Article

So Long 2009 - Hello 2010!

Whew, what a year! Most everyone I know is eager to escort the hard times of 2009 out the door in hopes of a more…

by John Shook

Article

Getting to Sustainability

Sustaining gains from kaizen thinking is one of the hardest, and certainly most misunderstood, aspects of this work. It’s misunderstood because the actual change takes…

by Ernie Richardson and Tracey Richardson

Article

It’s About the Tools, Not the Terms

"I’ve never been a big fan of lean lingo," says John McCullough of Crayola. "It may sound expert-like, but I’ve always found its use to…

by John McCullough

Article

The Fight for the Meaning of Lean

"It seems like every one and their dog is doing Lean," writes Michael Ballé. "But what 'Lean' are we talking about? Is it the 'to…

by Michael Ballé

Article

How do we get our boss to stop confusing inventory management with lean?

Dear Gemba Coach: Our new boss is a lean supporter and had us reduce drastically all inventories. Now we have missing parts all over the…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Does lean change how you think about business?

Dear Gemba Coach: I can see that lean changes how one thinks about business, but can’t quite put my finger on it. If you had…

by Michael Ballé

Article

“A Roadmap to Lean Healthcare Success” Webinar: Follow-up Questions and Answers

The Lean Enterprise Institute's webinar "A Roadmap to Lean Healthcare Success" with John Toussaint, MD, CEO of the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value, drew thousands…

Article

Developing a Problem-Solving Culture at Herman Miller: An Interview with Lean Practitioners George Mason and Dan Bos

In this interview from the Lean Coaching Summit in December 2012, George Mason, a Herman Miller Performance System (HMPS) manager, and Dan Bos, an operations…

by Lex Schroeder

Video

Why You Need a Better Process Development System

Two veteran lean product and process development coaches share the benefits of improving this critical, too often overlooked part of bringing new products and services…

by , Eric Ethington and Matt Zayko

Article

The Making of a Chief Engineer 

“I am calling to ask you to accept the role of Chief Engineer for the Excavator Product Line,” said the Vice President responsible for Caterpillar’s…

by Steve Shoemaker 

Article

Why Lean Startup Experiments are Hard to Design

Grace Ng, co-founder of Javelin (a software and services company dedicated to implementing Lean Startup), reflects on what she's learned helping entrepreneurs launch products and…

by Grace Ng

Article

Ask Art: Why do you say the CEO needs to become a lean expert?

A key first step for any CEO leading a lean conversion is to call 1-800-lean-consultant to find an expert to train the VP of operations…

by Art Byrne

Article

Making Things Better - Visual Value in Health Information Management

Have you ever struggled to make "invisible work" visual for your leadership? Laura Shue of the University of Michigan Health System certainly has - two…

by Laura Shue

Article

What does “separating human work from machine work" mean?

Dear Gemba Coach: What does “separating human work from machine work” mean? How does it matter?

by Michael Ballé

Article

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…

by Art Byrne

Article

You Can't Learn Lean by Talking About It

Larry Navarre, instructor at Kettering University with 20 years experience in industry, shares what he's learned about teaching lean thinking.

by Larry Navarre

Article

Improve Design Team Collaboration: A Beginner's Guide to Setting Up an Obeya Room

Stuck getting your obeya off the ground? Learn how to set up a successful obeya room and watch your team collaboration soar.

by John Drogosz, PhD

Article

Hoshin Kanri Ensures Frontline Problem-Solving within Lean Management

In this edition of The Management Brief, Mark Reich explains how hoshin kanri links strategic goals with frontline problem-solving, creating a unified approach to continuous…

by Mark Reich

Article

Practicing Lean Fundamentals in an Office Environment

Applying lean principles in service organizations and administrative processes within manufacturing companies often confounds companies. Lean faculty member and author Drew Locher offers four key…

by Drew Locher

Article

Isn’t the obsession with problem solving unnecessarily negative and depressing?

Dear Gemba Coach: Isn’t the obsession with problem solving unnecessarily negative and depressing?

by Michael Ballé