April 2018 | Gemba Academy

Lean Leadership is Teaching Learned Helpfulness

By Jon Miller - April 30th, 2018

When we use the expression “three-ring circus” we mean that the situation is chaotic and full of activity, not that it is entertaining. Chaotic or not, it takes effort to train animals to perform. Three-ring circuses and d

Where Do I Start with Lean?

By Steve Kane - April 27th, 2018

Where should I start with Lean? is a common question we receive at Gemba Academy. Some say starting with 5S is a must. Others favor eliminating the seven deadly wastes. Others still suggest value stream mapping. A great question

GA 212 | How to Combine TWI, Kata, and a Kaizen Event with Brandon Brown

By Jessica Bush - April 26th, 2018

This week’s guest is Brandon Brown. Brandon explained how he and his team have combined elements of TWI, kata, and kaizen events into a unique and effective learning system. An MP3 version of this episode is available for downloa

Too Good to Be True? Sustaining Kaizen for 20 Years

By Jon Miller - April 23rd, 2018

In podcast #211 we caught up with Jeff Kaas, the President of Kaas Tailored. When we first met, Jeff was 30 and I was 27 years old. He had just taken over the family business. Jeff suspected that he didn’t know what he was doin

GA 211 | How to Navigate a Kaizen Journey with Jeff Kaas

By Jessica Bush - April 19th, 2018

This week’s guest is Jeff Kaas, President of Kaas Tailored and Lead Consultant at Truth Bit Pull Consulting. Jeff described how he discovered kaizen, how it changed his company, and more. An MP3 version of this episode is availab

Lean Lessons from a Do-Nothing Scholar-Bureaucrat

By Jon Miller - April 16th, 2018

The words of the fourth century Taoist philosopher Zhuanzi led to a previous article about Lean thinking and respect for humanity. Another piece of writing attributed to him is titled Geng Sang Chu. It tells the story of a disciple of

The Importance of Respect for People in Problem-Solving

By Kevin Meyer - April 13th, 2018

Respect for people is one of the two core pillars of lean, if not the most important. We talk and write about it a lot, and it is a significant component of Gemba Academy’s online lean training programs. When respect for people i

GA 210 | How to Identify and Counteract the Three Root Sins with Ron Pereira

By Jessica Bush - April 12th, 2018

This week’s guest is actually Ron himself. Our own Steve Kane came on the show to ask Ron about the concept of root sin, and how it applies to both business and continuous improvement. An MP3 version of this episode is available

The Three Key Metrics for Continuous Improvement

By Jon Miller - April 9th, 2018

There are three key metrics to track our progress when striving for the ideal of continuous improvement. What we call continuous improvement (CI) is in fact unattainable. Something that is continuous is uninterrupted and never rests. E

The Thinking Rat Race

By Ron Pereira - April 6th, 2018

We’ve recently had some really fun podcast conversations centered around the whole “respect for people” topic. My friend and colleague, Jon Miller, challenged the idea of whether lean is really all about people. Fel

Month: April 2018