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A Lean “Teachable Moment”: Starbucks in The Wall Street Journal
John Shook discusses recent news about Starbucks and lean.
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The Mind of the Lean Manager
Moving beyond lean tools to embrace lean management techniques requires a shift in mindset—one that prioritizes problem-solving, experimentation, and continuous…
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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…
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The Lean Manager (Chapter 1)
The Lean ManagerChapter OneCUSTOMERS FIRST“He’s closing the plant!”Closing the plant meant losing his job. Losing his job meant losing Malancourt.…
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Managing to Pitch with PDCA (Pitch-Defend-Catch-Adjust)
John Shook discusses lean thinking in baseball.
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Leadership Q&A: Karl Wadensten, president, VIBCO
From the LEI senior executive series on lean leadership:In the first couple years of its lean transformation VIBCO, Inc. saved over…
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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.
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Managing To Learn in Sloan Management Review
John Shook discusses Managing to Learn in two Sloan Management Review articles
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GM Is Bankrupt: Does That Mean GM Managers Are Bad Managers?
John Shook discusses GM's bankruptcy and management
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Sailing a Straight Course in a Time of Variances
Recently I spent a day as a lean anthropologist, sitting in the back of the room and observing the behavior…
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New Sloan must define new GM
James Womack, founder and chairman of the Lean Enterprise Institute, writes in Automotive News that the genius of Alfred Sloan…
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The Lean Dentist Webinar Follow-Up Questions & Answers
After reviewing all the questions that we couldn’t get to during the webinar with Dr. Sami Bahri, several key themes…
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