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Toyota the Disrupter

Toyota may not be the first company you think of for disruptive product and process development, but perhaps they should be, argues Jim Morgan. The…

by James Morgan, PhD

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How Teaming Produces Execution-as-Learning

Amy C. Edmonson, Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, shares a concept she calls "teaming", a way of working that brings…

by Amy C. Edmondson

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Bridging Two Lean Communities

Two very different lean communities came together when Eric Ries and LEI's John Shook participated in the Lean Startup pre-conference webcast, "Putting the Lean in…

by Lex Schroeder

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Catchball Helps Us Get Past We Versus They

When employees dread going to work every day, your company loses. Read what Tracey Richardson has to say about boosting workplace morale.

by Tracey Richardson

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A Humble Conversation

For the past two years, John Shook and Edgar Schein have enjoyed the honor of engaging in an on-stage dialogue. The occasion? The Lean Healthcare…

by John Shook

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Is my new boss right that applying standardized work is the foundation of lean?

Dear Gemba Coach: My new boss is a lean fanatic crazy about standards. He’s created a new team to audit standards and is telling us…

by Michael Ballé

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Can lean management help with toxic managers?

Dear Gemba Coach: Can lean management help with toxic managers?

by Michael Ballé

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We meet daily to examine a new customer complaint. What do we do next?

Dear Gemba Coach: We’re a start-up and have taken your advice: we now have a customer wall and we meet daily to look into a…

by Michael Ballé

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What it Takes to Share One's Wisdom: A Q&A with Tracey Richardson

"When you make a decision to change the way you do business, it should hold you accountable for certain leadership actions – new [behaviors that…

by Lex Schroeder

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Creating New Value and a Lesson in Fundamentals

After a recent trip to Toyota's headquarters in Japan, Jim Morgan made an epiphany about the Toyota Production System and the fundamentals at its core.…

by James Morgan, PhD

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Step 1: Open Mouth, Step 2: Insert Foot

Joshua Rapoza, Customer Strategy Officer at LEI, reflects on whether working longer hours necessarily means more productivity and the power of our words in motivating…

Article

What To Do When Executives Think Continuous Improvement Smells Fishy

Top executives are smart, but they don't always see the value of continuous improvement efforts. And continuous improvement professionals don't always communicate that value well…

Article

The "Playbook" of Sustaining Change

In a world where most lean transformations fail, what can we do to learn from others' mistakes and help our own transformations succeed? After 30…

by Lynn Kelley

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Encountering Problems and Resistance

The doctor entered with a comforting bedside manner. We small talked. She asked about my work and I answered, in short. “Lean? You mean that Toyota thing?” In spite of the mask, I could read ‘Oh Brother’ on her face. “Yeah,…

by Josh Howell

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5S - The Way to Start Your Lean Journey…or Is It?

Many people think that a 5S implementation is the perfect way to kickstart a full lean transformation. It can be - IF you do it…

by Dale Savage

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Turn to Lean To Tackle the Problems You Want to Solve Right Now

Lean thinking and practice is hard, says LEI President Josh Howell; noting that it's well worth the effort for those whose lives it has improved,…

by Josh Howell

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Real Lean vs. Fake Lean

Dear Gemba Coach: I am a lean consultant who is totally dedicated to applying the lean principles. Unfortunately most lean gurus who I encounter seem…

by Michael Ballé

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Lean on Steroids: Why We Should Rely On Physical Measures, Not Financial Ones

"Lean has led me to question core business models, period," writes Doc Hall. "But while Lean focuses on improving a company’s existing business model... I’m…

by Robert W. (Doc) Hall

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How can I keep our lean management effort from becoming bureaucratic?

Dear Gemba Coach: Isn’t there a risk that all these lean tools in the workplace turn into yet more bureaucracy?

by Michael Ballé

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Lean Management’s Key Concepts

 The technical components and underlying philosophy of lean, based on the Toyota Production System (TPS), work together to create a lean enterprise. But companies embarking…

by Doug Bartholomew