Lean Archives | Page 20 of 68

Time to Stop

By Kevin Meyer - October 9th, 2020

As we approach the arbitrary end of the year, many organizations are beginning the planning cycle for next year. Part of that process should be identifying what projects and activities should be stopped, for several reasons – p

GA 340 | Modernizing TWI with Ryan Weiss

By Jessica Bush - October 8th, 2020

This week’s guest is Ryan Weiss. Ryan, a lean consultant, shared his approach to optimizing performance. He and Ron also discussed the modernization of TWI, and how different learning styles play a role. A MP3 audio version of th

The Many Methods of Business Process Mapping

By Jon Miller - October 5th, 2020

One of our content goals for the year is to make our learning library more useful for knowledge workers. To this end, we are in the process of building the Business Process Mapping course. What’s in the Business Process Mapping C

Focus on What you Plan to Do (Not What You Want to Get Done)

By Ron Pereira - October 2nd, 2020

Yesterday, during a coaching call with Allen, one of our Black Belt candidates, I had an interesting conversation. Allen asked how to best plan out the next 5 business days and if I had any recommendations on what he should get done.

GA 339 | Applying Lean and Six Sigma to Human Resources with Michael Parent

By Jessica Bush - October 1st, 2020

This week’s guest is Michael Parent. Ron and Michael discussed the role of continuous improvement in HR and the challenges Michael faces. Michael also shared his take on applying these principles in untraditional contexts. A MP3

The Loopy Guide to Getting Started with Lean

By Jon Miller - September 28th, 2020

We often hear the question, “Where do I get started?” from people new to lean, continuous improvement or operational excellence. A simple, universal answer continues to evade us. The answer is rather situational. It depends

5 Tips for Choosing a Lean Certification Course

By Steve Kane - September 25th, 2020

There are many Lean certification courses available from a wide variety of organizations. Choosing the right one to suit your specific needs can be a bit tricky. Here are some tips and considerations to help you find the right one for

GA 338 | Gamifying Lean with Bruno Pesec

By Jessica Bush - September 24th, 2020

This week’s guest is Bruno Pesec. Ron and Bruno discussed innovation strategy, the intersection of respect for people and innovation, and how Bruno has been involved in gamifying lean. A MP3 audio version of this episode is ava

The Five-minute Morale and Productivity Booster

By Jon Miller - September 21st, 2020

We love to hear from our customers at Gemba Academy. Sometimes it’s about things we can do better. Customer requests for new topics for our learning library are an important input to our plans. Perhaps the best is hearing about o

GA 337 | Making the Best of Bad Circumstances with Skip Steward

By Jessica Bush - September 17th, 2020

This week’s guest is Skip Steward. Ron and Skip reflected on the year thus far and on some of the different challenges COVID-19 has created. Skip also shared his take on dealing with confirmation biases. A MP3 audio version of th

COLLECT Questions for Better Gemba Walks

By Jon Miller - September 14th, 2020

The purpose of gemba walks is to demonstrate respect for the people who do the work, collect information, and promote actions that continuously improve processes and shape organizational culture. People accomplish this by going to the

Infographic: 5 Best Practices for Online Learning

By Kevin Meyer - September 12th, 2020

Gemba Academy’s latest infographic on “5 Best Practices for Online Learning” is now available! The image is below, or you can download it on our Resources page. The other infographics on Best Practices for Remote

The Stabilizing Foundation of Values

By Kevin Meyer - September 11th, 2020

We’re living through some crazy times and dealing with issues that were not anticipated during planning sessions. Every day we’re confronted with new information, new analyses of facts and opinions, creating new decisions

GA 336 | The Process of Process Improvement with Karen Friedenberg

By Jessica Bush - September 10th, 2020

This week’s guest is Karen Friedenberg. Karen, who has a diverse career background, broke down all the different ways she approaches process improvement. From DMAIC to change management, this episode is full of practical knowledg

How to Build High-Performance Teams through Lean Practices

By Jon Miller - September 7th, 2020

Teams are a well-established feature of how we manage, accomplish and improve our work. Yet too often teams at work are no more than a near-random collection of people. If we were building a high-performance car, we would never do so w

What Is a Transactional Value Stream Map?

By Ron Pereira - September 4th, 2020

We’ve recently released “phase 1” of a new Business Process Mapping series. Two additional phases will be added in the coming weeks. In phase 1 we explore the topic of transactional value stream mapping. In this

GA 335 | Leveraging Creative Thinking with Erlin Kakkanad

By Jessica Bush - September 3rd, 2020

This week’s guest is Erlin Kakkanad. Erlin explained the differences between critical and creative thinking, stressing the specific powers of creative thinking. If you’re looking for new ways to solve problems, this episode

Akio Toyoda’s Take on TPS

By Jon Miller - August 31st, 2020

One might think that Toyota, after more than fifty years of developing, working within, and refining the Toyota Production System, wouldn’t need to run training courses on TPS for managers. And yet recently Toyota has started a s

Platforms for Online Lean and Six Sigma Training

By Kevin Meyer - August 28th, 2020

Over the last decade, Gemba Academy’s online library has grown to nearly 2,000 lean and six sigma training videos. These are organized into three general categories: the School of Lean, School of Six Sigma, and our unique Gemba

GA 334 | The Benefits of System Integration with Danny Bradford

By Jessica Bush - August 27th, 2020

This week’s guest is Danny Bradford. Danny described the power of system and B2B integration, what goes into a successful integration, and how these concepts apply to different industries. A MP3 audio version of this episode is a

GA 333 | The Five Skills for Effective Leadership with Hugh Alley

By Jessica Bush - August 20th, 2020

This week’s guest is Hugh Alley. Ron and Hugh discussed the five core skills to being a good leader and boss, how it all relates to TWI, Hugh’s book, and more. A MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download h

Repainting the Wood Steps of Lean Transformation

By Jon Miller - August 17th, 2020

Summer is a great time for home improvement projects. This week I crossed off another one off of my list. The paint on one of the back staircases was worn and peeling. It was in dire in need of repair. At five feet wide, three feet tal

Leveraging the Solitude of Leadership

By Kevin Meyer - August 14th, 2020

I’ve long relished intentional periods of solitude to reflect and renew. I’ll often take advantage of the six mile stretch of beach between Morro Bay’s [hopefully] extinct volcano a couple blocks from my house and t

GA 332 | Lean, Fashion Photography, and E-Commerce with Adam Murfin

By Jessica Bush - August 13th, 2020

This week’s guest is Adam Murfin. Adam described how he uses lean in fashion photography, including the pre and post-production stages. This episode is a great example of how versatile and universal lean really is. A MP3 audio ve

Better Business Processes through ECRSA

By Jon Miller - August 10th, 2020

I came across my old friend Ecrsa while working on some teaching videos for our Business Process Mapping. She’s actually an industrial engineering acronym, ECRS. It stands for Eliminate, Combine, Rearrange, Simplify, with the a

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