Lean Archives | Page 32 of 67

Lessons from Perfecting the Pour Over

By Kevin Meyer - January 12th, 2018

For years my wife and I had been fans of our Keurig. Pop in a pod and in a minute you had a decent cup of coffee. Simple, clean, and seemingly “lean” since the process was optimized with very little waste. That change

GA 197 | How to Use Continuous Improvement in Untraditional Settings with Veronica Silva

By Jessica Bush - January 11th, 2018

This week’s guest is Veronica Silva. Veronica shared some great stories of how she’s used continuous improvement in all different kinds of settings, including bartending and banking. An MP3 version of this episode is availa

How to Win at New Year’s Resolutions

By Jon Miller - January 8th, 2018

It’s that time of year when we reflect back on the prior 12 months, look ahead to the next 12 and set personal priorities. I’ve heard that by February, 80% of New Year’s resolutions are on their way to failure. This h

The Secret to Your Success in 2018

By Ron Pereira - January 5th, 2018

Did you make a New Year’s resolution? Come clean. Did you? If so, I’m sad to say, you’re probably going to fail. In fact, University of Scranton research suggests that just 9% of people achieve their New Year&

GA 196 | How to Name Lean with Tracey and Ernie Richardson

By Jessica Bush - January 4th, 2018

This week’s guests are Tracey and Ernie Richardson. Tracey and Ernie explained a question they asked on LinkedIn recently regarding the “lean” label and what other words might suit this incredible movement. An MP3 ver

GA 195 | How to Manage a Career Change with Thomas Frederick

By Jessica Bush - December 28th, 2017

This week’s guest is Thomas Frederick. Tom explained what it was like to switch careers from teaching/coaching to healthcare, applying lean along the way. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download here. In this epi

GA 194 | How to Teach the Art of Continuous Improvement with Attila Dobai

By Jessica Bush - December 21st, 2017

This week’s guest is Attila Dobai. Attila’s background is in the service industry, and he shared some of his stories with us…specifically about the people-side of continuous improvement. An MP3 version of this episode

We Have the Highest Quality Standards

By Jon Miller - December 18th, 2017

My career in the field of lean thinking got started twenty-four years ago while helping Japanese consultants communicate with their American clients. There were occasions when it was as much an education in cultural differences and com

GA 193 | How to Leverage Pull Learning with Steve Cole and Carl Sanders-Edwards

By Jessica Bush - December 14th, 2017

This week’s guests are Steve Cole and Carl Sanders-Edwards. Steve and Carl explained pull learning, including what it means and why it’s so effective. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download here. In this e

Lead with Virtue, Bind with Ritual

By Jon Miller - December 11th, 2017

Confucius is credited with many insights into human nature and moral governance by his followers who recorded his teachings. They still influence culture and society in many Asian countries today. Confucius observed “lead with

Preparing for Reflection

By Kevin Meyer - December 8th, 2017

“We do not learn from experience… we learn from reflecting on experience.” – John Dewey I’ve written before about how I’ve worked hard to develop a practice of reflection… daily, monthly, and a

GA 192 | How to Use Visual Management with Julie Lushbough

By Jessica Bush - December 7th, 2017

This week’s guest is Julie Lushbough. Julie works for Hallmark and shared her lean journey with us, including her experience using visual management. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode

How to Avoid the Hazards of Habituation with Standard Work and Kaizen

By Jon Miller - December 4th, 2017

In an oddity of human behavior, we pay more respect to the unfamiliar than to the familiar. This is true towards people, processes and situations. When we meet someone new we are more likely to be polite to them than to a friend or a p

GA 191 | How to Reflect on the Roles of Fear and Love in Continuous Improvement with Renée Smith

By Jessica Bush - November 30th, 2017

This week’s guest is Renée Smith, a Lean Transformation Services Director for the State of Washington. Renée shared her fascinating findings on fear, love, and their roles in continuous improvement. An MP3 version of this episo

Applying the 6 Laws of Tech to Lean

By Jon Miller - November 27th, 2017

Melvin Kranzberg, a professor of the history of technology at Georgia Institute of Technology, came up with six laws to explain society’s unease with technology’s growing power and presence in our lives. This was in the 1980s

GA 190 | How to Use Lean in Software Development vs. Operations with Tom and Mary Poppendieck

By Jessica Bush - November 23rd, 2017

This week’s guests are Tom and Mary Poppendieck. Tom and Mary discussed the role that lean plays in software development, versus in more traditional operational contexts. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download h

Wishing Everyone a Granular Thanksgiving

By Jon Miller - November 20th, 2017

Thanksgiving is my favorite American holiday. The football, the food, the time with friends and family. Part of the tradition is to remember and name things that we are thankful for. It’s an occasion to stop and reflect on our bl

GA 189 | How to Use Kata in Healthcare with Brandon Brown

By Jessica Bush - November 16th, 2017

This week we’re bringing you a keynote by Brandon Brown from the TWI/Kata conference earlier this year. Brandon shared some truly powerful examples of how kata can change lives, especially in healthcare. An MP3 version of this ep

15 Lean Failure Lessons from Software Development, 3/3

By Jon Miller - November 13th, 2017

Some say that as many as 95% of Lean transformations fail. How could this be? An article The Coming Software Apocalypse in the Atlantic Monthly about the software development world offers insights. This post is the third of a 3-part

The Multi-Faceted Power of Walking

By Kevin Meyer - November 10th, 2017

Walking is man’s best medicine. – Hippocrates Walking has become a much larger part of my life over the past few years. It started when I embraced kinhin – walking meditation. Walking slowly on the beach for an ho

GA 188 | How to Understand the Components of Kata with Brandon Brown

By Jessica Bush - November 9th, 2017

This week’s guest is Brandon Brown. Brandon provided us with a comprehensive breakdown of both the improvement and coaching katas, in anticipation of our upcoming kata course. An MP3 version of this episode is available for downl

15 Lean Failure Lessons from Software Development, 2/3

By Jon Miller - November 6th, 2017

Can it be true that as many as 95% of Lean transformations fail? If so, how? Challenges from the complexities of modern software development offer insights. This post is part 2 of a 3-part exploration, inspired by the article The Comi

Do This and Lean Success Is Far More Likely

By Ron Pereira - November 3rd, 2017

Getting started with continuous improvement is hard. But, I think it’s safe to say that sustaining continuous improvement over the long run is even harder. At Gemba Academy we mentor and coach hundreds of lean and six sigma pra

GA 187 | How to Leverage the Improvement and Coaching Katas with Mark Rosenthal

By Jessica Bush - November 2nd, 2017

This week we’re giving you a sneak peek of our upcoming kata course. Ron explains why kata is so valuable, and we’ve also included some great clips from Mark Rosenthal’s classroom instruction. An MP3 version of this e

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