Taiichi Ohno Archives | Gemba Academy

Why Proper Root Cause Analysis Matters

By John Knotts - April 8th, 2026

The post below was written by Gemba Academy Master Black Belt Candidate Noah Waech. Noah was also recently on our podcast. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us, Noah! Root cause analysis can be one of the simplest and mo

GA 618 | MORE Is Better with Kathy Miller

By Jessica Bush - February 5th, 2026

This week’s guest is Kathy Miller. Ron and Kathy discussed manufacturing, Kathy’s new book “MORE Is Better,” optimism, psychological safety, and the art of making high-quality connections. An MP3 audio version o

GA 605 | The Katalyst Framework with Katie Anderson

By Jessica Bush - November 6th, 2025

This week’s guest is Katie Anderson. Ron and Katie discussed Katie’s most recent book, the Katalyst framework she created, her experiences leading trips in Japan, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available

GA 566 | Managing With Your Eyes with Alen Ganic

By Jessica Bush - February 6th, 2025

This week’s guest is Alen Ganic. Ron and Alen discussed visual management, examples of visual management they have seen and created, dealing with any resistance you might meet, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is av

GA 527 | The Five Functions of Business with Zack Estes

By Jessica Bush - May 9th, 2024

This week’s guest is Zack Estes. Ron and Zack discussed Zack’s coaching business, applying lean in non-manufacturing contexts, the five functions of business, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for

GA 504 | Gemba Academy’s 2023 with Ron Pereira

By Jessica Bush - November 30th, 2023

This week’s guest is Ron Pereira. Ron explained what we’ve been up to as a company this year, including our Live Instructor training, and some of the new courses we’ve released. We also shared some of the audio from t

GA 503 | Balancing Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation with Brent Weichers

By Jessica Bush - November 23rd, 2023

This week’s guest is Brent Weichers. Ron and Brent discussed the different kinds of motivation, presenting data to a non-technical audience, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this e

GA 453 | Navigating the Struggle of Learning with Katie Anderson

By Jessica Bush - December 8th, 2022

This week’s guest is Katie Anderson. Ron and Katie met up at the AME conference in Dallas to discuss what Katie’s been up to as well as her book, Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn. Katie also shed some light on her approac

A Simple Plan for Starting Your Lean Journey

By Steve Kane - September 23rd, 2022

There are many ways to lead a continuous improvement journey in an organization. A frequent question we get at Gemba Academy is, “Where do I start?” One strategy is to simply start eliminating pain-points in processes. R

GA 440 | Engagement, Education, and Recognition with Tom Hughes

By Jessica Bush - September 8th, 2022

This week’s guest is Tom Hughes. Ron and Tom discussed how culture and standards coexist in lean, and why it’s so important to be candid. Tom also shared some great anecdotes and lean wisdom. An MP3 audio version of this ep

GA 379 | Leading vs. Lagging Indicators with Tracey and Ernie Richardson

By Jessica Bush - July 8th, 2021

This week’s guests are Tracey and Ernie Richardson. Tracey and Ernie broke down leading and lagging indicators, balancing the two, and some examples of both. They also explained the role standards play in navigating these indicat

GA 356 | How Standards Prevent Turnover with Jason Haines

By Jessica Bush - January 28th, 2021

This week’s guest is Jason Haines. Ron and Jason discussed the importance of having a visual workplace, and how it, along with standard work, can actually help you retain employees. A MP3 audio version of this episode is availabl

GA 350 | Emphasizing the Process with Cristian Goyzueta

By Jessica Bush - December 17th, 2020

This week’s guest is Cristian Goyzueta. Cristian is relatively new to continuous improvement but had a wealth of knowledge to share. Cristian and Ron covered quite a few different topics, ranging from ISO to visual management and

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

Respect for Humanity: To Be Lean or Not to Be, That Is the Question

By Jessica Bush - June 12th, 2020

The following article was written for Gemba Academy by Mohamed Saleh, PhD Many of us grew up admiring figures like Gandhi, King Arthur, Michael Jordan, figures of faith, and our own parents for how they inspired us. They gathered follo

GA 308 | Lessons Learned at Toyota with Andy Reith

By Jessica Bush - February 27th, 2020

This week’s guest is Andy Reith. Ron and Andy discussed working at Toyota, the challenges small businesses face, and more. A MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you’ll learn:

GA 265 | Finding Your Best Way with William Harvey

By Jessica Bush - May 2nd, 2019

This week’s guest is Dr. William Harvey. William and Ron discussed William’s research on Toyota Kata, including his process and what he learned from other lean thinkers. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for

GA 264 | Repeating the Process of Learning with Dr. Jeffrey Liker

By Jessica Bush - April 25th, 2019

This week we’re sharing an incredible keynote by Dr. Jeffrey Liker that he gave at KataCon5 earlier this year. Dr. Liker shared a wealth of information regarding his background, his lean journey, and the lessons he’s learne

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

Where Do I Start with Lean?

By Steve Kane - April 27th, 2018

Where should I start with Lean? is a common question we receive at Gemba Academy. Some say starting with 5S is a must. Others favor eliminating the seven deadly wastes. Others still suggest value stream mapping. A great question

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 153 | From Tiffany & Co. to Toyota with Josh Sanchez

By Jessica Bush - March 9th, 2017

This week’s guest is Josh Sanchez, a continuous improvement practitioner with a fascinating background. Josh worked for Tiffany & Co. before landing a job at Toyota, and is now transitioning into a healthcare role. Ron and J

Review of Management Lessons from Taiichi Ohno by Takehiko Harada

By Jon Miller - August 7th, 2015

I had previously read and enjoyed the Japanese version of this book by Toyota veteran Takehiko Harada. Therefore I was curious to see how its idiosyncrasies would be handled in the process of editing and presenting it to a Western aud

Remove Waste, Uncover Individual Human Beings

By Jon Miller - July 5th, 2012

Taiichi Ohno’s Workplace Management was originally published in 1982, following his first book, Toyota Production System which came out in 1978. In the preface to the 1987 English language version of Workplace Management, Taiichi

Placing a Popular Taiichi Ohno Quote in Context

By Jon Miller - June 24th, 2012

There is a popular quote by Taiichi Ohno which has always bothered me. Unless you are completely new to Lean, you’ve seen it. “All we are doing is looking at the time line, from the moment the customer gives us an order to

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