Article

Practicing Constructive Discontent At SBP

To become an organization of problem solvers, talking about problems couldn’t merely be something that we did, shares Zack Rosenburg of St. Bernard Project. It…

by Zack Rosenburg

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Do You Practice Routine Personal Development?

Once we learn lean we often start seeing it everywhere, even in places we might least expect it. In this instance, Katie Anderson saw a…

by Katie Anderson

Article

Ask Art: What Do You Mean When You Say “Productivity equals Wealth”?

Productivity is the greatest wealth creator whether you talk about countries or companies, says Art Byrne. If you go about it correctly, the best ideas…

by Art Byrne

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Ask Art: Can Lean and “Make-the-Month” Co-exist?

"Make-the-month" programs are not unusual in manufacturing organizations. But, many people have asked Art Byrne, are such programs compatible with lean? Isn't the intense focus…

by Art Byrne

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Ask Art: Why Focus on Why When Doing A Lean Turnaround?

In switching to lean, understanding the WHY is the most important thing, argues Art Byrne. It helps people overcome their traditional beliefs about how something…

by Art Byrne

Article

Go and See: Where The Magic Is

To reconnect with the reality of your business, go to the gemba, advises CEO Nicolas Chartier of Aramisauto. But to really experience the magic that…

Article

Creating Basic Stability

The lean movement's founder explains why you must achieve consistent operational availability before introducing continuous flow.

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

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A Lean Walk Through History

Most of us don’t realize that we are heirs to a remarkably long struggle in human history to see beyond isolated points in order to…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Article

Standardized Work in Business Processes

Dear Gemba Coach: How about standardized work in a business process environment? For example, in a procurement process or supply chain processes? There are not many…

by Michael Ballé

Article

How do I re-size supermarkets when demand changes or to keep pace with seasonality?

Dear Gemba Coach: How do I calculate re-sizing supermarkets when demand changes or to keep pace with seasonality?

by Michael Ballé

Article

Hanging Up My Cape

"Managers and front line workers hustle to work around problems resulting from poorly designed work systems... and with such pride!" writes lean coach Josh Howell.…

by Josh Howell

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Forward to Fundamentals Redux – Kaizen Express

Thanks to those of you who joined last week’s webinar. We had some great questions, only a few of which we dealt with during the…

by John Shook

Article

Are morning team huddles that go on forever a waste of time?

Dear Gemba Coach: Our company has made morning team huddles mandatory. I don't see how that helps. On my team, huddles seem to go on…

by Michael Ballé

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Forms and Templates

Downloads for A3 problem solving, standard work, project management, and value stream mapping.

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Article

Reason #27 Why Your CEO Is Just Not That Into Lean

You know the value of Lean, but maybe your boss or a key member of the senior leadership team doesn't. To get more traction and…

by Brent Wahba

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How do I know if someone is really incompetent or just struggling?

Dear Gemba Coach: How do I recognize when someone is really incompetent? Sometimes people don’t have results because they’re put in a tough spot.

by Michael Ballé

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On Coaching

I'm a long-time fan of Brasilian futbol (or as some of us call it, soccer). This World Cup, I've been won over by the Mexican…

by John Shook

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Adaptive Organizations Need Adaptive Problem Solvers

In today’s complex and unpredictable world, adaptive problem solving is essential. In this piece, Jeff Liker explores the critical shift from predictive to adaptive approaches,…

by Jeffrey Liker

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Follow-up to your comments on the “lean is a scam” column

Dear Gemba Coach Readers: I’ve been following the “scam” discussion with interest. Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment. Maybe the original questioner’s…

by Michael Ballé