Jon Miller, Author at Gemba Academy

Lean Thinking from Itchy Toes to NASA

By Jon Miller - June 5th, 2017

About a month ago I consulted a physician about itchy toes, for the third time in about a year. Through this process, I was able to reflect on Lean thinking, organizational culture, how we present problems, and what this means for th

Purpose for Asking “Why?”

By Jon Miller - May 29th, 2017

At its heart, Lean is about problem solving. Closing gaps. Overcoming obstacles. Making things better. The basic difference between organizations that succeed long-term with Lean and those who don’t can be gauged by how well they

Brain Science on How Lean Works

By Jon Miller - May 22nd, 2017

How does Lean work? There are rational, that is to say scientific, explanations. It works because when outputs are increase and inputs decreased, profit follows. Lean works because flow, pull and visualization remove waste and expos

Visual Management Mind Trick

By Jon Miller - May 15th, 2017

Talk about thinking outside of the box. Each spring crows entered the abandoned lower floors of the research center. They stripped away pipe insulation for their nests. They left behind feathers and droppings. What did the researcher

Lean is Not About Principles

By Jon Miller - May 8th, 2017

Lately I’ve been involved in several conversations of “Is lean about tools or is it about principles?” Hardly anybody argues for the tools. The popular consensus is that Lean is about principles, but it is a vague and loos

The Lean Journey: It’s in the Name

By Jon Miller - May 1st, 2017

While attending a recent event showcasing the ongoing lean transformation at a local hospital, I was reminded of the meaning of “journey”. Those of us practicing continuous improvement for our personal benefit or on behalf

To Lead with Respect, Stop Boring People

By Jon Miller - April 24th, 2017

One of the greatest challenges for leaders of an organization is to keep people engaged in the work. Annual Gallup polls tell us that less than a third of U.S. workers are engaged. People who are engaged deliver better quality, produc

Why Won’t Senior Leaders Attend My Lean Training?

By Jon Miller - April 17th, 2017

Nothing focuses the mind like… Most words that end this sentence are rather unpleasant. The hangman’s noose. Being shot at. Impending death. What these have in common is that they limit our future options. They are constr

King County Food Safety Rating System Earns a Fail

By Jon Miller - April 10th, 2017

The State of Washington boasts an active Lean community of large corporations, small startups, local hospitals, non-profits, state and local government. Both the State and King County, where Seattle is located, have Lean departments

Solution-Jumping Creates Problems

By Jon Miller - April 3rd, 2017

In my experience, the most so-called problem solving in this world is just solution-jumping. This is true in business, government policy, personal relationships, sports, personal health. We grease the squeaky wheel. We tamper with syst

Lean Thinking Questions for a Provider Delay Board

By Jon Miller - March 27th, 2017

I recently joined a family member’s visit to a local medical center. A new visual control labeled “Provider Delay Board” was displayed prominently in the waiting area. The medical center in question is known for being

A Lean Look at Citigroup’s Ethics Improvement Efforts

By Jon Miller - March 20th, 2017

David Miller (no known relation) is a morality improvement consultant. That’s not morale, as in how people feel about their work, but morality, as in whether we are good people or bad people, in ethical terms. Featured in the W

Taiichi Ohno Interview Video Footage

By Jon Miller - March 13th, 2017

This week I found a five-minute YouTube video excerpt featuring Taiichi Ohno. It is a television program about the revolutionary productivity Ohno achieved at Toyota. It is from the late 1980s. Taiichi Ohno is interviewed in what lo

Respect for People and Workbenches of the Mind

By Jon Miller - March 6th, 2017

Lean cultures accomplish the most good with the least time and resource through continuous improvement and respect for people. Compared to continuous improvement, there is less evidence to prove that respect for people directly affect

The Inner Game of Continuous Improvement

By Jon Miller - February 27th, 2017

Five-time Superbowl winner Tom Brady credits reading The Inner Game of Tennis by Tim Gallwey for helping him overcome anxiety and self-doubt, and to keep winning. I read the book looking for parallels and general lessons that could

What’s Another Word for “Problem”?

By Jon Miller - February 20th, 2017

What’s another word for “problem”? Opportunity? Situation? How about challenge? Whenever I hear this question, it’s an indication of a cultural problem. Unlike in lean organizations, bad things follow the discov

Review of Leading with Lean by Philip Holt

By Jon Miller - February 13th, 2017

Leading with Lean: an Experience-based Guide to Lean Transformation, by Philip Holt, aims to provide current or aspiring lean leaders with experience-based insights and steps to ensure that others in the organization are turned on a

A Pithier Name for the 8th Waste

By Jon Miller - February 6th, 2017

An article in Popular Science introduced some interesting research how to activate your brain’s ability to learn. The findings can be read as an interesting neuroscience-based argument in favor of daily stand up meetings, follow

Three Management Lessons from the 2016 NFL Season

By Jon Miller - January 30th, 2017

After about a 20 year hiatus, I have enjoyed following the game of American football closely over the past two years. Go Hawks! Watching how teams hire and fire coaches, build their rosters and manage their seasons is almost more int

Amps, Watts, Volts, Ohms and Lean Effectiveness

By Jon Miller - January 23rd, 2017

The most thoughtful questions that I have received from senior leaders regarding the health of their organization’s lean transformation have little to do with the methods, tools and lean practices themselves. Nor are these ques

To Close an Engagement Gap, Bust Out a Myth

By Jon Miller - January 16th, 2017

We think of myths as commonly-held ideas or beliefs that are in fact not true. We even watch as Myth-busters test out and disprove popular myths. Why then would myths be the key to saving the world? Before myths were false, they were�

The Political Economy of Fitness

By Jon Miller - January 9th, 2017

As often happens this time of year, the Wall Street Journal editorialized on the physical fitness (or lack thereof) of Americans with a brief history of humankind’s desperate attempts to stay fit. In essence, the article demonst

How to Convince Someone, or Not

By Jon Miller - January 2nd, 2017

Have you ever noticed that when you present people with facts that are contrary to their deepest held beliefs they always change their minds? Me neither. So begins a Scientific American article on how to convince someone when facts fa

Lean Practices to Counter Cognitive Biases

By Jon Miller - December 19th, 2016

The Knowledge@Wharton interview with Michael Lewis, the author of The Undoing Project, was interesting for several reasons. First, it covered cognitive biases, one of my favorite topics. Second, the book is about Amos Tversky and Dani

Coming Soon: The Toyota Engagement Equation

By Jon Miller - December 12th, 2016

I’ve always loved hearing stories and insights from the early days of Toyota’s building their lean culture. Tracey and Ernie Richardson were there in 1986 when Toyota started up the first US factory in Georgetown, Kentucky

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