Leadership

878 Articles

GA 016 | Developing Lean Leaders with Jamie Flinchbaugh

By Ron Pereira - July 24th, 2014

This episode’s guest is Jamie Flinchbaugh, who has over 20 years of lean transformation experience. I’ve followed his work for years and was so excited to finally connect with him on this episode. Jamie is such a down-to-

We Have Met the Enemy

By Ron Pereira - July 21st, 2014

My 7-year-old son and I were recently driving together in the car. My son isn’t normally a big talker (his sisters more than make up for it… ha!) so we were engaged in some small talk while listening to the radio. Then, out

GA 015 | Lean Healthcare in Tanzania with Mike Grogan

By Ron Pereira - July 17th, 2014

Today’s guest is Mike Grogan, who works for CCBRT, a medical relief clinic in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. This episode is particularly inspiring…Mike’s answers stayed with me long after our conversation was over. To hear

GA 014 | Lean Leadership with Adam Zak

By Ron Pereira - July 10th, 2014

This week’s podcast guest is Adam Zak, a Lean Executive Recruiter. With a diverse background in lean thinking, accounting, finance, and management Adam uses his unique perspective to share some truly powerful advice. If youR

GA 013 | Lean and Six Sigma in the Service Industry at West Texas A&M with Bryan Glenn

By Ron Pereira - July 3rd, 2014

I’m thrilled to welcome Bryan Glenn as today’s podcast guest. As the Director of Purchasing and Inventory Services at West Texas A&M University, Bryan is responsible for the implementation of the school’s lean ini

GA 011 | The Role of Employee Ideas in Continuous Improvement with Dr. Greg Jacobson

By Ron Pereira - June 19th, 2014

I’m excited to introduce this episode’s guest, Greg Jacobson, Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder of KaiNexus. Also an emergency medicine practitioner, Greg brings a unique angle to the subject of continuous improvement.

GA 010 | Using Lean to Help NGOs with Steve Bell

By Ron Pereira - June 12th, 2014

This episode’s guest speaker is Steve Bell, a longtime lean thinker. While his background is in the IT and Agile spaces, Steve’s passion is using lean to help NGOs and nonprofits. I think you’ll find Steve’s a

Gemba Academy Culture Code – A Guide to the Way of Life at Gemba Academy

By Ron Pereira - June 9th, 2014

My business associates and I have been busy creating what we’re calling the “Gemba Academy Culture Code.” We’re sharing it with the world since we hope it gives everyone a better idea of what we’re strivin

GA 006 | Exploring Why So Many Companies Struggle to Fully Embrace Continuous Improvement with Bill Waddell

By Ron Pereira - May 15th, 2014

In this episode, I’m joined by one of the most experienced lean thinkers I know.  Bill Waddell is a lean author, blogger, and consultant. Bill is, without doubt, one of the most interesting and, some might even say, controversia

GA 005 | Value Stream Mapping: How to Visualize Work and Align Leadership for Organizational Transformation with Karen Martin

By Ron Pereira - May 8th, 2014

In this episode, I’m joined by one of the most passionate lean thinkers I’ve ever met – Karen Martin. During this podcast, Karen and I explore the topic of Value Stream Mapping. Specifically, Karen and I have an excel

GA 004 | Leveraging the Toyota Kata Approach to Learning & Coaching with Michael Lombard

By Ron Pereira - May 8th, 2014

During this podcast Michael Lombard and I explore the Toyota Kata topic. Michael, a long time lean thinker, is the Director of Operational Excellence at a major hospital here in the Dallas Fort Worth area. Specifically, during this sho

GA 003 | Learn What Joyfulness and Lean Thinking Have in Common with Richard Sheridan

By Ron Pereira - May 1st, 2014

How much joy and happiness do you, and your colleagues, feel each and every day?  Are you excited to come to work or do you dread it?   No matter your answer… if you’re interested in learning how to create a more exciting

GA 002 | Learning, Focus, and Innovation with Matthew May

By Ron Pereira - April 30th, 2014

Welcome to Episode 2 of the Gemba Academy podcast! In this episode, I’m joined by Matt May.  Matt is an incredible lean thinker who specializes in helping companies innovate. Originally, Matt and I were planning to talk about an

What Problem Are You Trying to Solve?

By Ron Pereira - November 15th, 2013

The most frequently asked question we receive at Gemba Academy goes something like this, “What videos should we watch first?” A close second is, “”What lean tools or philosophies should we focus on first?” How to Respond Of c

Does Jim Womack Regret Calling it “Lean”?

By Ron Pereira - November 13th, 2013

If they had to do it over again… would Jim Womack & Dan Jones still support calling it lean?  And what did John Shook originally think about the book title “Learning to See?”  Finally, what is the “Great Stagn

Lean Thinker Challenge #2

By Ron Pereira - October 2nd, 2013

Well, it’s safe to say our first Lean Thinker Challenge was a hit… as of a few minutes ago there were 56 comments. Thank you to all of you who joined the conversation! Now, let’s get to this week’s Lean Thinker Challenge! The S

Lean Thinker Challenge #1

By Ron Pereira - September 12th, 2013

OK, so I thought I’d start a new, hopefully fun, series of articles called the Lean Thinker Challenge.  This is the first edition! The Situation You’ve just been hired as the VP of Operations for a 200 person manufacturing

Was Steve Jobs a Lean Thinker?

By Ron Pereira - July 29th, 2013

Can Continuous Improvement methodologies such as Lean & Six Sigma help companies innovate? Or, as some argue, does practicing continuous improvement actually stifle innovation? I’d argue authentic continuous improvement can most

10 Characteristics of Great Coaches & Learners

By Ron Pereira - July 15th, 2013

Throughout my professional career I’ve been fortunate enough to learn – and teach others – about leadership, lean, and six sigma. As I reflect back, I believe I’ve uncovered some characteristics of what makes a good coa

5 Powerful Techniques for Dealing with Setbacks or Total Failure

By Ron Pereira - June 11th, 2013

Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right. -Henry Ford It’s 9:25 PM on a Friday night and I’m currently sitting in the Seattle Tacoma airport due to my flight being delayed. Latest estimates have me arriving home in Dall

How Do You Document Your Processes?

By Ron Pereira - May 13th, 2013

At Gemba Academy we’re constantly doing our best to “practice what we teach.” Now, to be honest, we’re far from perfect (who is?) but we’re always trying to find better ways to take care of our customers and develop better pr

Going to Gemba vs. Statistical Analysis

By Ron Pereira - May 6th, 2013

Early in my professional career I worked as a Process Engineer at Nokia (in their mobile phone division). I had many responsibilities but, ultimately, my most important job centered on ensuring all of the equipment was producing cell p

The Problem with A3 Reports

By Ron Pereira - April 22nd, 2013

The A3 report may be one of the most misunderstood lean thinking tools of our time. Why do I say this? Simple. It’s Just a Piece of Paper The A3 report, in and of itself, is nothing more than a piece of paper. But, for some reaso

A Factory of One

By Ron Pereira - April 26th, 2012

If you missed our most recent webinar called “A Factory of One” you can watch a replay of it here. It was excellent and I highly recommend you take the time to check it out. It’s free to view until May 15, 2012.  Aft

Caine’s Arcade

By Ron Pereira - April 16th, 2012

I second Dan in saying this may be the best 11 minutes of your day.  If you want to be inspired – and smile – watch this video (click through to site if you’re reading via email or RSS).  Really, folks.  Please wat

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