Article

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…

by Art Byrne

Article

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 the root of the problem.

by Emmanuel Jallas

Article

Lean Roundup: Lean in the News

"While few business leaders seem to be discussing lean explicitly these days, there are certainly a great deal of tangentially lean conversations happening wherever you…

by Tom Ehrenfeld

Article

Developing Students, Improving Universities

"Today, lean thinking in higher education is uncommon," writes Theresa Coleman-Kaiser of Michigan Tech University. "As a rule, institutions that teach lean continuous improvement in…

Video

Lean Principles Are the Bread & Butter of this Retail Transformation

Entrepreneurs explain how their chain of bakeries and retail stores used lean continuous improvement to profitably expand, engage employees, and meet growing customer demand for…

by Lean Enterprise Institute

Article

Three Lean Healthcare Success Stories From Across the Globe

Read a summary of 3 lean healthcare stories from the Lean Global Network, including reflections on what seems to make lean work in a healthcare…

by Lean Leaper

Article

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 fail to see the difference…

by Michael Ballé

Article

What the Books Don't Tell: Explaining the Financial Benefits of Lean

It's a curious fact that very few books about lean address the topic of finance. Questions about lean's financial benefits are often the first that…

Article

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 element of great product development…

by Jim Morgan, PhD

Article

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 everyone involved: for learner and…

by Isao Yoshino

Video

Managing to Win: The Remarkable Lean Transformation of Phase 2

Revisit the enlightening case study of Phase 2's lean transformation in the face of losing its biggest customer, plus insider info from an interview with…

by Lean Leaper

Article

PDCA at the Plate

We know that "lean" is all about plan-do-check-act (PDCA). The challenge we all face in our everyday work is to answer the question, How do…

by John Shook

Article

Making Everyone Whole

I've had a big smile on my face for much of the last month because I've had the opportunity to visit progressive organizations on three…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Article

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 the company’s management and production…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Thinking About the Why of the What of Problem-Solving

When we talk about problem-solving, what we’re really talking about here is creating adaptive capacity, the deep capability of an organization to tackle anything that…

by John Shook

Article

Pi-Day, Robots, and the Joy of Making Things

To mark Engineers Week, Feb. 18-23, we’re reprising a story about celebrating Pi Day by Jim and Mary Morgan, a self-described “geek couple.” And we’re…

by Jim Morgan, PhD

Article

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?

by Michael Ballé

Article

I Got 99 Problems and This Is How I'll Tackle Type One

After an unintentional sending a mass email with an error from LEI, Lory Moniz reflects on the source of the defect and commits to a…

by Lory Moniz

Article

Small Batch: Hand-Picked Articles from the Global Lean Community (Vol. 4)

Our picks for the best high-impact learning stories and columns from Planet Lean.

by Lean Leaper

Article

Jim Womack on how lean compares with Six Sigma, Re-engineering, TOC, TPM, etc., etc.

It amazes me, but I still get lots of questions about how “lean” compares with Six Sigma, Total Productive Maintenance, Business Process Re-engineering, Demand-Flow, the…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD