zen Archives | Gemba Academy

Back to the Beginning with Ohno, Suzuki, and Yoda

By Kevin Meyer - July 8th, 2016

As I was researching the remarkable similarities between Lean and Zen for my book, The Simple Leader, one of the most interesting – and meaningful – was the concept of the beginner’s mind. Taiichi Ohno said, “Ob

The Reward of Just Doing It

By Kevin Meyer - May 13th, 2016

A few years ago I starting playing around with a book concept that described several personal and professional leadership methods and habits I had developed over my three decade career. I collected ideas, supporting information, and wo

A Break to Reflect and Unlearn

By Kevin Meyer - April 8th, 2016

By Kevin Meyer Over the past few years I’ve been working hard on cultivating positive habits. New habits can be powerful. But habits can also create barriers that limit our perspective, which can hinder kaizen, creativity, and even o

The Liberating Lessons of Less

By Kevin Meyer - February 5th, 2016

By Kevin Meyer My twenty plus year Lean journey has changed my life in many ways, but perhaps none as significant as a creating a pervasive recognition of and disdain for waste. Coupled with respect for people, this has changed my care

Now, at the Gemba

By Kevin Meyer - December 11th, 2015

By Kevin Meyer If we are not fully ourselves, truly in the present moment, we miss everything. – Thich Nhat Hanh Many people have a problem with letting go of the past – whether painful or pleasant. Not me. I’ve always been able

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

The True Meaning of Zen

By Jon Miller - February 2nd, 2011

What is the true meaning of zen? At one level the answer is easy. It means meditation. The Japanese for zen is from the Chinese for chan which in turn comes from the Hindu dhyana, the form of yoga through meditation. Ok, so that is the

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