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

The Dramatic Spread of Lean Thinking

Without question, lean thinking was born in the factory. Then lean thinking spread to logistics, to tie supplier production tightly to assembler needs and to…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Article

The Value of A Visual Schedule is Developing Shared Understanding

People closest to the work should understand it best, so they are in the best position to share what the work is including what they…

by Katrina Appell, PhD

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

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

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

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

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

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

Advice from the Gemba: Top Mistakes Lean Leaders Make I

Making mistakes is a natural part of lean thinking and practice. Here, three LEI faculty members share some common, yet easily avoidable mistakes made by…

by Alice Lee, Jim Luckman and Sammy Obara

Article

Lean and Agile: Finding a Role for Your Leadership in Your Transformation Model

"Lean and Agile are two of the most commonly discussed (and hotly debated) principles for managing a business, particularly when there’s a transformation underway," writes…

by Bruno Guicardi

Article

Do the Words You Use Create Clarity or Chaos?

"If words matter, shared understanding of words matters even more," writes Cindy Priddy. "The word coach reaches much further back than the image of a…

by Cindy Priddy

Article

Lessons Learned from the Cleveland Indians’ Historic 22-Game Winning Streak

In the wake of the Cleveland Indians' record-shattering 22-game winning streak, George Taninecz reflects on some important business lessons that we can learn from this…

by George Taninecz

Article

The Leader's Dilemma: Becoming a Learner

We build leaders up to be all-knowing, but leaders who act as 'knowers' (as opposed to learners) actually limit their ability to accomplish what is…

by Jim Luckman

Article

Expanding Our Perspective on Lean Management, Part 1: A Creative Ethic

To explore the idea that there may be other angles for understanding lean management principles than purely business or analytical perspectives, a group of lean…

by Joanna McGuffey and Thomas Richert

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