The Lean Post
Sharing how the world is making things better through lean.


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 »

If we really want to dig down into the root causes of waste, we need to bring the two lost Ms of muri and mura back into the basic “Lean 101” curriculum and vocabulary, argues lean thinker Ken Eakin More »

Joy is a powerful word in life and, as it turns out, in business too, says Rich Sheridan. A company that discovers the relevant principles of organizational flight can also fly to heights and distances that were previously unimaginable. And, in doing so, can experience the business value of joy. More »
From Troubleshooting a Leaky Toilet Flapper to Innovating the Internet, a Comprehensive Problem-Solving Framework
Arriving at his hotel after midnight, author and business consultant Art Smalley just wanted to get some sleep before his keynote presentation later that day. But Smalley, whose latest book on #lean management is "Four Types of Problems," first had to solve a problem. More »
Dear Gemba Coach, Can lean management help with toxic managers? More »
Dear Gemba Coach, Can lean management help with toxic managers? More »

Lean is a time-based strategy: it uses time to gain competitive advantage, says Orry Fiume. "Once I understood this I started saying “Time is the currency of lean”." More »
Perspectives of a Chief Engineer on Starting and Sustaining Lean Product and Process Development
Steve Shoemaker, general manager at Caterpillar Inc., first applied lean product and process development (LPPD) practices as the chief engineer on a new platform of next-generation hydraulic excavators, overseeing the new product from concept to production. He shared his insights on applying LPPD principles, how to sustain them, and leading teams of engineers with LEI Communications Director Chet Marchwinski at the annual Designing the Future Summit. More »
Dear Gemba Coach, In your previous column you stated that value-stream
mapping can be misleading. I’ve been using VSM for years to improve
process efficiency – what can be wrong… More »
Dear Gemba Coach, In your previous column you stated that value-stream
mapping can be misleading. I’ve been using VSM for years to improve
process efficiency – what can be wrong… More »

The most important skill to master as a leader is that of framing the work, says Harvard Business School Professor Amy Edmondson. Frames consist of assumptions or beliefs that we layer onto reality. All of us frame objects and situations automatically. Great leaders understand this and manage frames intentionally. More »

Takt time represents the beat of the customer, or, the rate of demand, says Art Byrne: "As the primary focus of the lean company is delivering more value to its customers than its competitors can, then conformity to their demands in a quick, efficient way is the main driver. Takt time is therefore what sets the tone for everything else." More »

At Cleveland Clinic, where he leads a continuous improvement team, Nate Hurle and others have discovered ways to build on success with their tiered daily huddles. More »

Managers and teams can overcome the elements of a fear of failure culture, argues Andrew Quibell. His piece illustrates steps to tackle this important challenge. More »
Dear Gemba Coach, Isn’t flow the ultimate aim of lean? More »
Dear Gemba Coach, Isn’t flow the ultimate aim of lean? More »

The underlying principles of lean can be found everywhere in daily life. In this article Masia Goodman identifies examples of "Better" practices that overlap with known lean principles. More »

CEO Nicolas Chartier shares a huge benefit of regular use of A3 among his team: "You realize as a CEO that you’re more useful as organizing conditions for teamwork than being the one who knows everything and decides everything. Teamwork cannot be done without you, knowledge and decision can be done without you." More »

Is Lean thinking a thing of the past from glorious manufacturing times in the late twentieth century? Or, on the other hand, is it possible that Lean is still the best approach today to address ever-more-complex human endeavors? Read the thoughts of these Lean sensei women on the topic. More »

Lean thinker Paige Henry shares a call to action: let’s get our leaders and people to realize “it’s about the think” to prevent problems happening in the first place, and when they do, that we need to enable them to think of multiple countermeasures rather than going with the solution that “they’ve seen/used a million times before.” More »
Dear Gemba Coach, I can’t find much written about visual management
although it seems an important part of lean – any idea where to look? More »
Dear Gemba Coach, I can’t find much written about visual management
although it seems an important part of lean – any idea where to look? More »
Popular Content