September 2015 | Gemba Academy

A Rational Plan is a Prediction

By Jon Miller - September 28th, 2015

One question that I hear a lot is, “Can you show me an example of success in my specific environment?” with lean, continuous improvement, agile and so forth. My most common answer is, “No.” Although I would lik

GA 077 | How an Engineering Manager Practices Lean with Rob Connelly

By Jessica Bush - September 24th, 2015

Press the play button above to listen to the episode. If you’re reading this via email or RSS click the image below to listen to the episode. This episode features Rob Connelly, an Engineering Manager and fantastic lean thinker o

Mindset KPIs

By Jon Miller - September 23rd, 2015

By S.M. Junaid [Admin’s note: our friend Junaid has contributed articles on TPM, on wet blankets, the cost of poor quality, kaizen for energy-saving and team member motivation.] A Quote by Eiji Toyoda san: “Before Cars, M

Missing the Soil, or The Inadequacy of Our Lean Management Metaphors

By Jon Miller - September 21st, 2015

The purpose of lean is to build an organization that creates value for people – its customers, employees, shareholders and community members – on a sustainable and long-term basis. If we asked a farmer, “How do we g

Standard Work Saved a Company

By Steve Kane - September 18th, 2015

By Steve Kane I’ve been an aviation enthusiast most of my life. I started flying sailplanes a couple of years ago and recently transitioned to power planes. The first lesson in flying is an introduction to standard work—specifical

GA 076 | The Courage to Lead with Simon Sinek

By Jessica Bush - September 17th, 2015

Press the play button above to listen to the episode. If you’re reading this via email or RSS click the image below to listen to the episode. Today’s episode is one of our most exciting yet. I had the privilege of interview

How to Gain Insight from Customers and Gemba

By Jon Miller - September 14th, 2015

Lean thinking places a focus on the customer and on the gemba. These are two great sources of information for innovation, increased revenues, and problem solving. The way to gain more insight from customers and from the gemba is to be

Discovering the Value of People

By Kevin Meyer - September 11th, 2015

By Kevin Meyer Big news in the business world: Wal-Mart is famous for keeping costs down, including employee-related costs. In Joplin, the company is testing a new approach: investing in workers through higher wages and training, on th

GA 075 | The Lean Frontiers Mission with Jim Huntzinger and Dwayne Butcher

By Jessica Bush - September 10th, 2015

Press the play button above to listen to the episode. If you’re reading this via email or RSS click the image below to listen to the episode. In today’s episode guests Dwayne Butcher and Jim Huntzinger of Lean Frontiers ex

Why We Do Things This Way

By Jon Miller - September 7th, 2015

I have spent much of my career in pursuit of answers to the question, “Why do you do things this way?” When I am getting to know a client, either an individual leader for coaching purposes or an business for the purpose o

Month: September 2015