Our editor’s picks for the best recent articles from our sister publication, Planet Lean.
1. Forget Economies of Scale…It’s All About Repetition, by Ian Glendlay
Most planning systems today base their logic on batch thinking, or the belief that by producing in batches, the resulting economy of scale will spur improvements. Lean coach and author Ian Glendlay, on the other hand, believes that the key to true improvement is training by repetition. Read more.
2. Why Product Development Without Preparation Fails, by Boaz Tamir
Anyone who’s worked in product development knows that surging feeling of euphoria when they think they’ve hatched a million-dollar idea. But it’s important not to let that euphoria get away with you – before you even start designing, you need to slowly and carefully evaluate your product’s potential risks. Otherwise, your chances of success will be very low. Boaz Tamir of Lean Institute Israel shares more in this terrific opinion piece for Planet Lean.
3. The Making of a Lean Pioneer, by Roberto Priolo (with Denise Bennet)
We all have at least one “lean pioneer” who we admire and respect for their cutting-edge contributions or advances to lean thinking. One of Roberto Priolo’s most-admired lean pioneers is Denise Bennet, now Senior Improvement Coach at Stanford Children’s Hospital, and who is credited as part of the team that created Australia’s first lean healthcare organization. This profile of her journey to lean is a fascinating one – read more.
4. Lean Thinking and the Circular Economy, by Marty Neese
“For nearly 200 years, our industrial system has functioned in the same way,” writes Marty Neese of solar-energy company SunPower, “we extract raw materials and transform them into products, which we then use and discard.” Thinking 200 years was long enough, Neese and his company set off to create a more sustainable economy. Their solution was the “Circular Economy,” which involved producing only what they needed, setting responsible standards of production, and reducing waste of all types. Does that sound like lean? It is! Neese explains.
