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Be a Better Coach; Learn to “Force” Reflection Part 2: Forcing Managers and Execs to Reflect

How to hold senior-level leaders accountable for expected behaviors and practices, such as the PDCA process' "check/reflect" phase.

by David Verble

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Gemba Walk Checklist

Jim responds to this question from his Gemba Walks webinar: “Do you find it easier to complete your Gemba Walk if you have a pre-defined…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

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How Accounting “Squirrels” Can Ferret Out Waste

While other functions are busy as beavers looking for waste during a lean transformation, your accounting staff is like a squirrel with its head stuck…

Article

Fresh Eyes Bring Lean Problems into Clarity

“Fresh eyes” reviews are an indispensible part of developing new value. It’s amazing what you can learn from the input of a knowledgable outsider, because…

by Jim Morgan, PhD

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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

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Board Responsibilities and the Lean Management System

"A board needs to go far beyond checking performance measurements and actually hold senior leaders accountable for management systems and behaviors," writes Steve Leuschel. "As…

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Developing Awareness On the Gemba (part 2)

In this followup to her article on ways to develop awareness on the gemba, Lean Coach Sandrine Olivencia argues that it is important to have…

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

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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

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LEI's indicator that can't lie: Doing the math

Jim elaborates on the idea of using inventory turns as a measure of lean transformation

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

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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

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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

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Lean Writing Has a Gemba

What makes for good (lean) writing? What kind of writing are we looking for on The Lean Post? LEI senior editor Tom Ehrenfeld chimes in.

by Tom Ehrenfeld

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Follow-up Q & A to the Webinar "Big Company Disease: What is it? and Why Should I Care?”

The following questions represent the most-asked ones that we couldn't get to during the webinar “Big Company Disease” with presenter Pascal Dennis.

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Who Owns Your A3? (Part Two)

In this second of two columns, Mark Reich explains why people must own their A3 reports as a means of developing their ability to properly…