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A Connecticut Yankee Machinist in Toyoda’s Castle
“Culture matters,” John Shook tells us in his post about Charles A. Francis, an American who worked for Toyota group…
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Practicing What We Teach
"Do all Lean practitioners practice what they teach?" Maybe, maybe not. Tracey Richardson tries to as much as she can,…
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Why Social Entrepreneurship is Dead
Despite all the hype, entrepreneur Nathan Rothstein (of Project Repat) believes social entrepreneurship is dead. Read what he recommends for…
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The Hunt for Alligator Eggs
"Like alligator eggs, problems often start small. If you wait a while and ignore them, those eggs hatch," writes Ellis…
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Ask Art: Does Lean Really Work Everywhere?
There's a common misconception that Lean is "just some manufacturing thing." Read why Art Byrne believes Lean can be applied…
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Talking Lean with a Neuroscientist
How do we turn large, complicated, risky projects into catalysts for learning and innovation? Lean IT expert Steve Bell reflects…
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What comes after Lean?
Lean practice is an ongoing process, it never ends. But what are we learning about the field? What comes after…
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Why is it still so hard to convince executives to adopt the lean spirit?
Dear Gemba Coach: Why, in your experience, after all these years of preaching lean, is it still so hard to…
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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…
Read article A Learning Partnership to Support A New Era in American Manufacturing
As policymakers and business leaders work to rebuild and reimagine a struggling U.S. economy, GE is not only at the…
Read article Can a pull system with zero stock make the company more fragile?
Dear Gemba Coach: Can a pull system with zero stock make the company more fragile?
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Standardized Vacation
Mark Donovan, co-founder of the women's knitwear company Wooden Ships, proposes that we all consider vacation as a standardized method…
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