Productivity

607 Articles

GA 101 | How to Implement a Lean Culture with Steven Leuschel

By Jessica Bush - March 10th, 2016

Today’s guest is Steven Leuschel, author of Lean Culture Change. He and I discuss the contents of the book, which focuses on the critical people component of lean. This An MP3 version of this episode is available for download her

Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi

The Other Flow of Csíkszentmihályi

By Kevin Meyer - March 4th, 2016

Those of us in the Lean world are accustomed to discussing “flow” – where work is performed in an even manner to reduce mura. Activities are synchronized, layouts are optimized, resources are available exactly where a

GA 099 | How to Motivate People with Ron Pereira

By Jessica Bush - February 25th, 2016

  Today we’re sharing the audio version of a keynote presentation Ron gave to The Woodbridge Group, a Canadian company and Gemba Academy customer. This episode contains a lot of great information on both motivation and cultu

Say No

By Steve Kane - February 19th, 2016

By Steve Kane I’ve recently committed to more short-term responsibilities in and out of work than I should have.  We’ve all be in this situation before, leaving ourselves with insufficient time to meet all the demands we’ve put

GA 098 | How to Apply Lean to Sales and Marketing with Joe Dager

By Jessica Bush - February 18th, 2016

Today’s guest is Joe Dager, President of Business901, a firm that specializes in helping companies apply lean to their sales and marketing departments. Joe and I discuss the many ways continuous improvement can be used to improve

GA 097 | How to Apply Lean to the Military with Samuel Selay

By Jessica Bush - February 11th, 2016

Today’s guest is Samuel Selay, a Continuous Improvement Manager for the United States Marines Corps. Samuel and I discuss his continuous improvement journey and some of the incredible projects he’s done with the military.

GA 096 | How to Build a Lean Community with Dr. Eric Olsen

By Jessica Bush - February 4th, 2016

Today’s guest is Dr. Eric Olsen, a professor at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in California. Dr. Olsen and I discuss the lean community he’s helped to build on the Central Coast of California, the Central Coast Lean Summit, and

GA 095 | How to Practice Lean from the Heart with Karl Wadensten

By Jessica Bush - January 28th, 2016

Today’s episode features a keynote from VIBCO Vibrators President Karl Wadensten at the 2015 Iowa Lean Consortium conference. Titled “Lean from the Heart,” Karl explores the emotions and thought processes behind lean

GA 094 | How to Embrace Lean with Bob Rush

By Jessica Bush - January 21st, 2016

Today’s guest is Bob Rush, a Lean Manufacturing Group Leader at Tesla Motors. Bob shares a lot of truly valuable advice based on his own personal lean journey, including some great stories that will both entertain and inspire y

The Only Genuine Knowledge Is That of Actual Experience

By Steve Kane - January 15th, 2016

“The only genuine knowledge is that of actual experience.” ~ Chinese proverb Training is a big part of lean transformation.  Countless hours and dollars are spent in training rooms, seminars, and classrooms every year. It’s comm

GA 093 | How to Start a Lean Initiative with Blake Watermeier

By Jessica Bush - January 14th, 2016

Today’s guest is Blake Watermeier, Regional VP of Operations at ARC Document Solutions. Blake and I discuss the process of starting a new lean initiative and the obstacles that often follow. This episode complements last weekR

GA 092 | How to Restart Your Lean Transformation with Zane Ferry

By Jessica Bush - January 7th, 2016

Today’s guest is Zane Ferry, a great lean thinker and longtime friend of GA Co-Founder Jon Miller. Zane and I discuss the process of restarting a lean transformation, including why it happens and what to do to get back on track

GA 091 | How to Become a Better Learner in 2016 with Ron Pereira

By Jessica Bush - December 31st, 2015

It’s almost 2016…time to start thinking about how to make this year even better than the last. In this episode I’m excited to share some of the personal improvements I’ve been working on, as well as Jim Kwik&#

Happy Winter Solstice

By Steve Kane - December 18th, 2015

By Steve Kane I always enjoy the holiday season.  Not only because of the holidays themselves, but also because of the renewed energy I get from ending one year and beginning another.  This is the time to reflect on the year that was

GA 089 | How to Improve Your Health with Lean with Paul Akers

By Jessica Bush - December 17th, 2015

Press the play button above to listen to the episode. If you’re reading this via email or RSS click the image below to listen to the episode. Today’s episode is very different. We’re sharing an entire audiobook, writt

5 Thoughts On Dealing With Leadership Resistance

By Steve Kane - November 20th, 2015

By Steve Kane Gemba Academy recently conducted a one-question survey. The question was “What are you struggling with on your continuous improvement journey?” The most common response was related to dealing with leadership resistanc

GA 085 | How to Incorporate Practice with Mike Wroblewski

By Jessica Bush - November 19th, 2015

Press the play button above to listen to the episode. If you’re reading this via email or RSS click the image below to listen to the episode. In this episode, I sit down with Mike Wroblewski at the Summit on Lean Leadership. Mike

GA 084 | Practical Problem Solving: Part Five with Jon Miller

By Jessica Bush - November 12th, 2015

Press the play button above to listen to the episode. If you’re reading this via email or RSS click the image below to listen to the episode. Today’s guest is Jon Miller, GA Partner and accomplished lean consultant. This ep

GA 082 | Lean and Human Resources with Cheryl Jekiel

By Jessica Bush - October 29th, 2015

Press the play button above to listen to the episode. If you’re reading this via email or RSS click the image below to listen to the episode. Today’s guest is Cheryl Jekiel, who I was lucky enough to interview at the recent

GA 081 | Wiremold’s Lean Journey with Orry Fiume

By Jessica Bush - October 22nd, 2015

Press the play button above to listen to the episode. If you’re reading this via email or RSS click the image below to listen to the episode. Today’s guest is Orry Fiume, who I had the pleasure of interviewing at the Summi

Improvement Through Personal Fulfillment

By Steve Kane - October 16th, 2015

By Steve Kane Tony Robbins is well known for his motivational speaking, books, interviews and articles.  A consistent theme in his work is the six human needs. 1. Certainty: assurance you can avoid pain and gain pleasure 2. Uncertaint

GA 079 | Run Improve Grow with Ray Attiyah

By Jessica Bush - October 8th, 2015

Press the play button above to listen to the episode. If you’re reading this via email or RSS click the image below to listen to the episode. Today’s guest is Ray Attiyah, author, consultant, and lean practitioner. Ray and

GA 077 | How an Engineering Manager Practices Lean with Rob Connelly

By Jessica Bush - September 24th, 2015

Press the play button above to listen to the episode. If you’re reading this via email or RSS click the image below to listen to the episode. This episode features Rob Connelly, an Engineering Manager and fantastic lean thinker o

Standard Work Saved a Company

By Steve Kane - September 18th, 2015

By Steve Kane I’ve been an aviation enthusiast most of my life. I started flying sailplanes a couple of years ago and recently transitioned to power planes. The first lesson in flying is an introduction to standard work—specifical

GA 076 | The Courage to Lead with Simon Sinek

By Jessica Bush - September 17th, 2015

Press the play button above to listen to the episode. If you’re reading this via email or RSS click the image below to listen to the episode. Today’s episode is one of our most exciting yet. I had the privilege of interview

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