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What should I expect as a lean manager?

Dear Gemba Coach: I’m currently a team leader, and I’ve been offered a job as a lean manager – what should I expect?

by Michael Ballé

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Challenge: Understand and Adapt for Sales Pace Growth

It's our first Lean Challenge post! Come up with a plan to help a machining business deal with the technical and social challenges posed by…

by Jeff Smith

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Do lean-minded finance professionals make a difference in appraising lean initiatives?

Dear Gemba Coach: I would like to ask lean-minded fellow finance professionals if they make a difference in appraising lean initiatives from other investments in…

by Michael Ballé

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Lean Thinking at 20, Part 2: A Q&A with Jim Womack and Dan Jones

Twenty years ago Jim Womack and Dan Jones helped launch the lean movement as we know it today with their key book Lean Thinking. Now,…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD and Dan Jones

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How Does LPPD Help Create a Lean Enterprise?

What is LPPD? As noted by Jim Morgan LPPD is a set of principles and practices that promote collaboration, transparency, and rapid learning, in the…

by Lean Leaper

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Your Product Isn't Everything, It's the Only Thing

Jim Morgan, former product/process development executive at Ford (and co-author of The Toyota Product Development System), reflects on what should really matter to you and…

by James Morgan, PhD

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You Can't Manage a Secret

How did the obeya management system come to be at Toyota? How has it been refined since its beginning as a means of organizing research…

by James Morgan, PhD

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Getting Home: Jacob and Claude Stoller Appreciate the Lean Lessons of this New Book

"Getting Home is a terrific book that puts lean to work on a problem that’s really significant. Let’s hope it’s an inspiration for architects and…

by Claude Stoller and Jacob Stoller

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Leadership Without Giving Solutions (from a Fire Fighter's Perspective)

LEI faculty member Greg Lane shares a lean coaching story from his own life, in which he finds himself advising a friend on how best…

by Greg Lane

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Sharks & Tortoises

"A small number of firms have grown spectacularly in revenue, employees, and stock price by using [lean] to execute crisply on tactics," writes Jeff Morrow,…

by Jeff Morrow

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KAIZEN CHALLENGE: Lean Technical and Social Quiz

In this kaizen challenge, lean coach Jeff Smith invites you to help determine the optimal lot size to run through assembly. Please share your thoughts!

by Jeff Smith

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Personal PDCA and How I Learned It

"In 23 years at Toyota, I had many assignments and different bosses, I managed many people," writes Mark Reich, "but a constant part of the…

by Mark Reich

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What problem are you trying to solve?

As human beings, are we basically “programmed” to produce blanket solutions that typically only address symptoms of problems, never to discover what causes problems in…

Article

Practical Tips for Re-Engaging People with a Suggestion System

Companies, responding to surveys showing that a troubling number of people are disengaged at work, respond with perks like nap pods, rock walls, and free…

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We get good results with kaizen, but why don't they stick?

Dear Gemba Coach: Our teams have good results with kaizen, but nothing seems to stick for long – any advice?

by Michael Ballé

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What is your opinion about transformation process steps?

Dear Gemba Coach: What is your opinion about transformation process steps? First we choose a problem and start problem-solving processes (A3 or 8-step methods) and…

by Michael Ballé

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How lean should a lean line design be?

Dear Gemba Coach: I’m in manufacturing engineering and have been asked to design a lean line. I’ve participated to several kaizen workshops and have some general…

by Michael Ballé

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What’s your opinion on setting specific criteria before brainstorming countermeasures?

Dear Gemba Coach: What’s your opinion on setting specific criteria before brainstorming countermeasures?

by Michael Ballé

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"It's Only A Failure If You Don't Learn"

"It's only a failure if you don't learn" says Toyota veteran Isao Yoshino, whose experience developing an ultimately failed water-ski boat venture for Toyota is…

by Lean Leaper

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The Value of Sharpening Skills Through 'Jishuken'

Jishuken, or self-learning, is a wet stone that grinds a worker's brain down to a start point, says Matt Savas--and is key to a disciplined…

by Matthew Savas