Article

How to Improve Your Product Development Process

Members of LEI's Lean Product and Process Development Learning Group share their successful strategies.

by Matthew Savas

Article

LEI looks for success stories to share

I routinely end my talks by offering to give anyone 15 minutes of fame in my and Dan Jones’s next book if they will do…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Article

It Takes 2 (or more) to A3

No one can create a useful A3 in isolation. It takes at least two individuals and often many more. Developing an A3 involves an organizational…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Article

How to Lead with Respect

Showing respect to employees falls far short of leading with respect. Discover the seven core practices that true lean leaders use everyday to lead with…

by Doug Bartholomew

Article

The Prospects for Lean

As we all return to work in the New Year, I wanted to provide a few thoughts on the prospects for lean thinking in the…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Article

4 Actions that Solved My Lean Management Identity Crisis

Mike Orzen had lean management down cold – or so he thought. After all, he makes a living teaching it to managers and executives. But…

by Mike Orzen

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

And the Best Articles from 2014 Are...

Two weeks ago we asked for your favorite Lean Post articles of 2014 and the results are in!

by Lean Leaper

Article

Book Value: Jim Womack on Ford Methods and Ford Shops

Jim Womack, author of Lean Thinking and founder of The Lean Enterprise Institute, reflects on one of the books that greatly influenced his thinking.

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Article

Back to Basics: Jim Womack on Why Managers Need a "Lean State of Mind"

In this classic eletter from 2009, Jim Womack explains the crucial importance of a "lean state of mind" if a lean manager is going to…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Article

What comes after Lean?

Lean practice is an ongoing process, it never ends. But what are we learning about the field? What comes after Lean in terms of emerging…

by Michael Ballé

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

Lexicon Term

Toyoda, Kiichiro (1894-1952)

The son of Toyota Group founder Sakichi Toyoda, who led the effort to enter the auto industry in the 1930’s. Kiichiro, believed that he could…

Article

Translating Collaborative Learning Into Practice

What does collaborative learning mean for lean thinkers in practice, on a day-to-day basis? In his final talk at the 2012 Lean Transformation Summit, John…

by Lex Schroeder

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

The Best Lean Healthcare Stories You May Have Missed

Looking ahead to the Lean Healthcare Transformation Summit June 5-6, Lex Schroeder rounds up some of the best lean healthcare pieces on the Post.

by Lex Schroeder

Article

Your Value Stream Map Looks a Little Different...

If you think there’s a different way of applying a tool, ask, “Are we changing the tool to prevent us from changing the organization, or…

by Aaron Hunt

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

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