Year: 2018

133 Articles

Small Improvements Instead of Resolutions for the New Year

By Steve Kane - December 28th, 2018

We’re closing in on the new year, a time when big ideas about improving our lives come to mind.  It’s common knowledge that new year’s resolutions typically abandoned by Valentine’s Day.  Taking on too much

GA 247 | Using Lean in the U.S. Air Force with Greg Butler

By Jessica Bush - December 27th, 2018

This week’s guest is Senior Master Sergeant Greg Butler. Greg shared how he and his team use lean in the U.S. Air Force, some of the barriers to success he’s observed, and countermeasures you can use. An MP3 version of this

GA 246 | How to Admit When You’re Struggling with Gary Peterson

By Jessica Bush - December 20th, 2018

This week’s guest is Gary Peterson. Gary talked about his company O.C. Tanner’s lean journey, and shared some vulnerable anecdotes about failure, asking for help, and owning up to your mistakes.  An MP3 version of this epi

A Day in the Life of a Gemba-focused Executive VP

By Jon Miller - December 17th, 2018

One of the essential principles of lean management is go to gemba. This is far more than literally going to the scene of the problem when doing root cause analysis or going the occasional gemba walk. It is an “ism” or philo

Who do you want to be?

By Ron Pereira - December 14th, 2018

A few weeks ago, in episode 239 of the podcast, I mentioned I was reading (actually listening) to the book Atomic Habits by James Clear.  I finished listening to it.  It was good.  Real good.  So good I bought a hard copy and am no

GA 245 | How to Coach Leaders to Coach Others with Jamie Parker

By Jessica Bush - December 13th, 2018

This week’s guest is Jamie Parker. Ron and Jamie talked about Jamie’s career thus far, the importance of having an impact on others, and how to help leaders develop a team of problem solvers. An MP3 version of this episode

Respect for “Respect for Human Nature”

By Jon Miller - December 10th, 2018

There are three main perspectives on the lean thinking pillar of respect for people. First, respect for people means that all stakeholders deserve respect. A business does not prosper long-term focusing only on a few of them while igno

Avoid the Arbitrary Constraints of Time

By Kevin Meyer - December 7th, 2018

It’s that time of the year again when many people ask “where did the year go?” and furiously try to wrap up projects, crank out potentially unnecessary production, create plans and budgets for next year, and perhaps s

GA 244 | How to Teach Kata in the Classroom with Mike Rother

By Jessica Bush - December 6th, 2018

This week’s guest is Mike Rother. Mike actually interviewed Ron for this episode, and the two of them discussed scientific thinking and Ron’s experience facilitating a kata workshop for kids. An MP3 version of this episode

What Does it Mean to Measure Twice, Cut Once?

By Jon Miller - December 3rd, 2018

Last week I was appreciating some of our old podcasts and video interviews with lean practitioners. Our interviewer Ron Pereira always likes to ask a series of short, rapid-fire questions. One of my favorites is, “What is the bes

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