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The Lean Post
The Lean Post
Sharing how the world is making things better through lean.
Working Hard...For One Minute
Anyone who doubts the ability of their people to work hard in enacting change--or who blames problems on their "people" should look hard in the mirror, says lean veteran Orry Fiume. More »
Ask Art: What happens when standard cost accounting meets takt time?
Trying to become a lean enterprise while retaining traditional standard cost accounting is an exercise in futility. It was developed for a steady state environment and is obsolete once a company changes to a lean “continuous improvement” strategy, says Art Byrne. It is therefore important to understand that one of the first things you need to do in your lean turnaround is to replace your standard cost approach with lean or “plain English”accounting. More »
How Lean Can Help Deliver Social Justice While Boosting Quality Health Care
In this podcast, developed from a talk at the 2018 Lean Transformation Summit learn how the Lynn Community Health Center is building successors by turning a recent leadership transition into a catalyst for improvement. More »
Dear Gemba Coach, Our company has made morning team huddles mandatory.
I don't see how that helps. On my team, huddles seem to go on forever
and feel like a waste of time. Are… More »
Dear Gemba Coach, Our company has made morning team huddles mandatory.
I don't see how that helps. On my team, huddles seem to go on forever
and feel like a waste of time. Are… More »
Time To Make Time
When the people in a lean system don't value time, everyone is cheated, says John Shook, in this fascinating reflection on the role that time plays in a close observation of work. More »
Boeing Ex-Executive Alan Mulally Discusses a "Working Together Management System"
In this rare and revealing interview, Alan Mulally discusses lean management principles, including: the role of a CEO during a turnaround, how to take a “people-first” approach to leadership, and how to encourage people to share real information – good or bad. More »
Dear Gemba Coach, How can kanban be useful in software since we never
produce the same part twice? More »
Dear Gemba Coach, How can kanban be useful in software since we never
produce the same part twice? More »
Does A Lack Of Physical Inventory Make Office Work “Different”?
While "waste" is easy to see and address in a factory setting, people working in an office environment have just as much to gain from learning how to reduce excess inventory and other forms of waste, says Ken Eakin. More »
Are These Two Non-learning Trends Hurting Your Company Culture?
The beating heart of continuous improvement is learning, concludes author and product development executive Jim Morgan, who has done pioneering work researching and implementing lean product development. But he sees two disturbing “nonlearning” trends that, if present in your culture, will hamstring any improvement efforts. More »
Adopting a system driven mindset for continuous improvement
In this podcast, Dr. Pat Greco discusses how she managed to align students, teachers, administrators, and the board of education around a clear set of goals and systemically improved everyone’s performance through rapid PDCA cycles at the Menomonee Falls School District in Wisconsin. More »
Dear Gemba Coach, Can a manufacturer use lean to advance its
environmental and social sustainability strategy? More »
Dear Gemba Coach, Can a manufacturer use lean to advance its
environmental and social sustainability strategy? More »
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 both challenge the individual while providing sufficient space for them to own their personal learning? When is the best situation in which to intervene?
Such challenging questions are at the heart of this engaging dialogue between LEI’s Deb McGee and coach Jeff Smith. More »
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 from. But simply copying Toyota’s culture is impossible and ill advised. There are no “solutions” from Toyota, only ideas. More »
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 CEO Nicolas Chartier, who shares ways that he seeks to deepen his lean learning. More »
How Lean Can Make Workplaces Safer and Healthier
The companies that are really going to solve the problem of unsafe work, just as they've done this for physical safety, have to begin by thinking about every aspect of the job and job design, says Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer. Making work safer and healthier begins with basically redesigning the work, and eliminating the stuff that is harmful, unnecessary, stressful, could be automated, and more. More »
Ask Art: What Do You Mean When You Say “Productivity equals Wealth”?
Productivity is the greatest wealth creator whether you talk about countries or companies, says Art Byrne. If you go about it correctly, the best ideas for productivity gains will always come from the people doing the work. Make sure you share the gains with them. More »
The Hard Work of Making Hard Work Easier
We persevere by struggling to overcome the challenges of hard work, argues Mark Reich. And, he says it is also our responsibility to challenge individuals, to “invoke struggle” so people think about how to change how the company views frontline work. It is our job to ensure that the lead person struggles to change the culture. More »
Dear Gemba Coach, Can lean management help with the start of production? More »
Dear Gemba Coach, Can lean management help with the start of production? More »
Popular Content
Learning from Toyota Way Principles versus Copying Toyota practices
By Jeffrey Liker
December 20, 2019 | 7 Comments
December 20, 2019 | 7 Comments
Does A Lack Of Physical Inventory Make Office Work “Different”?
By Ken Eakin
January 10, 2020 | 7 Comments
January 10, 2020 | 7 Comments
Are These Two Non-learning Trends Hurting Your Company Culture?
By Chet Marchwinski
January 8, 2020 | 3 Comments
January 8, 2020 | 3 Comments
Boeing Ex-Executive Alan Mulally Discusses a "Working Together Management System"
By Josh Howell
January 15, 2020 | 5 Comments
January 15, 2020 | 5 Comments
