Productivity

617 Articles

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

GA 212 | How to Combine TWI, Kata, and a Kaizen Event with Brandon Brown

By Jessica Bush - April 26th, 2018

This week’s guest is Brandon Brown. Brandon explained how he and his team have combined elements of TWI, kata, and kaizen events into a unique and effective learning system. An MP3 version of this episode is available for downloa

GA 211 | How to Navigate a Kaizen Journey with Jeff Kaas

By Jessica Bush - April 19th, 2018

This week’s guest is Jeff Kaas, President of Kaas Tailored and Lead Consultant at Truth Bit Pull Consulting. Jeff described how he discovered kaizen, how it changed his company, and more. An MP3 version of this episode is availab

GA 208 | How to Define Lean, Success, and Strategy with Jon Miller and Michael Ballé

By Jessica Bush - March 29th, 2018

This week’s guests are Jon Miller and Michael Ballé. Together with Ron, they discussed the definitions of lean, success, and strategy, as well as using lean as a strategy for innovation and growth. An MP3 version of this episode

GA 207 | How to Define the Role of People in Lean with Jon Miller

By Jessica Bush - March 22nd, 2018

This week’s guest is GA Co-Founder Jon Miller. Ron and Jon discussed the people side of lean, specifically why stating that lean is “all about people” can be problematic. An MP3 version of this episode is available fo

GA 206 | How to Sustain Your Lean Success with Geoff Cox

By Jessica Bush - March 15th, 2018

This week’s guest is Production Manager Geoff Cox. Geoff and Ron discussed the key role of culture, and why lean really is all about people. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you’

GA 205 | How to Use Lean in the Cafeteria with Willy Bustillos

By Jessica Bush - March 8th, 2018

This week’s guest is Willy Bustillos, a Food Service Manager who uses lean principles to improve high school cafeterias. Willy explained what it’s like applying lean in such an untraditional setting, including some of the c

GA 204 | How to Set the Stage for Your Lean Journey with Matt Kellett

By Jessica Bush - March 1st, 2018

This week’s guest is continuous improvement leader Matt Kellett. Matt and Ron discussed what needs to be in place in order to successfully start and sustain a lean journey. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download

Avoid the Ambush

By Steve Kane - February 23rd, 2018

As I’m writing this, I’m attending the Toyota Kata Summit in Atlanta.  The early keynotes of the conference touched on several important aspects of Lean leadership.  Among them were the general topic of respect for people

GA 203 | How to Apply Lean to Manufacturing Location Decisions with Harry Moser

By Jessica Bush - February 22nd, 2018

This week’s guest is Harry Moser, Founder and President of the Reshoring Initiative. Ron and Harry discussed reshoring, including what it is and how lean plays a role. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download here

GA 202 | How to Achieve Clarity with Karen Martin

By Jessica Bush - February 15th, 2018

This week’s guest is consultant and speaker Karen Martin. Karen shed some light on the importance of individual and organizational clarity in anticipation of her new book, Clarity First. An MP3 version of this episode is availab

GA 201 | How to Apply Lean to the Airline Industry with David Acklin

By Jessica Bush - February 8th, 2018

This week’s guest is David Acklin from Hawaiian Airlines. David explained how they improved their interline baggage process, including how they got other airlines involved. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download

GA 200 | What We’ve Learned from 200 Episodes with Ron Pereira and Past Guests

By Jessica Bush - February 1st, 2018

This week we’re celebrating a milestone: our 200th episode. For this special episode we decided to highlight some of the major themes we’ve had thus far, featuring some truly incredible guests. An MP3 version of this episod

GA 199 | How to Understand Your Current Condition with Drew Locher

By Jessica Bush - January 25th, 2018

This week’s guest is Drew Locher. Drew explained a huge issue in continuous improvement…rushing into countermeasures before taking the time to investigate and understand the current condition. An MP3 version of this episode

GA 198 | How to Start and Fund Your Lean Journey with Ron Pereira

By Jessica Bush - January 18th, 2018

This week we’re sharing our first two Gemba Talk episodes, a new video series available without a subscription. Specifically, Ron explains what it takes to both start and fund a lean journey. An MP3 version of this episode is ava

GA 197 | How to Use Continuous Improvement in Untraditional Settings with Veronica Silva

By Jessica Bush - January 11th, 2018

This week’s guest is Veronica Silva. Veronica shared some great stories of how she’s used continuous improvement in all different kinds of settings, including bartending and banking. An MP3 version of this episode is availa

GA 195 | How to Manage a Career Change with Thomas Frederick

By Jessica Bush - December 28th, 2017

This week’s guest is Thomas Frederick. Tom explained what it was like to switch careers from teaching/coaching to healthcare, applying lean along the way. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download here. In this epi

GA 194 | How to Teach the Art of Continuous Improvement with Attila Dobai

By Jessica Bush - December 21st, 2017

This week’s guest is Attila Dobai. Attila’s background is in the service industry, and he shared some of his stories with us…specifically about the people-side of continuous improvement. An MP3 version of this episode

GA 193 | How to Leverage Pull Learning with Steve Cole and Carl Sanders-Edwards

By Jessica Bush - December 14th, 2017

This week’s guests are Steve Cole and Carl Sanders-Edwards. Steve and Carl explained pull learning, including what it means and why it’s so effective. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download here. In this e

GA 192 | How to Use Visual Management with Julie Lushbough

By Jessica Bush - December 7th, 2017

This week’s guest is Julie Lushbough. Julie works for Hallmark and shared her lean journey with us, including her experience using visual management. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode

GA 190 | How to Use Lean in Software Development vs. Operations with Tom and Mary Poppendieck

By Jessica Bush - November 23rd, 2017

This week’s guests are Tom and Mary Poppendieck. Tom and Mary discussed the role that lean plays in software development, versus in more traditional operational contexts. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download h

GA 188 | How to Understand the Components of Kata with Brandon Brown

By Jessica Bush - November 9th, 2017

This week’s guest is Brandon Brown. Brandon provided us with a comprehensive breakdown of both the improvement and coaching katas, in anticipation of our upcoming kata course. An MP3 version of this episode is available for downl

GA 187 | How to Leverage the Improvement and Coaching Katas with Mark Rosenthal

By Jessica Bush - November 2nd, 2017

This week we’re giving you a sneak peek of our upcoming kata course. Ron explains why kata is so valuable, and we’ve also included some great clips from Mark Rosenthal’s classroom instruction. An MP3 version of this e

I Feel Better Already

By Steve Kane - October 27th, 2017

A customer recently contacted me to let me know that business conditions had changed and he would be unable to put his Gemba Academy subscription to use.  He was consumed with several business problems to solve at once and was working

GA 186 | How to Transition into Different Lean Roles with Jess Orr

By Jessica Bush - October 26th, 2017

This week’s guest is Jess Orr. Ron sat down with Jess at AME Boston to discuss her transition from working at Toyota to taking on a new role at another company. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download here. In t

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