Lean Archives | Page 32 of 68

Thinking About Thinking

By Kevin Meyer - July 9th, 2018

For the past several years I’ve been fascinated by how we think – and how that affects us, our leadership, and the organizations we’re a part of. A couple years ago I wrote about the beginner’s mind and the va

Unlocking the Power of Continuous Improvement

By Ron Pereira - July 6th, 2018

The more I come to understand the idea of scientific thinking the more I see it hidden inside other sound systems including Nick Saban’s famous “Process” that’s lead to him building one of college football’

GA 222 | How to Sustain Improvements with Brian DeVries

By Jessica Bush - July 5th, 2018

This week’s guest is Brian DeVries. Ron and Brian talked about sustaining improvements and showing empathy throughout the process. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you’ll learn:

Deeply Understanding Improvement with Edgar Schein & John Shook

By Jon Miller - July 2nd, 2018

The Lean Enterprise Institute has put together the transcript of a dialogue between Prof. Edgar Schein and John Shook during the Lean Healthcare Academic Conference at Stanford in September 2017. The fifteen pages are full of stories a

GA 221 | How to Think Scientifically with Stephen Derksen

By Jessica Bush - June 28th, 2018

This week’s guest is Stephen Derksen. Ron and Stephen discussed Toyota Kata and learning how to think in a scientific manner. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you’ll learn: Step

How to Civilize an Elevator

By Jon Miller - June 25th, 2018

As recently as four years ago, my worked involved constant international travel. This is no longer the case. I miss very little of that life. One thing that I do miss is the exposure to other cultures, in particular how humans in vario

Set Full Sail

By Steve Kane - June 22nd, 2018

Getting started with lean in an existing organization challenging on many levels. Often some of the most important steps in a lean journey are not recognized. A common place people think they start is with 5S. It’s an

GA 220 | How to Ensure the Longevity of Your Lean Success with Mohamed Aref

By Jessica Bush - June 21st, 2018

This week’s guest is Mohamed Aref. Mohamed shared his lean journey with us, including his take on what makes a lean initiative stick, and what lean is like in Egypt. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download here.

How to Take a Trail, or Not

By Jon Miller - June 18th, 2018

While shopping for gifts with my family this weekend, I noticed the store had many cards, mugs, printed items on the theme of, “Don’t follow the trail made by others but make your own.” This is spectacularly bad advic

GA 219 | How to Adopt the Best Mindset for Lean with Kyle Kumpf

By Jessica Bush - June 14th, 2018

This week’s guest is Kyle Kumpf. Kyle walked us through his lean journey thus far, explaining why it’s important to be critical on processes and not people. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download here. In

Wellness Programs and the Health of Continuous Improvement

By Jon Miller - June 11th, 2018

Logical. Proven. Life-changing. These words equally describe successful health & wellness programs and continuous improvement programs. But do these programs really work in changing behaviors? Professors David Asch and Shreya Kan

GA 218 | How to Harness the Power of A3 Thinking with Captain Brad Brown

By Jessica Bush - June 7th, 2018

This week we’re sharing the audio of a presentation given by Captain Brad Brown at the 2017 Lean Municipal Government Forum in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Brad shared how the fire department’s use of A3 thinking has yielded rea

A Simple Hand Gesture that is Key to Goal Alignment

By Jon Miller - June 4th, 2018

Lean management aims to serve others by doing more with less, thereby sustainably reaping just rewards for such service. Among other things, this requires everyone in the organization to continuously improve products, processes, servic

Using Solitude and Silence to Enable Personal Reflection

By Kevin Meyer - June 1st, 2018

I will take time to be alone today. I will take time to be quiet. In this silence I will listen… and I will hear my answers. – Ruth Fishel Last Memorial Day weekend, while the rest of the country was enjoying the roar of the Indy 5

GA 217 | How Gemba Academy Practices Lean with Leslie Moles and Jennifer Scott

By Jessica Bush - May 31st, 2018

This week’s guests are our own Leslie Moles and Jennifer Scott. Leslie and Jennifer shared what it’s like practicing lean at Gemba Academy, specifically how we leverage Toyota Kata. An MP3 version of this episode is avail

Instructions Aren’t Enough

By Steve Kane - May 25th, 2018

During a recent airline emergency, cabin pressure was lost and the oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling. Passengers donned the masks, but not quite as instructed. Mobile phone videos of the incident showed many passengers wearing th

GA 216 | How to Reignite a Continuous Improvement Program with Casey Johnson

By Jessica Bush - May 24th, 2018

This week’s guest is Casey Johnson. Casey and Ron discussed the best ways to help an organization who has experienced a failed CI initiative get back on track. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download here. In thi

Compassion as a Competitive Advantage

By Jon Miller - May 21st, 2018

“The long-term value of a company is based on the speed and quality of its decision-making.” These are the words of Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn. He was speaking to the 2018 graduating business school students at the Univer

GA 215 | How to Reflect on Lessons Learned with Brian Buck

By Jessica Bush - May 17th, 2018

This week’s guest is Brian Buck. Brian reflected back on his journey thus far and shared some of the lessons he’s learned, including the importance of defining and maintaining standards. An MP3 version of this episode is av

Why Have Belts in Lean and Six Sigma?

By Jon Miller - May 14th, 2018

Motorola and the General Electric company made the greatest contributions to introduce Six Sigma across business in the 20th century. The deployment of Six Sigma often relied on “belts” of various colors, people who complet

Learn by Preparing to Teach

By Kevin Meyer - May 11th, 2018

Many studies have shown that one of the most effective ways to learn new material is not just to perform an activity with the new knowledge, but to teach it. It’s the reason why several companies ask interview finalists for new

GA 214 | How to Set a Challenge with Mark Rosenthal

By Jessica Bush - May 10th, 2018

This week’s guest is consultant Mark Rosenthal. Mark shared some insights regarding the various components of Toyota Kata, including setting a challenge and determining a target condition. An MP3 version of this episode is availa

What’s the Right Way to Do a Gemba Walk?

By Jon Miller - May 7th, 2018

From time to time people ask me a variation of the question, “What’s the right way to do a gemba walk?” They want to see an outline of activities, a step-by-step process for planning, taking the walk and reflecting on

Lean Municipal Government Forum in Grand Rapids

New Videos: Lean Municipal Government Forum

By Kevin Meyer - May 4th, 2018

Is your city’s government using lean? If not, perhaps you should forward this to them! We just released a new video series with the presentations and tours from the Lean Municipal Government Forum recently held in Grand Rapids, M

How do you walk the gemba?

By Ron Pereira - May 4th, 2018

Later this year we’re going to produce a course focused on the gemba walk. We have lots of ideas of how to approach this course but, like many aspects of lean, if you ask 10 “experts” how to go about the gemba walk

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