Article

Lean Thinkers Are Systems Thinkers

Lean thinkers are systems thinkers, argues Rich Sheridan: "Intentional cultures thrive when the simple systems put in place reinforce every cultural intention and that systems…

by Richard Sheridan

Article

Soliciting Suggestions in Ways That Don't Backfire

Sometimes well-intentioned lean activities like asking for suggestions can backfire; Cheryl Jekiel shares specific ways to prevent mishandling ideas from your people.

by Cheryl Jekiel

Article

Keep It Simple: Value-Stream Mapping at the Gemba

A veteran lean coach shares a story showing that even simple and quick value-stream mapping can be hugely helpful when you include the people doing…

by Dave LaHote

Article

The Snowstorm on Your Server

When looking for a place to implement 5S, your company's server or shared drive might not be the first to come to mind. And yet…

by Eric Ethington

Article

Putting Financial Value on Lean Transformation

What is the ROI on a kaizen event? How does Lean stack up against other revenue generation or cost-saving initiatives? While Jean Cunningham says questions…

Article

10 Tips for Getting the Most Value from Value-Stream Mapping

Before you map your value stream, review and keep in mind these tips for ensuring your organization reaps the performance gains it can deliver —…

by Judy Worth

Article

Adopt or Adapt? When Modifying Lean Makes Sense

One of the key decisions every lean coach, consultant, practitioner, and leader makes is when to fully adopt a particular lean practice or when to…

by Karen Martin

Article

Cleveland Clinic’s Prescription for Creating a Culture of Continuous Improvement

Lisa Yerian, MD, medical director of continuous improvement at the Clinic, talks about a “model area” approach to improvement, how initial “islands” of improvement linked…

by Lisa Yerian, MD

Article

Lean Startups Should Be Lean Cultures, From the Start

Mark Graban reflects on John Shook's talk, "Lean Startup--From Toyota City to Fremont to You," at this week's Lean Startup Conference in San Francisco. Read…

by Mark Graban

Article

Do You Own Your Lean Learning?

Mark Reich recounts a pivotal experience with Andrea, a coffee plant manager who initially sought external solutions for operational challenges. Through observation and coaching, they…

by Mark Reich

Article

Doing Versus Being – How Mindfulness Supports Better Lean Thinking, Part 2

Most companies don’t get the desired results from lean transformations, according to Mike Orzen, lean practitioner and LEI faculty member. Their people get stuck in…

by Mike Orzen

Article

Create Your Fantasy Island Organizational Culture

What would your dream organizational culture look like? What about your fantasy lean transformation? Tracey Richardson shares her advice for turning at least some of…

by Tracey Richardson

Article

One Simple Thing You Can Do To Improve Your Coaching

When you put people on the defense, you miss out on a lot more than improved performance and results. Tracey Richardson shares her insights on…

by Tracey Richardson

Article

The Essence of Developing People and Yourself

Jane Delaney is the CEO of a medium sized software company in the UK. As her company faces crisis upon crisis she finds herself forced…

by John Shook

Article

Community Communication

Lean thinking and practice is all about tackling problems – little ones, big ones, wicked ones, sticky ones, concrete ones, fuzzy ones. We tackle problems…

by John Shook

Article

How do I know people are displaying the right visual information in an office?

Dear Gemba Coach: We’ve been quite successful with lean in our operations, and I’ve been tasked to bring it to headquarters. We’ve set up obeyas…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Could hoshin kanri be too bureaucratic for my small tech company?

Dear Gemba Coach: I get frustrated with being the only one seriously concerned with experimenting and learning new systems, so I implemented hoshin kanri to…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Why won’t senseis ever give a straight answer?

Dear Gemba Coach: Why won’t senseis ever give a straight answer?

by Michael Ballé

Article

Why a Lean Transformation Requires a New Quoting Process, Part 1

How to ensure your lean transformation leads to improved profitability.

Video

Lean in One Drawing

An LEI faculty member explains in a brief video why it’s vital to view lean thinking and practice as a system.

by Dave LaHote