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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. Surely one sign of the…
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Why is it still so hard to convince executives to adopt the lean spirit?
Dear Gemba Coach: Why, in your experience, after all these years of preaching lean, is it still so hard to convince executives to adopt the…
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Summer Reading
LEI Senior Editor Tom Ehrenfeld picks his favorite lean books you might want to take to the beach with you this summer.
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How Lean Changes You as a Leader
Few business leaders in the world have applied lean strategy as successfully as has Art Byrne, former CEO of The Wiremold Company -- and none…
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The Battle for the Soul of Lean
When elements of lean management began to infiltrate management ranks decades ago, a ìgreat divideî quickly formed, according to author and lean practitioner Michael BallÈ.…
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How do we mid-level managers convince the CEO and senior management that adopting lean practices is worthwhile?
Dear Gemba Coach: The recent webinar on the business case for lean was particularly useful for us because it raised many questions and provided a…
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Still Faithful to Lean Thinking
"We wrote Lead With Respect to show just how central engagement and involvement is to lean success," says Michael Ballé. "As a sociologist, 'making people…
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Why are there so many different opinions about what lean management is and isn't?
Dear Gemba Coach: I have attended several lean conferences and am deeply interested in the topic, but puzzled about the diversity of viewpoints. Any advice…
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6 Insights on How to Show Respect for People: A Lean Post Roundup
Practicing respect in a lean environment requires both a general mindset committed to the practice and constant daily actions grounded in the work. This roundup…
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Lean Roundup: Jidoka
"Jidoka captures the principle of building quality into the production process—of designing work so that the people making the product have the means and mindset…
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“Simple Ain’t Easy”
The essence of lean is simplicity, argues Orry Fiume, a theme that applies not only to great organizations, but great music and anything else important.
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Boosting Organizational Resilience Through Jidoka
Jidoka enables operators to build in quality into the production process--and forms a foundation of stability helping a company respond to crisis with resilience. This…
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View Crises as Manageable Challenges Through Steady Lean Leadership
If you are using lean to tackle a series of crises, you may not be using lean in the first place, say a range of…
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Learn by Doing: Overcoming Inertia and Triggering Engagement Through Kaizen
Practicing daily kaizen powerfully drives the heart of any serious lean effort to learn and improve, a topic that will be addressed in the Virtual…
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Ask Art: Does lean compromise innovation?
To some, lean and innovation seem counterproductive. But Art Byrne is not one of them. Find out why he says "lean and innovation are and…
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Ask Art: What sets lean accounting apart from traditional accounting?
"You can’t really become a lean enterprise without making the shift from traditional standard-cost accounting to lean (i.e. plain English) accounting," writes Art Byrne. Read…
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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 over 20 years. That means…
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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 the oft-misunderstood balance between the…
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Ask Art: Why Should I Set Stretch Goals?
Art Byrne urges you to take the lean leap and set stretch goals. Setting ambitious goals shows respect for your people. Use the lean tools…
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Ask Art: Why Implement Lean During A Pandemic?
Implementing lean during this pandemic will allow many more companies to emerge from this economic crisis in far better shape than they were in before,…
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