Lean Archives | Page 29 of 68

Small Improvements Instead of Resolutions for the New Year

By Steve Kane - December 28th, 2018

We’re closing in on the new year, a time when big ideas about improving our lives come to mind. It’s common knowledge that new year’s resolutions typically abandoned by Valentine’s Day. Taking on too much

GA 247 | Using Lean in the U.S. Air Force with Greg Butler

By Jessica Bush - December 27th, 2018

This week’s guest is Senior Master Sergeant Greg Butler. Greg shared how he and his team use lean in the U.S. Air Force, some of the barriers to success he’s observed, and countermeasures you can use. An MP3 version of this

GA 246 | How to Admit When You’re Struggling with Gary Peterson

By Jessica Bush - December 20th, 2018

This week’s guest is Gary Peterson. Gary talked about his company O.C. Tanner’s lean journey, and shared some vulnerable anecdotes about failure, asking for help, and owning up to your mistakes. An MP3 version of this epi

A Day in the Life of a Gemba-focused Executive VP

By Jon Miller - December 17th, 2018

One of the essential principles of lean management is go to gemba. This is far more than literally going to the scene of the problem when doing root cause analysis or going the occasional gemba walk. It is an “ism” or philo

GA 245 | How to Coach Leaders to Coach Others with Jamie Parker

By Jessica Bush - December 13th, 2018

This week’s guest is Jamie Parker. Ron and Jamie talked about Jamie’s career thus far, the importance of having an impact on others, and how to help leaders develop a team of problem solvers. An MP3 version of this episode

Respect for “Respect for Human Nature”

By Jon Miller - December 10th, 2018

There are three main perspectives on the lean thinking pillar of respect for people. First, respect for people means that all stakeholders deserve respect. A business does not prosper long-term focusing only on a few of them while igno

Avoid the Arbitrary Constraints of Time

By Kevin Meyer - December 7th, 2018

It’s that time of the year again when many people ask “where did the year go?” and furiously try to wrap up projects, crank out potentially unnecessary production, create plans and budgets for next year, and perhaps s

GA 244 | How to Teach Kata in the Classroom with Mike Rother

By Jessica Bush - December 6th, 2018

This week’s guest is Mike Rother. Mike actually interviewed Ron for this episode, and the two of them discussed scientific thinking and Ron’s experience facilitating a kata workshop for kids. An MP3 version of this episode

What Does it Mean to Measure Twice, Cut Once?

By Jon Miller - December 3rd, 2018

Last week I was appreciating some of our old podcasts and video interviews with lean practitioners. Our interviewer Ron Pereira always likes to ask a series of short, rapid-fire questions. One of my favorites is, “What is the bes

GA 243 | How to Strive to Thrive with Michael Lombard

By Jessica Bush - November 29th, 2018

This week’s guest is Michael Lombard. Michael and Ron discussed Michael’s career thus far, specifically his work in healthcare and his use of kata. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download here. In this epis

Lean Thinking and Embodied Cognition

By Jon Miller - November 26th, 2018

In the study of the mind through philosophy, psychology and biology, there is a theory called embodied cognition. Unlike the assumption that the mind is generated only by the brain, embodied cognition claims that many features of cogn

GA 242 | How to Leverage Different Lean Experiences with Katie Anderson

By Jessica Bush - November 22nd, 2018

This week we have another episode from AME San Diego. Our guest is Katie Anderson, who told us all about the AME Consortia program, her Japan Lean Study trips, and more. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download here.

Three Ways to Slice the Social Loaf

By Jon Miller - November 19th, 2018

Humans accomplish things in teams. From the most basic unit of the family to local community to sports clubs to for-profit and non-profit organizations, people working toward a common goal is how we get big things done. Things one pers

GA 241 | How to Make Work More Human with Renée Smith

By Jessica Bush - November 15th, 2018

This week we’re continuing our live AME San Diego series with Renée Smith of Results Washington. Ron and Renée both shared some powerful anecdotes and insights into the humanity of lean and its potential to really change lives.

How does Lean Thinking Help Us to Prepare for the Unpredictable?

By Jon Miller - November 12th, 2018

One of the goals of lean problem solving is to prevent recurrence of problems by finding and addressing its root causes. We identify the factors that are critical good outcomes. We learn when and how they vary outside of desired para

Looking Forward with Alfred Adler

By Kevin Meyer - November 9th, 2018

Meanings are not determined by situations, but we determine ourselves by the meanings we give to situations. – Alfred Adler I’m not really sure how it started, but one day a couple months ago I found myself diving down an i

GA 240 | How to Leverage Lean Like Barry-Wehmiller with Brian Wellinghoff

By Jessica Bush - November 8th, 2018

This week we’re sharing the first of several episodes we recorded live at AME San Diego. For this episode, our guest is Brian Wellinghoff. Ron and Brian discussed Barry-Wehmiller’s lean journey, the lessons Brian has learne

How to Use Trees and Fish to Diagram Root Causes

By Jon Miller - November 5th, 2018

How effective we are at solving problems and keeping them solved depends on our ability to address them at their source. When we put out fires but fail to put in measures to prevent similar ones in the future, we fight the same fires a

GA 239 | How to Determine Root Causes with Ron Pereira

By Jessica Bush - November 1st, 2018

This week’s episode includes a little bit of everything. Ron provided an update on a few exciting things we have in the works, discussed a book he’s loving, and then explored the powerful concept of “5 Why.” An

Five Questions to Reflect on Both Process and Results of Problem Solving

By Jon Miller - October 29th, 2018

When an organization’s culture is results-driven it is easy for people to receive the signal that it is okay to get results at any cost. This can lead to hiding poor results or problems. It can lead to false or shallow problem so

Disrupt Your Thinking

By Steve Kane - October 26th, 2018

Learn Something New Autumn seems to be conference season in the Lean community. I’ve attended events hosted by the Colorado Lean Network and the Michigan Lean Consortium in the past few weeks. Conferences are great opportunitie

GA 238 | How to Change Your Culture with Toyota Kata with Emiel van Est

By Jessica Bush - October 25th, 2018

This week’s guest is Emiel van Est. Ron and Emiel discussed the vital role that culture plays in continuous improvement, and how methodologies like Toyota Kata can help sustain your success. An MP3 version of this episode is avai

Three Core Beliefs Fundamental to Standard Work

By Jon Miller - October 22nd, 2018

Standard work and kaizen are often described the two cornerstones of the Toyota Production System house, a.k.a. lean management. The various systems, methods and tools that make up the lean way of working rely on setting provisional st

GA 237 | How to Incorporate and Leverage Sustainability with Brion Hurley

By Jessica Bush - October 18th, 2018

This week’s guest is Brion Hurley. A Lean and Six Sigma consultant with a true passion for sustainability, Brion shared some advice on the “Triple Bottom Line,” going paperless, and more. An MP3 version of this episod

Review of Four Types of Problems by Art Smalley

By Jon Miller - October 15th, 2018

The new book by leading lean thinker Art Smalley titled Four Types of Problems is available from the Lean Enterprise Institute. Problem solving is one of my favorite topics. I found myself both delighted by and disagreeing with parts

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