WHAT IS LEAN ABOUT?

The Kata SlideShare for January presents some thoughts (and video) as we in the Lean community mark the 25th Anniversary…

Are You Training People to Think or to Follow a Checklist?

"Without attention to why continuous improvement is important, the purpose behind [PDCA], when tools should be used, and when to…

One COO’s View on Learning, Leading, and Teaching

Dominic Paccapaniccia, COO of a regional healthcare center, reflects on why he and his organization chose to begin using a…

Lean Thinking On Purpose

Katrina Appell reflects on a provocative op-ed by Nicholas Kristof in The New York Times from earlier this year and…

10 RULES FOR FAILING WITH TOYOTA KATA

Looking for tips to successfully practice the Improvement Kata and Coaching Kata in your organization? In this month's Kata SlideShare…

My boss has asked me to take on the sensei role for the company. What does that mean?

Dear Gemba Coach: How do I become a sensei? My boss has asked me to act in the sensei role…

How To Get Out of the Habit of Telling

How do we get out of the habit of just “fixing” the immediate problem at hand ourselves (or telling others…

How can I train technical experts who know more about the work than I do?

Dear Gemba Coach: I understand I have to train people, but I work in a very technical area and they…

EUROPEAN LEAN EDUCATOR CONFERENCE REMARKS

This month's SlideShare is composed of the slides and comments Mike Rother presented at the recent 'European Lean Educator Conference',…

How to Create a Culture of Accountability

"Over time, accountability has developed a negative connotation," writes Erin Urban. "But the truth is: we want accountable, responsible employees…

Say Goodbye to the Report Out

"If we want to improve coaching, let’s build the requirement for it into the daily management process," writes Dave LaHote.…

HOW TO DEPLOY THE IMPROVEMENT KATA

This month's IK/CK SlideShare is a detailed description of how to deploy a Coach/Learner structure in your organization, to teach…

No Do, No Learn

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

The Essence of Developing People and Yourself

Jane Delaney is the CEO of a medium sized software company in the UK. As her company faces crisis upon…

Building Capability, Transforming Organizations

How do we improve ourselves as coaches while developing the problem solving capabilities of others? Lean coach Katie Anderson suggests…

What does developing people mean?

Dear Gemba Coach,Are people tools? Should bosses use people? What does development mean? How should we think about it?

How to Coach a Person Who Doesn’t Want to be Coached?

How do you coach someone who doesn't need your help or who thinks they know everything? This was one of…

Learning from John Wooden: Everyone Is a Teacher & a Coach

John Wooden was arguably the most successful, probably the most influential, and certainly the most studied coach in the history…

TWO MINDSET OBSTACLES TO EFFECTIVE LEARNING

This SlideShare looks at two common mindsets that can prevent us from learning new skills. A team or organization that…

The Leader’s Dilemma: Becoming a Learner

We build leaders up to be all-knowing, but leaders who act as 'knowers' (as opposed to learners) actually limit their…

5 Skills to Strengthen Your Coaching Practice

As we look ahead to this month's coaching summit, here are 5 actions you can take now to become a…

On Coaching

I'm a long-time fan of Brasilian futbol (or as some of us call it, soccer). This World Cup, I've been…

Leaning Up Baby

Olivia Talman, a former intern at The Lean Enterprise Institute, knew problem-solving was important, but wasn't sold on Lean at…

It’s About Best Practicing

"Just like practicing to learn to play an instrument, practicing the Improvement Kata helps us learn to view uncertainty more…

A Simple Question Without An Easy Answer

Our understanding of Lean (and how best to talk about what it is with others) evolves over time, just like…

Ask Art: How Much Lean Training Should We Be Doing?

Why aren't more companies successful at Lean? Art Byrne says it has to do with an over-focus on planning and…

What’s the main quality I should look out for in hiring a lean coach?

Dear Gemba Coach: I’m in the process of hiring a Lean Coach for my team and I wondered if there…

Leave Your Ego at the Door

Jim Morgan reflects on what he's learned from Alan Mulally (CEO of Ford Motor Company 2006-2014)--lessons like the importance of…

Long-term Organizational Health or Sugar High?

"We know 'flavor-of-the-month' initiatives can't be the focus of a lean leader," writes Bob Miller of the Shingo Institute. So…

Game On! Maybe Lean Can Be Fun

Lean is counterintuitive for most of us, and learning a new way of working at all is just challenging, no…

Observe Without Expectations

What does it really mean to go to the gemba and closely observe the work that takes place there? Are…

Learning Through Struggle

LEI coach Danielle Blais reflects on one of the most frustrating (and ultimately, most rewarding) coaching moments she's experienced so…

Taiichi Ohno Was a Hairdresser

"In the lean community, we talk about 'gaps' – the difference between where we are now and where we either…

Why do the characters in your books struggle a lot with lean?

Dear Gemba Coach: I’m new to lean and I’ve just finished reading “The Gold Mine” and “The Lean Manager” and…

TOP 10 TOYOTA KATA LESSONS

Here are ten terrifically-useful lessons from the ongoing effort to embed Toyota Kata into the culture at Texas Health Presbyterian…

Using Lean to Take Farming to the Next Level in Denmark

"When you start to think and work systematically with Lean (rather than just off the cuff), looking for waste becomes…

How to Handle Fire Fighting, Process Averse Cultures, Naysayers, and More

Summit attendees hosted their own conversations on lean thinking and practice last week, identifying challenges and opportunities for Lean within…

How a Problem-Solving Culture Takes Root

Changing one's own leadership behaviors is no easy task, but it can be done. Leaders can shift away from giving…

Super Bowl 2014: It’s All About the Coaching

LEI Senior Editor Tom Ehrenfeld gets ready for the super bowl the only way he knows how: looking for lean…

Why do you lean experts still revere the Toyota Production System? Hasn’t any one come up with something better?

Dear Gemba Coach,Since Toyota formulated TPS 50 years ago, many other companies have come up with their own business systems…

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…

We struggle to set target conditions. Is there a system to do so?

Dear Gemba Coach: We work with Toyota Kata, which we find very helpful, but we struggle to set target conditions.…

SHARPEN YOUR KATA COACHING

Here are five easy techniques to improve your coaching when using the 5 Coaching Kata Questions. This is a SlideCast,…

The Fight for the Meaning of Lean

"It seems like every one and their dog is doing Lean," writes Michael Ballé. "But what 'Lean' are we talking…

What happens after the lean coach leaves?

As a lean coach, after you move to a new management assignment, finish a training course, or run several kaizen…

One Simple Thing You Can Do To Improve Your Coaching

When you put people on the defense, you miss out on a lot more than improved performance and results. Tracey…

How to Fold a T-Shirt

Training Within Industry Job Instruction is a four-step method that teaches an individual how to do a job correctly, safely,…

HOW TO USE THE IMPROVEMENT KATA FORMS

In this SlideShare, Richard Green has annotated the standard IK Storyboard forms with instructions for how to use them... brilliant.…

Adding Flavor to the Gemba Using SALT

Dr. Grant Greenberg, Associate Medical Director for Quality for the University of Michigan Faculty Group Practice, has come up with…

ARE WE USING THE 5 WHYS INCORRECTLY?

FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION. Like several Lean concepts of the 20th Century, we should perhaps revisit our interpretation of this…

Now What Do We Call the Karaoke Bar?

We asked the lean community to sound off on whether or not they favored using Japanese terms in their lean…

The Hunt for Alligator Eggs

"Like alligator eggs, problems often start small. If you wait a while and ignore them, those eggs hatch," writes Ellis…

Lean Starts With the Need to Achieve

"The first step in a lean implementation is to identify employees with an intense desire to achieve," writes lean practitioner…

Adopt or Adapt? When Modifying Lean Makes Sense

One of the key decisions every lean coach, consultant, practitioner, and leader makes is when to fully adopt a particular…

A Sensei in One’s Own Land

In his first piece for The Lean Post, John Shook addresses the question of if, when, and how you and…

Be Prepared to Change Your Habits

LEI Coach Danielle Blais likens lean learning to something we all know something about: starting a new exercise routine or…

Clear Mind, Better Work

Like lean, mindfulness meditation is all about practice and discipline. Mark Donovan, owner of the knitwear company Wooden Ships, reflects…

The Challenge in Providing Challenging Work

LEI's Mark Reich chimes in on the discussion of how to most effectively manage and coach the young generation of…

Ask Art: How Do I Get Senior Leadership On Board with Lean?

Lean transformations are rarely successful without the support and participation of senior leadership. Art Byrne, former CEO of Wiremold, shares…

Why Starting With a Model Area is Key to Lean Transformation

Lean coach Danielle Blais explains why starting small, with one team in one area, is so important to leading an…

A SKILL-LEVEL ICON FOR VS MAPS

This SlideShare presents a new Value Stream Mapping icon to indicate both current & future-state Improvement Kata skill levels for…

Why Does Our Recognition Program Just Feel So Bad?

Dear Gemba Coach: My company has put an employee of the month program and other related efforts to reward good…

Lean Coaching Skills: Tips for “Humble Inquiry”

Lean Enterprise Institute faculty member David Verble compares and contrasts different managerial styles of coaching in this video.

Boston Marathon 2013 – Reflections

In business, as in sports, we like to compete. We believe competing can benefit everyone. “Everyone” means everyone – not…

GET BETTER AT ACHIEVING LEAN GOALS

We often mistake confident predictions and plans for accurate ones. But the more humility we have about our predictions, the…

Why won’t senseis ever give a straight answer?

Dear Gemba Coach: Why won’t senseis ever give a straight answer?

Who Owns Your A3? (Part Two)

In this second of two columns, Mark Reich explains why people must own their A3 reports as a means of…

Helpful Coaching? Part One: Who Says What’s Helpful?

David Verble, a lean practitioner and Lean Enterprise Institute faculty member, offers advice for what kind of coaching is helpful…

Who Owns Your A3? (Part One)

LEI Director of Strategy and Operations Mark Reich shares how he learned a key lesson from his time at Toyota:…

THE ROLE OF THE LEAN COACH

Here's one for discussion... a useful way to look at Lean coaching.

Think of the best mentor/coach you’ve had on your lean journey. What did he or she do to help you become a better problem solver?

Whether practical, profound, or humorous, the guidance that your best mentors provided was just what you needed, just when you…

Coach Says: What Do You Think?

We will soon host our first summit devoted to the topic of coaching, an event that marks the importance of…

5 QUESTIONS TO ACTIVATE YOUR TEAM

Use the 5 Question card daily to systematically create forward motion in your team.

Asking Effective Questions: The Foundation of Coaching with Margie Hagene

Lean Enterprise Institute faculty member Margie Hagene offers tips for using the four types of questions -- humble, diagnostic, prompting,…

How Do the Problems of Continuous Improvement Professionals Differ from Those of Line Managers

Dear Gemba Coach: How do the lean-related problems or responsibilities of ci professionals differ from those of line managers or business…

DEVELOP CAPABILITY BY PRACTICING THE IMPROVEMENT KATA

This excellent discussion and example of how the Improvement Kata drives improvement, adaptation and innovation is from Gerd Aulinger, a…

Coaches coaching coaches

The Olympics are always great fun. It is inspiring to see human performance taken to such astounding levels. Watching the…

THE WRONG KATA

This SlideShare is a good one for reading and discussing in your team. We wish you interesting and productive reflection!…

Are Lean Managers Teaching Or Just Controlling?

Dear Gemba Coach: I hear what you lean guys are saying about, learning, “kata” and the role of managers as…

Don’t Call It…Anything

Would lean be easier to teach and learn if it weren't called lean? If in fact it weren't labeled at…

IMPROVEMENT KATA SHIPYARD EXAMPLE

An example of the Improvement Kata in action at a shipyard in Lithuania.

LEARNING HOW TO LEARN

Meryl Runion (creator of the SpeakStrong series of books) has a nice way of making things clear and understandable. This…

Real Lean vs. Fake Lean

Dear Gemba Coach: I am a lean consultant who is totally dedicated to applying the lean principles. Unfortunately most lean…

THE FIVE COACHING KATA QUESTIONS

The Five Questions are a pattern and routine that's central to coaching the Improvement Kata.

What is Your Line of Sight?

Coach Tracey Richardson explains why having a line of sight aligns you with the organizations purpose, and helps you determine…

Lean practice applies to all work, everyone, every day, all day.

As often happens, I was introduced at a company event recently as an "expert." I've never been fond of the…

Learning Lean – Collaboratively

John Shooks reflects on the importance of continual learning in lean practice, emphasizing the distinction between being a passive knower…

Why A3s Won’t Work in My Organization (Part One)

Coach Eric Ethington shares obstacles you may be encountering as you implement A3 thinking--and suggests ways to proceed.

Tools Are Not the Purpose

Coach Eric Ethington shares his experience about learning how A3 thinking must always be the guiding principle when using A3…

How Many Whys Should I Ask?

Coach Tracey Richardson explains just how many whys to ask when conducting 5 Why analysis.

How Can Lean Take Root in a Crappy Culture?

Dear Gemba Coach: I've done a lot of working with lean, and recently started my first coaching/consulting gig. And while…

Gemba Walk Checklist

Jim responds to this question from his Gemba Walks webinar: “Do you find it easier to complete your Gemba Walk…

The Trouble with Lean Experts

Dear Gemba Coach: I run a Lean Promotion Office (LPO)  and my team mostly conducts kaizen events across the company. We…

How Do We Help Our Plant Managers Want to Do Lean?

Dear Gemba Coach: We've just changed our divisional general manager and the new boss wants our lean approach to be less…

How Can One Be A Better Sensei?

Dear Gemba Coach,Our operations VP is disappointed with our lean program. Despite his close personal involvement with the program, it…

How Do I Clarify Lean Roles and Responsibilities?

Dear Gemba Coach: Can you provide some guidance on splitting roles and responsibilities amongst the various hands-on leaders of the lean…

How Do I Lead Change Without Discouraging Employee Engagement?

Dear Gemba Coach: How do you balance the sometime conflicting practices of gaining employee engagement while ensuring that everyone remains…

Toyota the Bad Guy

Recently I am cornered frequently by beleaguered lean change agents eager to show me their scars inflicted by re-energized resistors.…

How Do I Keep My Lean Team Motivated for the Long Term?

Dear Gemba Coach: My team often feels that they are alone in their improvement efforts. Even after all our work…

Is Toyota No Longer a Guiding Light?

Dear Gemba Coach: I'm the lean manager of a mid-sized company, and have been getting teased by many folks about Toyota's…

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…

How Do I Convince People to Practice Lean?

Dear Gemba Coach: I have previous lean experience, and have now joined a large bureaucratic organization. I’m trying to apply the…

Kaizen is Fun? Really?

Dear Gemba Coach: I have been learning lean for three years now. My question to you: How is Kaizen 'fun'? Doing…

Coaching and Questions; Questions and Coaching

John Shook discusses the role of questioning

We’re all connected and nobody is in charge

Everyone hates the “matrix”. Not the movie series, of course, but the cross-functional matrix organization. Yet, having searched for the…

“Our people are our most important asset”…Really?

This well-intentioned phrase can carry a buried and profoundly disrespectful message, implying conventional capital asset thinking, treating the people in…

Lean Inroads Into Alabama Academia

Despite business’s declared need for graduates experienced with lean concepts, most colleges and universities offer only a lean module or…

Mura, Muri, Muda?

Twenty years ago this month, when my first daughter was born, the young men I supervised in MIT’s International Motor…

LEI Expands Global Network

When I founded the Lean Enterprise Institute in Boston in 1997, I wanted to create a global network of non-profit…

Art of Lean on Situational Leadership, Part 1: An Introduction

Editor’s Note: This Lean Post is an updated version of an article published on January 15, 2021. It is the first of…

Managing the Work from Startup to Scaleup

How one company tapped lean thinking and practice to design its business management system — and as a countermeasure to…

Why Coaching is a Core Skill of a Lean Leader

If "learning by doing" at the gemba is the best way to learn lean thinking and practices (and it is),…

Keep It Simple: Value-Stream Mapping at the Gemba

A veteran lean coach shares a story showing that even simple and quick value-stream mapping can be hugely helpful when…

10 Tips for Getting the Most Value from Value-Stream Mapping

Before you map your value stream, review and keep in mind these tips for ensuring your organization reaps the performance…

Why You Should Share, Not Present, Your A3 Report

A veteran A3 coach explains how a seemingly minor word change can help foster more productive teamwork and learning.

How to Test Your A3 Thinking

Are you pretty sure you've completed the A3 process correctly but want to test the logic of your thinking? Or…

Why the A3 Process Involves More than Filling in Boxes

As she details how to problem-solve using the A3 methodology, a veteran lean coach explains why it's essential to understand…

How to Start the A3 Problem-Solving Process

Why the best, most productive way to “start an A3” is by recognizing that the A3 problem-solving methodology is a…

Discovering the True Value of the A3 Process

The challenge with the A3 process isn’t in learning to write an A3 report; it’s in understanding how to use…

To Successfully Apply Lean Thinking in Distribution, Go to Where the Action Is!

Two years after its first kaizen workshop, Plumbers Supply Company has made significant progress toward a lean business conversion. Starting…

What’s the Problem?: Andrew Lingel Discusses Transforming a Family Business through Knowledge, Grit, and Outrage

In this What's the Problem? podcast with Matt Savas, President Andrew Lingel of United Plastic Fabricating shares how he helped…

Ask Art: Why is a Lean Sensei Necessary?

Lean veteran Art Byrne explains how having a lean sensei helps leaders and organizations succeed in their lean transformation.

Coach’s Corner: How To Put People First Using Lean Practices

A veteran lean product and process development coach explains what leaders must do to create a people-first culture.

Thinking About Introducing A3 Problem-Solving? Think Twice if Leadership Isn’t Engaged

Your organization’s leadership doesn’t support introducing the A3 problem-solving process, but why not introduce it into your unit or area…

Art of Lean on Problem-Solving, Part 8: Toyota Coaching Practices

Art describes some of the fundamental principles of Toyota coaching practices.

Ensuring Success of Hoshin Kanri – a Better Way to Plan and Execute Your Strategy

Logoplaste's global vice president of lean and strategy shares a few vital lessons, learned through experience, about a proven way…

Art of Lean on Problem-Solving, Part 5: Tuckman’s Model of Team Formation

Coaching teams is the topic of this fifth part of an ongoing series on coaching problem-solving by Art Smalley. He…

Lean Roundup: How Hoshin Kanri Creates a “Line of Sight”

Like anything that is essential to lean, one must understand how hoshin kanri works from the very detailed, elemental levels…

Boost the Power of PDCA By Tackling the Challenge of Self-Awareness

While PDCA is the engine of lean discovery, argues Mike Orzen, building self-awareness into this scientific method truly unlocks the…

How to Breakdown a Complex Challenge for A3 Problem-solving

At some point, every lean practitioner struggles with a problem that seems too complex to put the problem statement, analysis,…

Exploring the Continued Relevance of Lean, A Best of Podcast

Lean offers a powerful and productive approach to today's problems, both large and small. This "best-of" podcast featuring talks with…

Why A3 Thinking is the Ideal Problem-Solving Method

How A3 Thinking helps you overcome the most challenging yet vital part of problem-solving, according to Lean Coach David Verble.

How Cascading A3s Deploy Responsibility to Think as Well as Assign KPIs

During a recent virtual workshop on how to use the A3 problem-solving methodology, a CEO asked how to cascade A3s…

Taking Time for a Year-End Reflection with the Most Popular Lean Articles, Podcasts, and Videos of 2020

This year's content featured plenty of guests, returns from lean legends, and handfuls of ways that lean has been applicable…

How to Make Your Planning Process More Effective

Learn why Toyota's planning process is much more effective than traditional approaches used by North American companies. David Verble shares…

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.

Art of Lean on Work & Waste, Part 3: Excess Inventory

Take a closer look at the various types of inventory, with an eye toward identifying waste, with your guide, Art…

Ask Art: What Role does Human Resources Play in a Lean Turnaround?

Although you shouldn’t expect HR to lead the kaizen effort or set up extensive training programs, there is still plenty…

Applying Lean Thinking and Practice to Systemic Racism, Part 2 of 2

To create anti-racist organizations to fit, value, and respect all people, leaders should step forward with a sound vision framed…

Changing the Way New Value is Created with Lean Product and Process Development

Learn the six guiding principles of LPPD and why they are critical to successful new product, process, and service development.

New Book, Becoming the Change, Shows that Real Organizational Change Is Personal

Learn the cause of and cure for healthcare improvements that relapse to the old ways of working. Kim Barnes, Catalysis…

The Art of Lean: Use These Tools to Help You Improve a Process, Part 2

Take a closer look into this four-step approach that will help you "pinpoint the tricky parts" of a process as…

Tapping Technology to Boost the Power of Lean: A Talk with Jeff Liker and Jim Morgan

What principles should guide lean thinkers as they introduce digital tools into their work? How about people, processes, and purpose,…

The Art of Lean: Use These Tools to Help You Improve a Process, Part 1

Learn about this four-step approach that will help you “pinpoint the tricky parts” of a process as you work to…

Changing Routines

In this article exploring ways to help lead positive change, Josh Howell asks: is pursuing understanding and conviction part of…

How the A3 Process Developed to Help Build Better Managers, Part Two

In this second of two articles, Isao Yoshino and John Shook explore how A3 emerged as powerful practice at Toyota…

PDCA Is Really CA-PDCA — and It’s the CA that Makes the PD Work

Why Grasping the Actual Conditions (firsthand as an automatic practice) at the beginning, during, and after a problem-solving effort is…

Keeping the “Day One” Spirit Alive

Building in a cadence of gemba walks helps nurture the vital "day one" startup spirit as a company grows, says…

Being ‘Right’ is Not Enough

All of us have problem-solving experiences to reflect on and learn from. And what better time to draw out that…

Beyond Problem-Solving: Other Facets of the A3 Process You Should Know and Practice

If you or your team think the A3 process is only a problem-solving tool, think again. “There is a lot…

The Real Secret to Success with the A3 Process: It is as Much a Social Process as a Technical Problem-solving One

Part one of a seven-part series. Learn how the A3 process is about more than problem-solving, along with the other…

Lean in Lean Thinkers to Root Out Racial Inequity

A lean leader calls on other lean thinkers to leverage humble inquiry and other problem-solving tools to eradicate the waste…

How Lean Helps During Economic Downturns: Lessons from the Past

John retells a quick history lesson about the birth of Toyota’s powerful way of working as it emerged from its…

Searching for a Path Toward Healing

Dr. Kiame Mahaniah, the CEO of Lynn Community Health Center, shares the message he wrote to his staff about finding…

Why Good Lean Detectives Visit the Crime Scene

You can't solve a problem with data alone, says Dan Markovitz. He urges you to go to the "crime scene,"…

How to Build Skills Fast with a People-Development Plan

A Lean Global Network team of lean practitioners and coaches shares a set of lean healthcare tips hospitals can use…

Combat Isolation with Productivity by Using HoRenSo – A Communication Structure that Engages People, part one of two

How to make your meetings more productive, the Toyota Way.

How Hospitals are Leveraging Visual Management in the Battle Against Covid-19

A Lean Global Network team of lean practitioners and coaches shares a set of lean healthcare tips hospitals can use…

What the Covid-Virus Can Teach Us About the Toyota Way

This is a time where people are coming together with a passion and common focus, says Jeff Liker. He shares…

The Lab is Open

Why it's important to create a way to challenge assumptions and develop know-how, solve problems, and continuously improve--even during a…

Developing Awareness on the Gemba

Lean Sensei Sandrine Olivencia shares practical advice on ways to be present and to coach in the moment at the…

Lean and “emotional heijunka” in a Time of Pandemic

In this timely reflection, Jim Womack calls for "emotional heijunka": taking a deep breath, identifying the most important problems that…

How One Company is Using Lean Fundamentals When Facing Disruption

Companies that have been built using lean principles are turning to these core ideals when confronting the unique challenges caused…

Coping with COVID-19: Lessons from The Plague

In this time of pandemic, John Shook shares some ways this novel coronavirus is impacting him personally, noting "For Camus,…

What should I expect as a lean manager?

Dear Gemba Coach: I’m currently a team leader, and I’ve been offered a job as a lean manager – what…

How Can Lean Help Respond to Crises?

Although lean might seem fragile to crises, because of low inventories, it’s quite the opposite, says Michael Balle: Lean thinking…

A Consciousness of Reality

There are countless cases of lean thinking being applied masterfully with the word lean (or the Toyota Production System) nowhere…

Ask Art: What Are the Most Important Management Changes Needed to Implement A Lean Turnaround?

Lean thinking requires a totally different mindset than traditional management, argues lean veteran Art Byrne. This is probably the most…

Respect for People Means Taking Care with Your Questions

Asking effective questions is an art in and of itself, says Karen Gaudet, in this excerpt from her new book,…

Isn’t the obsession with problem solving unnecessarily negative and depressing?

Dear Gemba Coach: Isn’t the obsession with problem solving unnecessarily negative and depressing?

32. Coachable: A Model Story, Coaching Work Improvement

An excellent study in masterful coaching on the floor where the work happens.

5S Is a Way of Thinking and Practice

It would be impossible to find a valid description of lean that does not include the importance of 5S for…

Ask Art: At What Pace Should A Lean Turnaround Be Implemented?”

Changing from a traditional batch, make-the-month culture to a lean value driven culture takes a lot of time and effort,…

The Power of Ma in Creating Cognitive Space

When we lead with respect for people, we need to truly understand that people work in different ways, argues Jim…

How Are You Supporting Your Own Lean Transformation?

When someone in our organization complains about something we hand them a Kaizen card, shares Lisa Yerian of the Cleveland…

Feeling the Gemba Magic

After months of work at the gemba with his factory manager helping line workers grapple with problems, CEO Nicolas Chartier…

Tales Of Lean, Chapter One: Facing the Problem

What is the best way for a lean coach to support and guide her team? In this fictional tale of…

Questions and Coaching on A3 Thinking

In this Q&A, LEI's Deborah McGee shares insights into A3 thinking and problem-solving: "The A3 Management process is really a…

I’ve just been named team leader with zero training and my team is not co-located – where should I start?

Dear Gemba Coach: I’ve just been named team leader with zero training and my team is not co-located – where…

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…

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…

Stop Asking Your Leaders to “Support” Your Lean Transformation

Helping others with shared work tied to broad improvement goals can be challenging for lean leaders. Continuous Improvement Director Lisa…

What should I look for so I don’t get burned taking a lean director’s job?

Dear Gemba Coach,I’ve been offered the job of a lean director in an industrial group. The offer sounds very attractive,…

The Ingredients of Lean

Lean practitioner Steve Brenneman finds shared values in his Mennonite faith and his lean practice: a strong set of values…

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…

Ask Art: Aren’t You a Little “Old School” in Your Kaizen Approach To Implementing Lean Thinking?

When you say “kaizen is old school” you may be seriously off track, argues Art Byrne. Focusing on tools like…

Do standards make any sense in a creative industry?

Dear Gemba Coach,Do standards make any sense in a creative industry, such as code development?

Why We Believe that Lean is About Changing Our Own Behaviors, and Not Just Accumulating New Knowledge

Lean repeatedly pushes us to develop new competences (or recover lost know-hows) through kaizen and problem solving. This collection of…

Flaatnes Elektro-Mek Reveals How Double Loop Learning Supports Lean Thinking and Practice

Every experience is a learning experience. However, we tend to only experience single-loop learning where we reaffirm what we already…

Improving Engagement One Kaizen at a Time

Engaging the employees at all levels with a clear and realistic understanding of how they inspire, drive and support getting…

Cultivating Intuition at the Gemba

Our trainers conditioned us to water the seed of experience and use it not just to fire-fight but rather be…

And Now For Something Completely…Lean

Lean practice is no joke, argues Brent Wahba. And yet he draws lessons from great comedy to help address this…

Learning a New Skill II – The Learning Curve

This 10-minute Toyota Kata video (by Mike Boyd and his wife) is a clever visual description of the typical learning…

3 Steps We Took to Change the Company Culture

The Lean Digital Transformation webinar with Bruno Guicardi, co-founder and president of technology services company CI&T, drew a global audience…

Take Baby Steps Towards Improvement

As you think about your 2019 resolutions, ask yourself if you’re making the change too big and, therefore, too scary,…

Why We Believe People-Free Plants and Services Prevent Learning

We (Lean Sensei Women) are a group of women from different continents, horizons, and professions who share a commitment to…

Soliciting Suggestions in Ways That Don’t Backfire

Sometimes well-intentioned lean activities like asking for suggestions can backfire; Cheryl Jekiel shares specific ways to prevent mishandling ideas from…

Seafood Restaurant Fishes for Problems Customers Really Care About

The executive chef at Legal Sea Foods explains how the restaurants are cutting lead times from fishing boat to your…

“We Are Unique”

While many people see Lean as applicable only in limited industries and situations and therefore can’t work in their unique…

Ask Art: Does Lean Really Work in A Non-manufacturing Company?

All companies and organizations, whether manufacturing or not, are nothing more than a group of people and a bunch of…

Jishuken, Part Two: The Power of Self-Learning

Consider Jishuken to be an intensive effort to drive individuals and the organization to a higher level, says Mark Reich,…

Is agile project management simply lean thinking applied to software development?

Dear Gemba Coach: You seem to distinguish between agile and lean, but to my understanding, agile is simply lean thinking…

Not Every Problem Is a “Nail” But Companies Typically Reach for the Same Old “Hammer”

Learn how you can avoid the frustrating, ineffective, but widespread “hammer-and-nail” problem-solving pitfall by recognizing four main problem types so…

Developing Meta-Habits at Baptist Memorial Memphis Hospital Emergency Department

After teeing up a problem in the Baptist Memorial Memphis Hospital ED using a Kata routine, Nursing Manager Melanie Mays…

Lean Transformation? Not Buying It

Companies often describe their transformation efforts in terms of an end-state: focusing on targeted results. They see transformation as a…

How Does Asking Questions Create Change?

Lean is not a sum of processes to acquire and apply which then will make things magically work better. It’s…

We mapped a process, improved it, but six months later, performance is as bad as it was before – what are we missing?

Dear Gemba Coach: We’ve drawn the value-stream map of one of our complex production processes (17 steps), identified the key…

Ep. 11 Closing the Learning Gap with Steven Spear

Today's podcast features a conversation about closing learning gaps between LEI's CEO Eric Beuhrens and Steve Spear. Steve is author…

Fresh Eyes Bring Lean Problems into Clarity

“Fresh eyes” reviews are an indispensible part of developing new value. It’s amazing what you can learn from the input…

As Toast Kaizen Turns 20, Bruce Hamilton Shares How This Famous Video Came About

Watch this "director's cut" video by Bruce Hamilton sharing the backstory behind what has become a classic lean resource: Toast…

PD C+ A+ In the Classroom

Looking back on her time as a teacher through a lean lens, the author suggests how the process of education…

Clarifying the ‘5 Whys’ Problem-Solving Method

This brief animation offers a detailed explanation of one way to discover a problem's root cause.

Is lean problem solving different from regular problem solving?

Dear Gemba Coach: How is lean problem solving any different from regular problem-solving?

Expanding Our Perspective on Lean Management, Part 2: Lean has its Roots in Spirituality

To explore the idea that there may be other angles for understanding lean management than business or analytical perspectives, a…

Ep. 4: Tracey and Ernie Richardson with John Shook Live at the Lean Transformation Summit

Tracey and Ernie Richardson, authors of the Toyota Engagement Equation join John Shook on the main stage at the Lean…

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…

Your Consultant Doesn’t Have the Answers

Inspired by a true story from his tenure at the Toyota Production System Support Center, LEI Senior Coach Mark in…

Doing Versus Being – How Mindfulness Supports Better Lean Thinking

Most companies don’t get the expected results from their lean transformations, according to Mike Orzen, lean practitioner and LEI faculty…

Your Favorite Lean Posts of 2017: A Lean Post Holiday Special

2017 has seen another terrific year of content on the Lean Post. Over the past 12 months we've released dozens…

Advice from the Gemba: Getting More Suggestions without Incentivizing Employees

Improving the work is difficult, if not impossible, without suggestions from those who actually do the work. But in many…

The “Playbook” of Sustaining Change

In a world where most lean transformations fail, what can we do to learn from others' mistakes and help our…

It Starts Within: The Lean Journey of CI&T

The lean transformation of Brazilian tech company CI&T was unique in that it began with an implementation of hoshin kanri.…

What do you recommend — clarify roles and responsibilities first or reengineer the process first and then define R&R?

Dear Gemba Coach: What do you recommend – clarify roles and responsibilities first or reengineer the process first and then…

As a facilitator, how much do I have to know about an area targeted for improvement?

Dear Gemba Coach: As a lean "facilitator" in my organization, how important is it to gain a deep understanding of…

5S – The Way to Start Your Lean Journey…or Is It?

Many people think that a 5S implementation is the perfect way to kickstart a full lean transformation. It can be…

The Art of Silent Observation

Silent observation is not as intuitive as it may sound. Andrew Quibell often meets people who think it's as simple…

Follow-up Webinar Q&A with Jim Lancaster, Lantech CEO and author of the Work of Management

"The Real Work of Management" webinar drew an engaged audience that wanted to know more about the daily management system…

Why do lean management experts differ on how to apply lean principles?

Dear Gemba Coach: I’ve worked with several managers who worked at Toyota or Toyota suppliers who were considered experts in…

5 Steps to Empowering Your Team

Empowering an entire team can seem daunting, but it doesn't have to be. You just need a good background understanding…

Manager-Employee Communication: What Neuroscience Tells Us

Delving deeper into how humans’ innate social need to be connected and accepted explains why and how a managers’ interactions…

Shouldn’t lean focus on solutions, rather than problems?

Dear Gemba Coach: Why is lean so focused on problem solving? Isn’t seeing everything as a problem negative? Shouldn’t we…

What Too Many Lean Leaders Forget about Gemba Walks

Lean Coach Darren Walsh of the UK's Lean Enterprise Academy has seen many lean leaders make a troubling, yet highly…

Developing Better Habits Using A3 Thinking

Think A3 thinking is only for solving organizational problems? Think again! LEI faculty Katie Anderson shares her secrets for using…

Launching and Sustaining a Lean “Pop-Up”

"It’s not unusual for a lean leader or lean practitioner to feel alone, especially in a company or enterprise early…

How do we deal with a command-and-control boss?

Dear Gemba Coach: Our boss always says, “It’s not my job to tell you how to do yours!” But then…

Ask Art: Is there a formula to predict or evaluate the success of a lean implementation?

Art Byrne is often asked how to best measure the success of a lean transformation -- but does such a…

We meet daily to examine a new customer complaint. What do we do next?

Dear Gemba Coach: We’re a start-up and have taken your advice: we now have a customer wall and we meet…

Does lean change how you think about business?

Dear Gemba Coach: I can see that lean changes how one thinks about business, but can’t quite put my finger…

A Thriving Community of Practice – Book Report

I am often asked why the “lean movement” has outlasted so many business improvement movements that have come and gone.…

Ask Art: How high is up with lean?

Art Byrne explains that continuous improvement really is continuous and that there is no limit to the “up” in lean.

Six Personal Kanban Habits to Avoid

Jim Benson, kanban specialist, shares the six most common mistakes found on kanban boards.

What are your three most important problems?

Dear Gemba Coacg: What should I look for during a gemba walk?

Scientific Thinking for Everyone

Scientific thinking is not difficult, it's just not our default mode. Anyone can learn to think more scientifically, by practicing…

Lean Expansion: Spreading Lean from One Store to a Region at Starbucks

Scaling up is a challenge often talked about in lean circles. How can we best leverage our individual or small-scale…

Big Problems? Start Small

"In problem solving, we’re taught to ask a simple question, “Is this problem within my scope of control?” If yes,…

Ask Art: How is lean the opposite of everything people have been trained to do?

Art Byrne explains why, and how, lean practice is the opposite of what most people have learned about work in…

3 Common Problems in Government that A3 Thinking Can Help Solve

I’m always surprised at how little the public sector uses A3 thinking to tackle their toughest challenges. It’s the same…

Why Yoda Was Wrong

Aspects of lean can be found almost anywhere - even in a galaxy far, far away. Inspired by a new…

What Do I Tell My Leaders When Experiments Fail?

When experiments fail, it's natural for a leadership team to get nervous. But in the context of lean, they shouldn't…

Does a lean transformation boost a company’s stock price?

Dear Gemba Coach: You’ve worked with a lot of different companies in the public and private sectors. How have the…

Just Trying “Stuff” Is Not A Real Experiment

"Today it seems like you can’t throw a stick of butter without hitting someone who is “running a lean experiment”…

What is leader standard work?

Dear Gemba Coach: Is there such thing as a leader standard work, and, if so, what is it?

A3 Thinking Roundup

Following last week's immensely popular Posts on the origins of A3 thinking, LEI Senior Editor Tom Ehrenfeld compiles a collection…

The Crucible of Innovation

Innovation is key to a successful successful development project, we always read. But innovation is a fickle term that gets…

Ask Art: Is There More to Becoming Lean than Conducting Kaizen Events?

Kaizen events may be a key part of lean transformation, but they're certainly not the only aspect of it. They're…

Lean Transformation: Have You Hit the “Lean Plateau?”

After realizing that that their five-year track record of continuous improvement was leveling out, Craig Stritar and his team knew…

Where Does Our Curiosity Go?

As children we seem to be naturally curious and try things in a kind of scientific manner, but as we…

Raised by Toyota: A Question and Answer with Tracey and Ernie Richardson

In this extended interview, Toyota veterans Tracey and Ernie Richardson share how they learned at the source, explain how they…

Why Value-Stream Mapping is So Difficult in the Public Sector

Identifying value in an organization isn't the easiest task to accomplish. If you happen to work in the public sector,…

Is Lean Getting “Fat?”

"Yes, lean has successfully spread around the world and gone from manufacturing to nearly every other type of value stream,"…

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…

Ask Art: What’s So Important About Standard Work?

Standard work is one of the cornerstones of a lean transformation. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's fully appreciated. "People…

How to Avoid Team Disinterest and Management Disappointment with Huddles

Team huddles are rapidly becoming a day-to-day staple in the lean organization. But too often the problem-solving aspect of huddles…

5 Common Signs of a Novice Kata Practice

An example of an Improvement and Coaching Kata practice illustrates five common themes found in novice-level practice.

Your Value Stream Map Looks a Little Different…

If you think there’s a different way of applying a tool, ask, “Are we changing the tool to prevent us…

Kata Classics: The Improvement Kata in 10 Minutes

Bill Costantino's classic explanation of the Improvement Kata is back, now as a video.

Watch John Shook’s Keynote at Lean Construction Institute’s 17th Annual Congress!

This past October, LEI Chairman and CEO John Shook delivered a keynote at Lean Construction Institute's 17th Annual Congress in…

No Shortcuts: Creating a Lean Environment the Right Way

As much as we may wish there was a way to pull off a lean transformation with only a basic…

Put Your People at The Center of Your Development System

"It is your people that provide the skills, energy and creativity," writes Jim Morgan. "They are the single most important…

How can I speed up my team’s lean learning?

Dear Gemba Coach: How can I speed up my team’s lean learning?

Why you can’t convince your boss to support lean activities, unless …

Dear Gemba  Coach: I work as a deployment champion in a manufacturing company, but I don’t have the support of…

Narrowing the Scope of Kaizen Activities

Are you having trouble implementing kaizen activities? If so, the solution could be as simple as narrowing down your targets…

Key Traits and Behaviors of Great Lean Consultants

"If you want to accelerate your lean practice I highly recommend reaching out to a good lean consultant to serve…

Is your obeya room used for real learning or as a glorified action plan?

Dear Gemba Coach: How can I use an obeya for learning rather than for project management?

Lean in Japan: The Benefit of an Outsider’s View

"Sometimes when we know a process, culture, or organization too deeply, we struggle to view things as they actually are..."…

What Type of a Leader Do You Choose to Be?

Plenty of people want to become better leaders. Few people want to change. Michael Bremer shares his advice for more…

6 Ways to Lay the Groundwork for More Effective Meetings

"Even in organizations working hard in pursuit of lean production systems [and] employee capability development – the failure to host…

Hazards at the Huddle Board: How to Coach a Team Away from “Fast Thinking” to Disciplined PDCA

Lean practitioner David Verble, an LEI faculty member and former HR manager at Toyota, is noticing that problem-solving at huddle…

The Lean Genie Problem

"For leaders and CI professionals, it’s not practical to rely on the team you’re working with to institute every change…

THE ROLE OF ‘CHALLENGE’ IN THE IMPROVEMENT KATA

The first step of the Improvement Kata, "Understand the Direction or Challenge," is often overlooked, yet it is the important context…

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…

Using Cynefin to Solve Problems While Navigating Uncertainty

Kim Ballestrin, an agile coach, explains how her team at Telstra (an Australian telecommunications and IT company) uses a problem…

Safety Through Gemba

"When I do a gemba walk, I don’t necessarily ask questions about safety," writes Brian Fitzpatrick (a director of Health…

Redefining Work

We need to think about redefining work. Until we – anyone who wishes to bring about organizational change – redefine…

My management team feels tense and pressured about going to the gemba. Is this normal?

Dear Gemba Coach: I’ve decided to take my management team to the gemba to get them to solve real problems…

The Messenger is As Important as the Message

What do people look for in a change agent that will help them be more open to the risky business…

Just-in-Time Roundup: Great Lean Reads From Across the Web (Vol. 7)

Five recent articles from across the web to help you reflect on your organization's approach to lean transformation or your…

Continuous Improvement is Good, But Is It Lean?

Take a look at your organization. Is Lean clearly directed and connected to strategy? Are senior leaders directly involved in…

5 Ways to Help Every Team Member Contribute Ideas for Improving Work

"Engaging staff in problem identification and suggestions for improvement is essential for any organization," writes Dan Fleming, Continuous Improvement Manager…

KATA AT HOME

Start 'em Early! Create Scientific Thinkers. The Improvement Kata & Coaching Kata's practice routines for scientific thinking can be applied…

Rich Sheridan on How to Succeed by Building a Strong Learning Culture

Rich Sheridan, CEO of the software company Menlo Innovations, talks with LEI's Chet Marchwinski about Menlo's unique learning culture, taking…

Effective Supervision 101

One of the biggest challenges for lean thinkers is translating lean thinking into lean doing, writes Stan Shaw. One of…

How do I set up an obeya room?

Dear Gemba Coach: I’d like to set up an obeya room – where should I start? What’s the simplest way…

Why Effective Problem Solving Begins With a Good Problem Statement

"Let’s solve world peace" or "let’s state our predetermined solution as a problem" aren't real problem statements, says Dave LaHote.…

Just-in-Time Roundup: Great Lean Reads from Across the Web (Vol. 3)

LEI editors have gathered another five articles that either teach us something new about lean practice or show us where…

HOW KATA FITS IN

With this month's SlideShare Mike and Jeff address a common question in the Lean community: "How do the Improvement Kata…

GTS⁶ + E³ = DNA (Break the Code for Standardization, Sustainability, and Kaizen)

There's no "formula" for doing Lean well, but there are principles and practices that keep you on track. Read Tracey…

The Five Poisons of Big Company Disease

What's "big company disease"? The tendency of any large company to worry about clearly defined territories, rules and procedures, and…

Innovation at Smartphone Speed

Ever wonder what it takes to make those smartphone chips? Learn how IBM continuously improves smartphone technology using lean thinking…

I Don’t Know What I Don’t Know, But Spread the Word

In her first piece for the Post, Lesa Nichols reflects on one of her most powerful learning experiences while working…

What Does “Waste” in Government Processes Mean Anyway?

"It is commonplace in the US Federal Government to see placards and signs admonishing us to be on guard for…

PDCA is the Breath of Lean

"PDCA is to Lean what breathing is to human beings," writes Mark Donovan. This is why it's important to practice…

Structured Experiments Into the Unknown

"For years we tried to find situations where we could apply lean tools," writes Linus Brodén of HP Tronic, an…

How Lean Tools Support the Principle of Respect (Part 2)

We first met Andy Ward when he was struggling to save his plant from closure in The Lean Manager. Since…

How Lean Tools Support the Principle of Respect (Part 1)

We first met Andy Ward when he was struggling to save his plant from closure in The Lean Manager. Since…

I fail to see the difference between hoshin kanri and the strategic planning we used to do. What am I missing?

Dear Gemba Cocah: My boss has hired a consultant to take us through the Hoshin Kanri process. So far, I…

Communicating With Respect

Effective communication is key when it comes to lean learning. Give people too much information, too soon and you lose…

Why Skill-Based Learning is Harder Than You Think

Lean practitioner Joel Gross explains why skill-based learning (like learning how to problem solve using PDSA) requires active, hands-on practice…

What’s new in your new novel “Lead With Respect”?

Dear Gemba Coach: I see that you have a new lean management novel out called “Lead With Respect.” What's new…

Doing Lean Versus Becoming Lean

"We know from experience that Lean is fundamentally driven by a change in company culture," writes Jim Luckman, "not a…

We found your visit rather challenging … does “real” lean have to be such a struggle?

Dear Gemba Coach: The question I’m facing internally is whether “real” lean needs to be that challenging or is there…

A Body Needs Skeleton and Muscle to Work

How do you create alignment across the organization when you have separate departments, value streams, and executives with conflicting priorities?…

Autoliv: Giving Power to the People

A case study looks at how Autoliv developed and sustained a lean-problem solving culture and how this global company shares…

Leadership Q&A: Thomas Hartman, Senior Director, Autoliv Americas

From the LEI senior executive series on Lean Leadership: Autoliv’s Thomas Hartman describes the development of a lean problem solving…

Three Steps Toward Lean Culture Change

"Culture change typically isn’t greeted with open arms unless there is a crisis to provide a sense of urgency," writes…

Challenge: Understand and Adapt for Sales Pace Growth

It's our first Lean Challenge post! Come up with a plan to help a machining business deal with the technical…

Lean Talks: Problem Solving with ThoughtWorks

Kevin Kriner, an agile project manager at ThoughtWorks, gives a short "Lean Talk" on what he's learned about root cause…

Hanging Up My Cape

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

Why Lean Startup Experiments are Hard to Design

Grace Ng, co-founder of Javelin (a software and services company dedicated to implementing Lean Startup), reflects on what she's learned…

Ask Art: How Do We Prevent Backsliding?

Backsliding is inevitable. "The key is to anticipate the backslide and take early, aggressive, organized steps to prevent it from…

Think Like Judoka

"Resistance in an organization can be a daunting foe to even the most highly skilled Lean practitioners," writes Joel Gross.…

I’ve heard you say the quality department is the worst enemy of quality. I find this offensive.

Dear Gemba Coach: I’m in the quality department of a large company and I’ve heard you say quality is the…

Managing By Not Wandering Around

“We’re still very early in our journey,” says Dan McDonnell, VP of Operational Excellence at Ingersoll Rand. “But we’re following…

Leadership Q&A: Gary Peterson, executive vice president, supply chain and operations, O.C. Tanner

From the LEI senior executive series on lean leadership:Gary Peterson, executive vice president, supply chain and production at O.C. Tanner, describes…

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…

Transforming Transformation

We are all trying to transform. That's what lean thinking and practice are all about: challenging us to reflect deeply…

Standardized Work for Kaizen: Define, Achieve, Maintain, Improve

We can all agree that kaizen (continuous improvement to create more value with less waste) is important, but do you…

In Lean and On the Green, Adaptability is Key

What parallels can be drawn between lean learning and achievement on the golf course? The concept of continuous improvement is…

Managing to Reboot Leadership

"Despite sweeping changes to the business environment and real threats to organizational sustainability, too many managers remain stuck in traditional…

Talking Lean with a Neuroscientist

How do we turn large, complicated, risky projects into catalysts for learning and innovation? Lean IT expert Steve Bell reflects…

Can a pull system with zero stock make the company more fragile?

Dear Gemba Coach: Can a pull system with zero stock make the company more fragile?

How do you define respect for people?

Dear Gemba Coach: Can you be more specific about “respect” in lean? The term is being used in our company…

It’s Your Career, Own the Work

If an employee doesn’t have a vision for his or her own career, strengths and weaknesses, and development needs, why…

What do effective leaders actually do every day? GTS⁴

So many of us know the value of lean thinking and practice, but what do lean leaders actually do every…

Should I use an A3 report to kick off a problem-solving effort?

Dear Gemba Coach: Should I use an A3 report to kick off a problem? I encourage my managers to tell…

Engaging Physicians to Solve Real Problems in Healthcare

Trained in the scientific method, practical to the core, focused on the patient--one would think physicians would be the first…

Leading and Learning the Toyota Way

Lean coach and LEI faculty member, Tracey Richardson, tells us why a learner's attitude is essential for effective leadership and…

Patients First (Part II)

Writing in the Huffington Post, Karl Ohaus, a co-author of Perfecting Patient Journeys, poses 7 questions to ask at the…

Jim Womack discusses the state of the lean movement, and compares the A3 management process with traditional modern management

Addressing workshop attendees during a lunch break, Jim Womack, management expert and Lean Enterprise Institute founder, discusses the state of…

PRACTICAL APPROACH FOR STRATEGY DEPLOYMENT

This SlideShare is almost equivalent to a workbook. Download it, study it, and discover how your organization can (finally) achieve…

How do I convince senior management to visit the shop floor?

Dear Gemba Coach: How do I convince my senior management to get interested in our kaizen projects? In fact, how…

From Isolation to Community: Jim Womack on the Future of Work

Developing PDSA Capabilities

Improvement kata and A3 management have become popular ways for developing and practicing plan-do-study (or check)-act capabilities. What’s the connection…

What Is Your Purpose? Who Is Your Audience?

In this article, the third in a series of starting your A3, sensei David Verble suggest that you reflect more…

Think Before You Leap

In this second of a series on getting started with your A3, coach David Verble shares why clarifing what you…

How Can Our Back Office Sustain Lean?

Dear Gemba Coach: The improvement program at the back office of the bank where I am a lean facilitator is…

RETIRE THE PDCA WEDGE?

Thank you LEI for letting us share ideas & findings. Some things we in the Lean community have learned to…

It seems that lean these days is all about learning and coaching. What about the good ol’-fashioned just-in-time stuff of the earlier days?

Dear Gemba Coach: It seems that lean these days is all about learning and coaching. What about the good ol'-fashioned…

How Do We Sustain A3 Thinking in our Organization?

Dear Gemba Coach: My firm has been investing a lot of time and energy this year in teaching A3 thinking…

Top athletes and singers have coaches. Should you?

Surgeon Atul Gawande explains why he got a coach and why everyone’s work would benefit from having one.

Why Create Poka-yokes—and Why Disconnect Them?

I’m a manufacturing engineer and since I have started participating in kaizen workshops, I have noticed that production supervisors tend…

What Are the Different Types of A3s?

What are the different types of A3s and what are they used for?

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…

For Lean Thinkers, “Clutch” Offers Lessons in Planning and Leading

Read an excerpt from Paul Sullivan's new book Clutch: Why Some People Excel Under Pressure and Others Don't, discussing what…

Lean Continuous Improvement as Culture

Author David Verble shares three fundamental ways that a lean culture bases its practice of continuous improvement on the principle…

Want A Problem Solving Culture? Try Leading From the Middle

I spent fifteen years working with Toyota in North American and Japan, and discovered first-hand one of the most powerful…

Are You Pulling?

Dear Gemba Coach:  We’ve made a substantial effort in training all our operators to standardized work (SW) by deploying Training Within…

LEAN = TPS {KAIZEN + RESPECT}

Dear Gemba Coach: In the webinar, you’ve defined LEAN = KAIZEN + RESPECT. Isn’t it simplistic? Is that all there is…

Role of the Sensei

Dear Gemba Coach: I often wonder how senseis skip to new areas--from the shop floor to the back office, or…

Standards at workstations

Dear Gemba Coach: Our corporate production system asks us to post standard work at workstations, but we feel that the paperwork…

How Do You Find – or Develop – the Right Sensei to Lead Lean?

Dear Gemba Coach: We have become skilled at indicating what goes wrong, but solving the problems is not our strength.…

The Business Case for Kaizen

Dear Gemba Coach: I can see the benefits kaizen has brought our company, but find it hard to formulate the…

So Long 2009 – Hello 2010!

Whew, what a year! Most everyone I know is eager to escort the hard times of 2009 out the door…

Is Lean Scientific?

Dear Gemba Coach: I often hear that lean is like the scientific method. As a lean consultant, I facilitate kaizen events,…

Where do I start?

Dear Gemba Coach: I'm the operations manager of a healthcare training company. We conduct technical training to nurses in hospitals. We've…

Five Missing Pieces in Your Standardized Work (Part 2 of 3)

John Shook delves more deeply into two of the five most often neglected elements, demonstrating the importance of practice and…

How Do We Reduce Costs with Lean?

Dear Gemba Coach: I have been asked to reduce the cost of a product by a significant amount. I believe…

How Much Control Do I Need (and Need to Give Up) to Lead?

Dear Gemba Coach: I am interested in setting up a team for implementing lean. So far I have been trying…

Toyota’s Secret: The A3 Report

The A3 report, with its logical series of boxes and graphics, looks simple in layout but the underlying thought process…

Recruiting Creative Ideas

Comparing GM's and Toyota's approach to suggestion systems reveals significant differences — and may help explain GM's recent poor performance.

It Takes 2 (or more) to A3

No one can create a useful A3 in isolation. It takes at least two individuals and often many more. Developing…

Jumping to Solutions

We are all guilty of one of the greatest sins with lean – not having the patience to really understand…

Creating Lean Healthcare

Ten years ago this month I made a visit to the Mayo Clinic’s large medical complex in Rochester, Minnesota. I…

The Big Opportunity

I started studying manufacturing performance††26 years ago this fall. We set out at MIT to perform the most exhaustive and…

Lean Consumption, Lean Provision, and Lean Solutions

Here’s some good news for the Lean Community. I was recently in Spain where I toured a facility belonging to…

Lean Beyond the Factory

I've been thinking a lot recently about just what a business really is.  As a lean process thinker, my best…

An LEI New Year’s Resolution: No Wallpaper!

I've resolved that in 2002 no one in the lean community will turn their value stream maps into corporate wallpaper…

Shopping for a Sensei

We at LEI have been getting a lot of requests recently to help companies find lean expertise for harder times.…

Lead from the Front, Lead from Behind

In my last letter I alluded to a common view in the Lean Community – shared by the broader business…

Building a Learning Organization with Kata

Baptist Memorial Hospital uses kata to build an "army of problem solvers." Here's the "meta-routine" they follow and a few…

A Postcard — with Leadership Insights — from Nashville

A look back at LEI’s Lean Transformation Summit in 2018 shares a few tips from CEO keynoters on how to…

Understanding the Many Facets of ‘the A3’

A review of the many ways lean practitioners refer to this core lean practice reveals its versatility — and why…

Learning From The Sensei Way at Work

Seek perfection by cultivating a daily discipline of mindfulness, whether in lean practice or Buddhist training, writes John Shook in…

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…

Becoming the Change: Talking Healthcare Transformation with Kim Barnas and John Toussaint on the WLEI Podcast

In this WLEI podcast, Becoming the Change authors Kim Barnas and John Toussaint discuss the personal challenges facing healthcare leaders…

Mining the Lessons From Designing the Future

Designing the Future shares a wealth of insights that transcend product development minutiae; this articles shares the broader argument presented…

Beyond ‘Linear’ Intelligence: Learning Lean Through Shared Experiments and Improvements

Learning entails far more than a linear set of directions from one person to another, argues LEI's Masia Goodman, who…

How the A3 Process Developed to Help Build Better Managers

One of the hallmarks of a successfully executed A3 process is that it is a collaborative activity--a learning process for…

Making Your Work Work in the First 90 Days

In your first 90 days as a lean leader, what path will you take to support transformation? Andrew Quibell details…

Why Product Focus is Customer Focus

How can you know your entire organization is aligned around delivering best in class value to your customer? Your product…

Exploring the Technical and Nontechnical Challenges of Being a Chief Engineer, a Candid Conversation with Two CEs (Part 2)

Chief engineers typically have strong technical skills to effectively lead and manage the work of engineers, designers, and other developers.…

Reimagining restaurants after Covid-19

The future has never looked more uncertain for restaurants and cafes. The authors share a set of practical lean tips…

Nine Lessons from Steady Work

In her book Steady Work, Karen Gaudet discusses nine key lessons for practicing lean. Here she discusses these key principles.

Be More Innovative with These Resources and Ideas for Exploiting World-Shaping Trends

Great products and services begin with great ideas and great ideas are informed by the big trends that are shaping…

Ask Art: How Does Lean Bring the Customer Directly Onto the Shop Floor?

The lean approach reduces setup times, creates flow, improves quality, lowers cost and drastically shortens lead times, says Art Byrne,…

Should I be worried that management is buying software for virtual gemba walks?

Dear Gemba Coach: A consultant is selling us “virtual gemba walks” software to schedule gemba visits with a “leader standardized…

Rivian: The Electric-Vehicle Company Taking the Auto Industry by Storm

In this podcast, Rivian Founder and CEO R.J. Scaringe and former COO Jim Morgan discuss the challenges of forming a…

The Value of A Visual Schedule is Developing Shared Understanding

People closest to the work should understand it best, so they are in the best position to share what the…

Share Best Thinking Rather than Best Practices

Lean Coach Karen Gaudet argues that Best Practices don't always align with Best Thinking, and suggests that "the next time…

Dealing with Standard Costing in Lean Organizations

If you are in the accounting department in a lean manufacturing company, and your company uses a standard costing system,…

Learning from Toyota Way Principles versus Copying Toyota Practices

Toyota is an exceptional company, says Jeff Liker, who argues that the way of thinking is a model to learn…

How Do Lean CEOs Learn To Improve?

What, and how, do I have to learn? This key question confronts all CEOs who are practicing lean seriously, argues…

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…

Book Review: The Toyota Engagement Equation by Tracey and Ernie Richardson

In their book The Toyota Engagement Equation, authors Tracey and Ernie Richardson don’t hit you over the head telling you…

Lean Thinkers Are Systems Thinkers

Lean thinkers are systems thinkers, argues Rich Sheridan: "Intentional cultures thrive when the simple systems put in place reinforce every…

How can there be standards — or kaizen — in a service job when no two instances are the same?

Dear Gemba Coach: I’m in a service job and I struggle with the idea of standards. I read that there…

Join the Conversation and Stop the Rework

In the spring of 1997, as I was starting the nonprofit Lean Enterprise Institute, I visited a company that I…

What Do Managers Do?

After walking the gemba with sensei Hideshi Yokoi, Matt Savas learned three basic agreements between workers and management, and shared…

Can Smart Manufacturing Replace the Art of Go and See?

Continuous improvement in a manufacturing environment has to happen at the spot where the work took place, shares Dave Westphal,…

How Accounting “Squirrels” Can Ferret Out Waste

While other functions are busy as beavers looking for waste during a lean transformation, your accounting staff is like a…

No Mani Pedi, But Keepers Improve Elephant Foot Washing

Supporting process owners includes stepping in for zoo keepers when their better idea for washing an elephant’s foot gets rejected…

Lean Production Begins with LPPD

To create a "turbo-charged product-creating machine, start by designing clear processes with useful tools and a “people first” culture--which form…

Are You Building High-Performing Teams?

Building high-performance teams enhances organizational success and creates a fulfilling experience for members. This article highlights key traits of successful…

Getting Started with Lean Product and Process Development

Learning and applying the concepts of LPPD is no different than learning any other new skill in life, says Andy…

Season 2 Ep. 1 Leadership at the Gemba with Scott Heydon and John Shook

Former Starbucks Executive and Senior Coach at LEI Scott Heydon, joined author and LEI Chairman John Shook for a last…

Book Review: Four Types of Problems

If you are developing a problem solver in your personal life or on your team, or if you’re continuously developing…

Use Lean Development Principles to Avoid “Traveling Hopefully” Down the Wrong Path

Lean development is less about creating highly detailed plans based on things you can’t possibly know in the beginning of…

Does it matter if we call lean “lean”?

Dear Gemba Coach: If it works, why worry if it’s called lean, operational excellence, or the company’s excellence system? As…

The Escalator of Issues

A daily management system with daily performance metrics gives caregivers the sense that managers are really paying attention, that problems…

I’m thinking about outsourcing some administrative activities to be more flexible, but what does lean say about outsourcing?

Dear Gemba Coach: Financial results do not allow me to have excess people. After two years of struggling, I'm thinking…

Ugly Babies, Silent Enemies and Other Short Stories from a Continuous Improvement Conference

Besides the lessons, challenges, and results that belong to a company’s lean transformation, there are personal journeys as well. Here’s…

Ask Art: Why Should I Be Able to Make Every Product Every Day?

Working on the goal of "every product every day" helps all companies realize the benefits of lean as a strategy,…

Build Awareness Through Seeing How Eliminating Waste Reduces Costs

As we grow our people we must continue to add new dimensions of thinking to engage them in their work…

As a business unit manager who is new to lean, what is the one thing I must know to get it right?

Dear Gemba Coach: I’m a business unit manager new to lean, and our CEO has decided to embark us on…

Why ‘Yes Chef!’ Is No Longer the Answer

In order to meet the changing demands of today's restaurants, chefs must learn to evolve from old-school methods of the…

The Quiet Factory

Could noise be considered another waste to be reduced in the system? Matt Savas ponders the implications of a Toyota…

Rethinking the Model Line

The model line, once seen as the key to helping organizations learn and share lean thinking, has served a critical…

Why do you keep referring to Toyota; does it still matter?

Dear Gemba Coach:  I’m very interested in lean, but fail to see why you guys keep referring to Toyota. What does…

The Magnificent 7 of Lean Manufacturing

How do you establish stability on a shop floor that’s chaotic? Andrew Quibell recommends “7 manufacturing basics,” his personal selection…

Tips for Proving the Financial Value of Lean to Leadership

Of the many aspects of lean accounting, one that has proven especially useful is the principle of “cost avoidance.” Today…

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways – on a Valentine’s Day A3

The question lean practitioners Tracy and Ernie Richardson get more than any other isn’t about problem-solving, takt time, standardization, or…

Unique Industries Continue to Share and Learn from their Common Challenges: Fall 2017 LPPD Learning Group Activity

The Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI) organized the second Lean Product and Process Development (LPPD) Learning Group event of 2017, which…

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,…

Don’t Start with Tools!

Starting off your lean transformation with one of the various tools at your disposal is certainly tempting. But according to…

Lean Coffee-Inspired Coaching

Lean Coffee has been praised for making meetings more productive by giving all participants a say in creating an agenda…

Follow-up Q&A for Jim Lancaster’s Work of Management Webinar

“The Real Work of Management” webinar drew very engaged attendees who submitted hundreds of questions. We now present some of…

Is lean different from creating a culture of problem-solving?

Dear Gemba Coach: I’m an OD coach interested in lean, and wonder how lean is different from creating a culture…

Real Respect Feels Like Knowing You’re Being Heard

To establish or strengthen a culture of engagement and continuous improvement, leaders must understand that genuinely listening to employees is…

Ask Art: Is there a balance between lean and full automation?

As a followup to his piece last month dealing with another aspect of lean and automation, Art Byrne now explores…

Why don’t you use plain English instead of confusing Japanese terms such as “monozukuri” or “hitozukuri”?

Dear Gemba Coach: Why do you keep using confusing Japanese terms such as “monozukuri” or “hitozukuri” rather than plain English?…

You can do a lot by doing a few things

"Developing a good strategy and actually executing it is really hard," writes Leslie Barker. "What I didn’t fully realize was…

“Too Busy to Walk the Gemba”

Chris Weisbrod of Catalysis explains why healthcare leaders often claim they're too busy to walk the gemba and shares a…

A Week of Kaizen in Just One Day

"Often when I hear people talk about kaizen, they are under the impression that this is some huge event with…

Getting to Sustainability

Sustaining gains from kaizen thinking is one of the hardest, and certainly most misunderstood, aspects of this work. It’s misunderstood…

An A3 Antidote to the Opiate Epidemic

Opiate use in America has been spiking at an alarming rate. Many healthcare organizations, such as the University of Michigan…

Fresh Baked Lean: The Story of 365 Café’s Lean Transformation

When you think of environments for a lean transformation, does a bakery come to mind? Probably not, but growing pains-plagued…

Fresh Baked Lean: The Story of Cafe365’s Lean Transformation

When you think of environments for a lean transformation, does a bakery come to mind? Probably not, but growing pains-plagued…

Lean Roundup: Jidoka

"Jidoka captures the principle of building quality into the production process—of designing work so that the people making the product…

What should I know about lean management that I won’t find in books?

Dear Gemba Coach: I’m new to lean and reading all I can find about it, but is there something specific…

Reflecting to Learn: Takeaways and Reflections on the A3 Process

In the wake of yesterday's interview with Mr. Isao Yoshino on the roots of the A3 process at Toyota, LEI…

Succeeding by Failing

People often wonder what exactly constitutes "success" in a lean journey - it's a longstanding question. Cam Ford has a…

You Are Not Different: Make universal lean principles work locally

Lean principles are universal, argues Orry Fiume, but the application of them is always local. Don't use this challenge as…

I’m struggling to understand exactly what people mean by a “lean system”?

Dear Gemba Coach: I’m struggling to understand exactly what people mean by a “lean system”?

Value Stream Mapping in a Product Development Context: A Q&A with John Drogosz

Lean Product and Process Development Senior Coach John Drogosz answers countless questions about LPPD every day. Now, in his first…

Accountability: Not What You Think it is…

"When managers and associates hear the term [accountability], they often flinch!" writes Mike Orzen. "This is a major problem for…

What is the difference between standard work and procedures?

Dear Gemba Coach: What is the difference between standard work and procedures?

Lean Fitness: The Individual vs. the Organization

"For both the individual and the organization, the problem is the same," writes Dan Markovitz. "There may be a stated…

You Can’t Learn Lean by Talking About It

Larry Navarre, instructor at Kettering University with 20 years experience in industry, shares what he's learned about teaching lean thinking.

Serious Games

Boaz Tamir (President of Lean Institute Israel) and lean coach Smadar Cohen Isvoranu share their reflections on a recent lean…

The Lean Power Stance

"Yoga is more than the physical movement of postures," writes Rachael McKay, an industrial engineer at lululemon athletica and yogi.…

Lean Thinking in Construction: From “What” & “How” to “Why”?

"Construction is fraught with conditions of poor quality, cost overruns, and late projects," says Nick Masci of Lean Construction Institute.…

Why Leadership Needs to Drive the Bus

"Lean change can start from the bottom-up, I won’t say that it can’t, but the situation needs to flip quickly…

Training as a Crutch

Your organization has a problem. Something has gone wrong. A process that was previously working fine is no longer working.…

Too Busy to Improve

"The number of people I meet who tell me, 'I don’t have time to make improvements to my work,' amazes…

Using TWI Job Instruction to Supplement CDC Guidelines

"Healthcare organizations across the country have been implementing lean practice into their work, but not without some resistance," writes Patrick…

How should I accelerate my own learning?

Dear Gemba Coach: How should I accelerate my own learning?

What? My Pull System Is Supposed to Fail?

Dear Gemba Coach: We’ve given up on installing a pull system – every time we try, our on time delivery…

“How ThedaCare Created Its Own Management System”, Follow-Up Q&A

Kim Barnas, author of Beyond Heroes: A Lean Management System for Healthcare, answers questions that we couldn't get to during…

Why One Startup Will Never “Change the World”

Nathan Rothstein, co-founder of Project Repat, calls for founders to stop pitching their companies as "world-changing" charitable organizations. Businesses should…

What is the worst mistake you’ve made on the gemba?

Dear Gemba Coach: What is the worst mistake you’ve made on the gemba?

Starting Up, Growing Up, and Starting Over

In an essay first published in Gemba Walks (2nd Ed) and adapted for the Post, LEI founder and thought leader…

Lean Transformation Starts with a Learning Culture

After attending a Lean Applied to Sales seminar, Tina Roach and Pete Mangan of ProMed Molded Products knew they needed…

What To Do When Executives Think Continuous Improvement Smells Fishy

Top executives are smart, but they don't always see the value of continuous improvement efforts. And continuous improvement professionals don't…

Problem Solving the Airlines

Rarely are process problems so clear as during the holidays! Have ideas for how to improve your air travel experience?…

Getting the Most Out of the 5 Whys

Are your 5 Whys leading you to dead ends? Emmanuel Jallas has some advice on how to really get to…

One Year Later, How Toyota Has Helped Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts

There are few processes that are more critical to get right than those involved in disaster relief. Check out how…

Are You Playing Today’s Game or Yesterday’s?

Are your coaching sessions with your staff inspiring 3-pointers or are they all air? LEI coach Josh Howell has some…

Why Mass Training In Anything Doesn’t Work

So you’re excited about Lean and want to show your commitment by training all of your people. LEI’s Director of…

Practicing What We Teach

"Do all Lean practitioners practice what they teach?" Maybe, maybe not. Tracey Richardson tries to as much as she can,…

What problem are you trying to solve?

As human beings, are we basically “programmed” to produce blanket solutions that typically only address symptoms of problems, never to…

Create Your Fantasy Island Organizational Culture

What would your dream organizational culture look like? What about your fantasy lean transformation? Tracey Richardson shares her advice for…

Alice Lee on the Challenges and Rewards of Applying Lean to Healthcare

Alice Lee, VP of Business Transformation at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, discusses BIDMC's unique application of lean…

Starting Points for Different Value Streams

No lean transformation story is the same. Read Dan Jones's take on gaining traction for lean learning within your organization…

Such a Fine Line Between Stupid and Clever

Lean thinking, principles, and experiments show up everywhere and make a real difference, sometimes in places you'd least expect.

Part 2: What is the best lean way to understand VALUE (in terms of what our customers want)?

Dear Gemba Coach,   What is the best lean way to understand VALUE (in terms of what our customers want)

Developing a Problem-Solving Culture at Herman Miller: An Interview with Lean Practitioners George Mason and Dan Bos

In this interview from the Lean Coaching Summit in December 2012, George Mason, a Herman Miller Performance System (HMPS) manager,…

What Exactly Is The Problem You Are Trying To Address?

A3 coach David Verble asks a key question about getting started: do you know exactly what problem you are trying…

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…

Why Do Problem-Solving Projects Fail?

You've probably participated in problem-solving projects that have fallen short of expectations. Why did they fail? Eric Ethington, a fellow…

Creating the Conditions for Effective Lean Learning

If lean is problem-solving and problem-solving is all about learning, lean practitioners must develop a learner's attitude in everything they…

How are Assumptions Framing the Way You Do Business?

Coach Tracey Richardson shares a productive way to examine whether you are dealing with facts or assumptions at the gemba. 

Let Your A3s Lead

Coach Eric Ethington shares how simply getting started with A3s as a means of engaging others in this process is…

How to Change a Culture: Lessons From NUMMI

The editors of MIT Sloan Management Review honored LEI CEO John Shook with the 2011 Beckhard Memorial Award for the…

Fulfillment-Stream Measurement Systems: Driving Action in Real Time

Derek Browning, a lean supply chain executive at LeanCor, takes time out from a lean logistics conference to answer questions…

Method vs. Tool

Dear Gemba Coach: I think that TPM, JIT, SMED, Heijunka are methods and the 5S, VSM Kaizen are tools.  Perhaps…

Making People Before Making Products

Dear Gemba Coach: I keep hearing about “making people before making products” but I have a hard time visualizing what this…

What Should I Be Looking For?

Dear Gemba Coach: I’ve just started working with lean with my team, and we’re doing a value-stream mapping project with a…

How can we remain positive?

Dear Gemba Coach: I am a kaizen coach in a large company, and it never seems to get any easier. We’ve…

Toyota Trouble: A Dialogue with Jeff Liker (AKA the Coffee Shop Talks)

With the appearance of Toyota's various quality and recall problems, Jeff Liker and I have been meeting in coffee shops…

How Come Toyota Veterans Don’t Use a Roadmap?

Dear Gemba Coach: Recently I spent a few months working with Toyota veterans at an automotive supplier. I was surprised…

Managing To Learn in Sloan Management Review

John Shook discusses Managing to Learn in two Sloan Management Review articles

Leadership Q&A: Dan Ariens, CEO of Ariens Co.

From the LEI senior executive series on lean leadership:In the late 1990s, Ariens Co.faced a blizzard of problems. The iconic…

Nice Car, Long Journey

2008 marks the 100th anniversary of the introduction of the Model T Ford. This truly is “the machine that changed…

Creating Value or Shifting Wealth?

How do we judge the progress of the Lean Movement? One critical indicator is our success in extending lean thinking…

Gross Domestic Product Verses Gross Domestic Waste

I’ve always been fascinated by how humans count, especially the way we always seem to count the wrong things. Recently…

What Lean Thinkers Think About The Gold Mine

Questions and comments†from readers to co-author Michael BallÈ about his book The Gold Mine.

The Dramatic Spread of Lean Thinking

Without question, lean thinking was born in the factory. Then lean thinking spread to logistics, to tie supplier production tightly…

Creating the Course and Tools for a Lean Accounting System

A unit of Parker Hannifin used a financial kaizen and other lean accounting techniques to bridge the gaps between shop-floor…

How the Toyota Way and Toyota Kata Fit Together

The author of The Toyota Way explains where Toyota Kata fits with Toyota’s broader management principles — and how each…

Five Missing Pieces in Your Standardized Work (Part 3 of 3)

John Shook circles back to offer an outline of how standardized work serves your Purpose, Process, and People, which can…

5 Missing Pieces in Your Standardized Work (Part 1 of 3)

John Shook offers an overview of the five most frequent misunderstandings about this fundamental lean practice and expands on three…