Lean Archives | Page 10 of 67

Why Traditional Measurement Approaches Do Not Change A Culture

By John Knotts - May 20th, 2022

If you are a student of business, then you have probably heard all the quotes around measuring what you do. The bottom line is if you are not measuring what you are doing, you cannot improve it. Trust me…many organizations that I

GA 424 | When Things Go Wrong: The Spirit of Kaizen with Adam Lawrence

By Jessica Bush - May 19th, 2022

This week’s guest is Adam Lawrence. Adam told Ron about his trip to French Guiana to see a NASA rocket launch, and everything that went wrong. Adam also explained how he believes having a lean background helped him. An MP3 audio

GA 423 | Lean and Human-Centered Design with Michael Parent

By Jessica Bush - May 12th, 2022

This week’s guest is Michael Parent. Ron and Michael discussed human-centered design and how it intersects with lean. Michael also talked about his book, The Lean Innovation Cycle. An MP3 audio version of this episode is availa

GA 422 | Getting Lean Buy-In with Adam Marsland

By Jessica Bush - May 5th, 2022

This week’s guest is Adam Marsland. Adam, who works in the legal industry, explained how his firm uses continuous improvement and what problems they’re solving. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download

GA 421 | What Employees Want with Dan Johnston

By Jessica Bush - April 28th, 2022

This week’s guest is Dan Johnston. Dan explained how his company WorkStep approaches hiring and retaining employees and what employees truly want, with clear parallels to lean, PDCA, and Respect for People. An MP3 audio version

The Hierarchy of Action

By Steve Kane - April 22nd, 2022

Ryan McCall is a continuous improvement engineer at FECON. He and I have been collaborating on continuous improvement and leadership over the past couple of years. We’ve explored the works of Mike Rother, Simon Sinek, Jocko Willi

GA 420 | The Benefits of Gratitude with Rick Foreman

By Jessica Bush - April 21st, 2022

This week’s guest is Rick Foreman. Ron and Rick talked all about the importance of gratitude, both in professional and personal contexts. Listen and learn how being grateful can improve your health and overall happiness. An MP3 a

Engaging Partners and Suppliers on Your CI Journey

By John Knotts - April 15th, 2022

In my first blog on the subject of Continuous Improvement, I highlighted the proverb, “many hands, make light work.” The concept of a culture of continuous improvement is to orient everyone in the organization toward one common g

GA 419 | Lean in Venture Capital with Bryan Bauw

By Jessica Bush - April 14th, 2022

This week’s guest is Bryan Bauw. Bryan explained how he uses lean and continuous improvement in his role at a startup venture capital firm. Ron and Bryan also explored what we could learn from the world of venture capital. An MP3

GA 418 | Value Stream Management in Software Delivery with Lance Knight

By Jessica Bush - April 7th, 2022

This week’s guest is Lance Knight. Lance explained how lean and value stream management work in the software delivery field. He also shed some light on what they’re doing that traditional manufacturers could benefit from. A

Have Faith & Trust the Process

By Ron Pereira - April 1st, 2022

My family and I are going through a difficult time right now with a personal situation. Thankfully everyone is healthy…but we have been dealt a blow. After I shared the situation with a close friend, who knows me very well, they

GA 417 | Steel Toes and Stilettos with Kathy Miller and Shannon Karels

By Jessica Bush - March 31st, 2022

This week’s guests are Kathy Miller and Shannon Karels. They shared what it’s like being women in manufacturing, their experiences leading lean transformations, and the inspiration behind their book Steel Toes and Stilettos

GA 416 | JELD-WEN’s Lean Journey with Gregg Miner

By Jessica Bush - March 24th, 2022

This week’s guest is Gregg Miner. Ron asked Gregg about his personal lean journey and JELD-WEN’s lean journey. Gregg also shared some great advice on goal setting. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for downl

Why Lean Programs Don’t Work

By Jon Miller - March 22nd, 2022

While reading a Knowledge@Wharton article on the subject of why employee wellness programs don’t work, I found myself thinking about why lean programs don’t always seem to work. Management professor Iwan Barnakay found, “Well

GA 415 | Reacting vs. Responding with Sumit Gupta

By Jessica Bush - March 17th, 2022

This week’s guest is Sumit Gupta. Ron and Sumit discussed various aspects of leadership, including what it means to be a leader, dealing with different personality types, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is availabl

GA 414 | The Characteristics of a Good Leader with Richard Sheridan

By Jessica Bush - March 10th, 2022

This week’s guest is Richard Sheridan. Ron and Rich discussed Rich’s two books, Joy, Inc. and Chief Joy Officer. Rich also shared what qualities he thinks make a good leader. An MP3 audio version of this episode is availabl

Top 8 Reasons Teams Abandon Their Visuals

By Jon Miller - March 7th, 2022

Reader Dan made a great suggestion in a comment to a recent article on using artifacts to make thinking visible, “Next you might delve into why visuals are sometimes abandoned by teams.” Abandoned visual controls, outd

5 Ways to Be More Grateful and Why Lean Thinkers Should Care

By Ron Pereira - March 4th, 2022

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all others.” -Cicero I’ve been thinking about gratefulness a lot lately. Being grateful is something I try to do…but often fail at. There are many

GA 413 | Understanding the Constraint with Hezi Korn

By Jessica Bush - March 3rd, 2022

This week’s guest is Hezi Korn. Ron and Hezi discussed TOC and how to identify and evaluate your constraints before automating anything. They also touched on some other important lean tools. An MP3 audio version of this episode i

Using Artifacts to Make Our Thinking Visible

By Jon Miller - February 28th, 2022

In sports, statecraft, gambling, and other competitive endeavors, it often pays to hide one’s thoughts and true intentions. What we indicate and what we actually intend are often different. We hold our cards close to the chest an

Continuous Improvement Development for Leadership and Professionals

By Steve Kane - February 25th, 2022

This article was written by John Knotts. John is a senior coach at Gemba Academy. If you have studied anything about change management, you will have seen some type of change model; I embrace the change continuum model shown below bu

GA 412 | Lean and Design with Andy Switky

By Jessica Bush - February 24th, 2022

This week’s guest is Andy Switky. Ron and Andy discussed lean thinking versus design thinking, and what the two worlds could learn from each other. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this epis

How to Let Small Things Bother You

By Jon Miller - February 21st, 2022

An interesting New York Times article points out how many of us have become desensitized to the dangers of this pandemic over the past couple of years. This is due to the constant alarm bells that ring, without always seeing real dange

GA 411 | Practicing Lean in High School with David Tuttle

By Jessica Bush - February 17th, 2022

This week’s guest is David Tuttle. David is the head of Precision Machining Technology at Platt Technical High School, and he explained how the program works and how it can be life-changing for students. An MP3 audio version of t

Formalism for Forms

By Jon Miller - February 14th, 2022

One thing I’ve been doing a lot lately in my job at Gemba Academy is preparation. Specifically, I’m making sure that we have the graphics, figures, and forms our video editors need to do their job smoothly. The audio portio

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