Lean Archives | Page 17 of 68

Addressing Toyota Kata’s Counting Problem

By Jon Miller - April 5th, 2021

Toyota Kata is the name Mike Rother gave to the set of routines used at the company to teach and practice scientific thinking. There are two practice patterns, the improvement kata for the learner and the coaching kata for the coach.

The Dichotomy of Continuous Improvement

By Ron Pereira - April 2nd, 2021

Every weekday morning my 14-year-old son and I take the 25-minute drive to his school. Neither one of us are big talkers in the morning so we typically listen to audiobooks to pass the time. The topics of the books we’ve listened

GA 365 | Adopting a Growth Mindset with Nik Kottha

By Jessica Bush - April 1st, 2021

This week’s guest is Nik Kottha. Ron and Nik covered several important topics, including what Nik has learned from yoga, what excellence means to him, and where his passion comes from. Nik also stressed the importance of coaching

Blog Writing Experiment

By Jon Miller - March 29th, 2021

Since 2003, I’ve been putting my thoughts on kaizen, lean, continuous improvement, and related topics down in blog posts. For the past five years it’s been on a weekly cadence. My deadline is Monday at 4:59 AM Pacific Time.

Did Standardized Work Originate Thousands of Years Ago?

By Steve Kane - March 26th, 2021

Armies around the world and throughout history have many common practices and traditions. One practice, in particular, started thousands of years ago and is deeply rooted in what we today would characterize as Lean practices. This prac

GA 364 | Why Continuous Improvement Programs Fail with Peter Christian

By Jessica Bush - March 25th, 2021

This week’s guest is Peter Christian. Ron and Peter talk all about why Lean & Six Sigma programs often fail. They also explain what you can do to prevent some of these pitfalls. A MP3 audio version of this episode is availabl

Seven Policy Questions for Shaping a Lean Future

By Jon Miller - March 22nd, 2021

A Scientific American article from November 2020 looked ahead to how the election would shape the future of the U.S. and the world. The article asked seven questions related to how the election’s outcome would affect policies in

GA 363 | Lean, Loss, and Lessons Learned with Lee Houghton

By Jessica Bush - March 18th, 2021

This week’s guest is Lee Houghton. Lee shared one of the most personal, moving stories we’ve had on this podcast. This one will stay with you for quite a while. A MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download

When to Stop the Coaching Conversation

By Jon Miller - March 15th, 2021

One of the challenges of being an effective coach is knowing when to stop coaching. After sharing some insight or giving a piece of advice that lands well, it’s natural for a coach to feel good. If we’re not careful, this f

Neuroscience Reframes Aging

By Kevin Meyer - March 12th, 2021

Exactly a year ago my wife and I were in Hawaii and I was trading emails back and forth with a few colleagues speculating on the impact of the virus on our businesses, conferences, and lives. We returned to California the day before

GA 362 | Ethos, Logos, and Pathos in Continuous Improvement with David Larsen

By Jessica Bush - March 11th, 2021

This week’s guest is David Larsen. Ron and David had a great discussion about continuous improvement in both manufacturing and in healthcare. David also shared an interesting case study he worked on to improve employee safety. A

How to Shape Lean Leadership Culture Through Daily Management

By Jon Miller - March 8th, 2021

At the most basic level, a daily management system enables us to know each day whether we are on-track or off-track to meeting our goals. It provides a structure to expose problems and take corrective action. The system includes medium

Lessons Learned From a Flooded Office

By Ron Pereira - March 5th, 2021

As I pulled into the Gemba Academy parking lot Thursday morning, February 18th, I noticed something strange…there was ice everywhere. Now, as you may have heard, Texas was recently blasted with some crazy cold temperatures which

GA 361 | The Role of Entropy in Lean with Luciana Toda

By Jessica Bush - March 4th, 2021

This week’s guest is Luciana Toda. Ron and Luciana discussed the concept of entropy and its role in a culture of continuous improvement. They also explored how sustainability factors in as far as creating real, lasting change. A

Better Lean Leadership through Novice Learning

By Jon Miller - March 1st, 2021

I read an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal titled, How to Teach Professors Humility? Hand Them a Rubik’s Cube. Professors at Furman and Denison Universities took on a challenge over a six-week winter break. They had to

Coaches Have Obstacles Too

By Steve Kane - February 26th, 2021

The purpose of coaching is to help people get from where they are to where they want to be. It’s a process of inquiry that provides clear structure to thinking that, ideally, diminishes uncertainty by exposing obstacles and illum

GA 360 | The Importance of Being Intentional with Brandon Bartel

By Jessica Bush - February 25th, 2021

This week’s guest is Brandon Bartel. Ron and Brandon discussed setting intentions and the role intention plays. Brandon also shared his aspirations to incorporate more Toyota Kata into his lean journey. A MP3 audio version of thi

Three Things to Stop and Start Doing for Better Lean Coaching

By Jon Miller - February 22nd, 2021

The act of lean coaching covers a broad range of formal and informal roles. We see lean coaching between managers on a gemba walk, a consultant overseeing kaizen teams, a kata coach and an IK learner, a black belt mentoring a green bel

GA 359 | Pink Tools and Preventing Injuries with Adam Lawrence

By Jessica Bush - February 18th, 2021

This week’s guest is Adam Lawrence. Ron and Adam discussed Adam’s new book, “The Wheel of Sustainability,” including how and why he wrote it. Adam also shared some very moving stories that highlight the true pow

Five Helpful Favorite Phrases for Continuous Improvement Beginners

By Jon Miller - February 15th, 2021

The topic of continuous improvement is broad and deep. It’s easy for beginners to get overwhelmed by the variety of methods, tools and practices available. Even after grasping the technical jargon and settling on a particular app

Humble Questions Before Setting Direction

By Kevin Meyer - February 12th, 2021

I’ve long been a fan of Ed Schein, and his book Humble Inquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling is one of my favorite leadership books. I wrote about Schein several years ago and a colleague recently pointed me to

GA 358 | Lean in Higher Education with Thomas Lencki and Dagmar Vlahos

By Jessica Bush - February 11th, 2021

This week’s guests are Thomas Lencki and Dagmar Vlahos. They explained all the powerful ways they use lean in higher education in New Hampshire. Thomas and Dagmar also touched on increasing engagement, navigating Covid-era challe

How Not to Fool Ourselves

By Jon Miller - February 8th, 2021

There’s a saying, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” The deceiver is at fault the first time. But the second time, the person being tricked is also accountable for being fooled. We should learn from our mis

Lean Thinking: A Flashlight, Mirror, and Sandpaper

By Ron Pereira - February 5th, 2021

I’ve been following “The Bible in a Year” podcast that’s hosted by Fr. Mike Schmitz. It’s wonderfully done for anyone interested in covering the entire bible in a year. During one of the recent episodes

GA 357 | Revisiting The Toyota Way with Jeff Liker

By Jessica Bush - February 4th, 2021

This week’s guest is Dr. Jeffrey Liker. Jeff explained why he released a second edition of his bestselling book, The Toyota Way. Jeff and Ron also discussed scientific thinking and its relationship to other lean tools like 5S, Ho

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