Year: 2017

137 Articles

The Dangers of Benchmarking Lean Exemplars

By Ron Pereira - October 6th, 2017

A common practice for folks getting started with lean is to benchmark lean exemplars in order to see what “good” looks like.  In fact, there are benchmarking tours to Japan where you can visit companies like Toyota.  I ac

GA 183 | How to Approach Lean with Michael Ballé

By Jessica Bush - October 5th, 2017

This week’s guest is Michael Ballé. Michael recently co-authored a new book, The Lean Strategy. Ron and Michael discussed the contents of the book and why the idea of lean as a strategy is so controversial. An MP3 version of th

The Definition of Insanity

By Jon Miller - October 2nd, 2017

Insanity is thinking or behavior that is unreasonable or irrational. Albert Einstein is often credited with observing that insanity is doing the same thing over and over a again and expecting different results. This definition seems to

GA 182 | How to Use the “5 Why” Method with Jon Miller

By Jessica Bush - September 28th, 2017

This week’s guest is GA Co-Founder Jon Miller. Jon explained the “5 Why” method and how it can be used to effectively determine root causes and solve problems. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download

Lean Customer Experience Design

By Jon Miller - September 25th, 2017

Customers are front and center when it comes to lean transformations. We want to win them over, delight them, keep them, strengthen the relationship and grow the business, by continuously improving what we do. Too often for non-service

There’s Value in Simple, Visual and Manual Systems

By Steve Kane - September 22nd, 2017

The advancement of technology of the years has put the sum of human knowledge at our fingertips.  We can look up pretty much anything we want to know in a matter of seconds.  Data systems have enabled us to see details of our busines

GA 181 | How to Start Your Lean Journey with Steve Kane

By Jessica Bush - September 21st, 2017

This week’s guest is our Director of Customer Success, Steve Kane. Steve and Ron discussed the best mindsets and approaches for beginning a lean journey. They also covered some of the problems that may arise. An MP3 version of th

A Speedy Recovery to Houston, and a Lesson in Overburdened Systems

By Jon Miller - September 18th, 2017

Mura, muri, muda. Three words that someone should have taught the civic leaders of Houston decades ago. This trio explains how systems break, why we waste our resources, and why people suffer worse than we should from predictable disas

GA 180 | How to Use Total Productive Maintenance with Jeff Gregory

By Jessica Bush - September 14th, 2017

This week’s guest is Jeff Gregory, a consultant with a strong industry background. Jeff and Ron talked all about TPM, OEE, and much more. Even if you’re not in manufacturing, there’s a lot to learn in this episode. An

A Spymaster’s Guide to Lean Thinking

By Jon Miller - September 11th, 2017

A person works in intelligence told me a few things about that profession. Here is a summary of a few similarities between good spy craft and good business leadership that come with lean thinking. Go to the gemba. Intelligence gatherin

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