January 2016 | Gemba Academy

Respect for People: Roommate Edition

By Jessica Bush - January 28th, 2016

As a young lean enthusiast, I have yet to experience a greater example of the need for Respect for People than living with roommates. From a cramped dorm room shared with one other person, to a more “grown up” house shar

GA 095 | How to Practice Lean from the Heart with Karl Wadensten

By Jessica Bush - January 28th, 2016

Today’s episode features a keynote from VIBCO Vibrators President Karl Wadensten at the 2015 Iowa Lean Consortium conference. Titled “Lean from the Heart,” Karl explores the emotions and thought processes behind lean

Peak Stuff and the Hierarchy of Useless Things

By Jon Miller - January 25th, 2016

In a radio interview this week the Chief Sustainability Officer for IKEA, Steve Howard, introduced the interesting idea that the West has arrived at “peak stuff.” He observed that consumption of “stuff” such

GA 094 | How to Embrace Lean with Bob Rush

By Jessica Bush - January 21st, 2016

Today’s guest is Bob Rush, a Lean Manufacturing Group Leader at Tesla Motors. Bob shares a lot of truly valuable advice based on his own personal lean journey, including some great stories that will both entertain and inspire y

Surviving E-mail Overburden with Seven Ds

By Jon Miller - January 18th, 2016

A recent Scientific American article on the strain of always being on call summarizes the stressful effects of always being connected to work. The modern workday may be unique in human history, in that we receive hundreds of messages p

The Only Genuine Knowledge Is That of Actual Experience

By Steve Kane - January 15th, 2016

“The only genuine knowledge is that of actual experience.” ~ Chinese proverb Training is a big part of lean transformation. Countless hours and dollars are spent in training rooms, seminars, and classrooms every year. It’s comm

GA 093 | How to Start a Lean Initiative with Blake Watermeier

By Jessica Bush - January 14th, 2016

Today’s guest is Blake Watermeier, Regional VP of Operations at ARC Document Solutions. Blake and I discuss the process of starting a new lean initiative and the obstacles that often follow. This episode complements last weekR

Putting Things on Top of Other Things

By Jon Miller - January 11th, 2016

One of my favorite comedy sketches is the “Royal Society for Putting Things on Top of Other Things” by Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Over the years I have grown to appreciate its insight into organizational behavio

How Applesauce Saves a Hospital $30,000 per Year

By Ron Pereira - January 8th, 2016

2016 definitely started with a bang for the Gemba Academy video production team! We just recorded another Gemba Academy Live! episode at Franciscan Health in Indianapolis. It was the first time we’ve visited a hospital and let

GA 092 | How to Restart Your Lean Transformation with Zane Ferry

By Jessica Bush - January 7th, 2016

Today’s guest is Zane Ferry, a great lean thinker and longtime friend of GA Co-Founder Jon Miller. Zane and I discuss the process of restarting a lean transformation, including why it happens and what to do to get back on track

Month: January 2016