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Find the Other Stories

By Kevin Meyer - April 10th, 2015

By Kevin Meyer I recently came across the following TED Talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie where she talks about the “danger of a single story.” From growing up as a kid in Nigeria to studying in the United States and into

Towards a Culture Free of Fear, Embrace Surprise

By Jon Miller - April 6th, 2015

As a founding father of lean management, Taiichi Ohno believed that the enlightened leader is quick to admit being wrong. He said, “If you are wrong, admit it!” and further went on to speculate that even the wisest of us are wrong

Finding Our Own Way

By Ron Pereira - April 3rd, 2015

By Ron Pereira “I invented nothing new. I simply assembled the discoveries of other men behind whom where centuries of work.” -Henry Ford My colleague, Steve, recently experienced a rotten customer service situation with

How to Be Lean

By Jon Miller - March 30th, 2015

By Jon Miller Most people who come to Gemba Academy are looking for answers to three basic types of questions. The first is the technical question, relating to the practical details, formulas, calculations, shortcuts, dos and don’

Lean Leadership Lessons from William T. Sherman

By Jon Miller - March 26th, 2015

By Jon Miller I just finished reading a book about the Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman, titled Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman, by Robert O’Connell. I recommend it heartily for fans of milita

The Value of Less

By Steve Kane - March 24th, 2015

The Wall Street Journal recently reported Porsche is limiting production despite an increase in demand for its vehicles. Without going into too much detail on the article, the idea is that the brand should remain exclusive in order

Learning by Writing… by Hand

By Kevin Meyer - March 17th, 2015

By Kevin Meyer I’m an early adopter tech geek at heart, and generally am among the first to embrace a new technology. I may not go to the extreme of standing in line for a new iPhone, but I will pay to upgrade to the latest model

Lean Thinker Challenge #8

By Ron Pereira - March 10th, 2015

By Ron Pereira Welcome to another edition of the Lean Thinker Challenge! The Situation You’re an experienced lean thinker who recently joined a 75 person company that’s brand new to any sort of continuous improvement. Your

Bowling Should Be Unnecessary

By Steve Kane - March 3rd, 2015

By Steve Kane We often hear or read about work/life balance. It’s as though work is thought of as not part of one’s life but as a countering force. The very notion of balancing suggests conflict. After all it is con

Just Own It

By Kevin Meyer - February 24th, 2015

By Kevin Meyer In addition to having implemented lean in several companies, I’ve been fortunate to have been able to visit a large number of unique organizations where continuous improvement methods have taken root. Although f

How to Build a Workplace People Love By Adding Joy

By Ron Pereira - February 17th, 2015

By Ron Pereira I want to keep my message short, and to the point, since I want to help you carve out 56 minutes from your week in order to watch what I believe to be one of the most amazing business stories ever told. Richard Sheridan

It’s Not Supposed To Hurt

By Steve Kane - February 10th, 2015

By Steve Kane Getting Started I bought a road bicycle a few years ago for physical fitness. It seemed to be the most enjoyable and least painful form of exercise that I could do from home on a daily basis. Riding, or spinning as cy

The Engaging Value of Risk

By Kevin Meyer - February 3rd, 2015

By Kevin Meyer Humans tend to abhor chaos, and love to invoke rules to supposedly create order. We like rules because they make us feel protected, aligned, and perhaps operating on a fair playing field. At the same time we dislike rul

Lean Thinker Challenge #7

By Ron Pereira - January 27th, 2015

Welcome to another edition of the Lean Thinker Challenge! The Situation Your boss, the Senior VP of Operations, has approached you about starting to practice 5S throughout your 350 person manufacturing company. His reasoning is quite s

Swimming With Alligators

By Steve Kane - January 20th, 2015

By Steve Kane When I was a kid, I visited my dad at his office quite often. I remember he had a note on a corkboard that read “When you’re up to your [backside] in alligators, it can be difficult to remember your original objective

The Mindful Ohno

By Kevin Meyer - January 13th, 2015

By Kevin Meyer Mindfulness has become all the rage in personal and professional leadership these days, which is good and bad. Understood and done right, it is a very powerful concept. But as with most concepts it is also often misunde

Why Habits Could Be the Secret to Your Success in 2015

By Ron Pereira - January 6th, 2015

“All our life, so far as it has a definite form, is but a mass of habits.” – William James It’s the new year and just about everyone I know has some sort of resolution. Some want to lose weight so they’re committe

The Value of Not Knowing

By Steve Kane - December 30th, 2014

By Steve Kane “If I am wiser. . . it is because I know that I do not know.” ~ Socrates Is it possible that expertise on a particular subject can become an obstacle to learning and growth? There comes a point when a person

Reflecting on the Intentional Routine

By Kevin Meyer - December 16th, 2014

By Kevin Meyer My post a couple weeks ago on Gratitude, for Gratitude, generated a large number of responses. Interestingly, most were private, commenting on both the nature of gratitude but especially on my daily routine. I had de

3 Things I’ve Learned in 2014

By Ron Pereira - December 9th, 2014

This article was written by Ron Pereira I’m not sure about you… but 2014 has come and gone faster than any year I can remember! My wife and I welcomed another child to our family towards the end of 2013 which has definitely kept us

Skateboarding and A Path To Discovery

By Steve Kane - December 2nd, 2014

This article was written by Steve Kane Clarity of Vision Vision, mission and values are often thought to be guiding forces of an organization. These ideas give us a sense of who we are as an organization and where we’re headed—wh

Lean Thinker Challenge #6

By Ron Pereira - November 25th, 2014

Welcome to another edition of the Lean Thinker Challenge! The Situation Several members of your team just attended the AME Conference in Jacksonville, Florida. Today is their first day back to work and they’re far more pumped up

Airbnb and Uber – From Batch to One Piece Flow

By Kevin Meyer - November 17th, 2014

Some of the more interesting internet-driven companies these days are the likes of Airbnb and Uber. They call themselves part of the “sharing economy.” But let’s take a look at the word “share.” From the MacMillan dictionary

Ambiguous Visual Controls: Caution! Possible Scalding

By Jon Miller - October 10th, 2014

Labeling and signage alone are about as effective in preventing accidents as fences are in preventing birds from flying over them. Warning labels can come across as a mere attempt to minimize a business’s liability, rather than a

Review of Lead with Respect by Freddy & Michael Ballé

By Jon Miller - August 2nd, 2014

Lead With Respect: A Novel of Lean Practice by Freddy Ballé and Michael Ballé is the one book on lean that I will recommend this year to anyone who asks. I am not a fan of the business novel. There is already enough fiction in most b

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