Lean Archives | Page 35 of 67

Headwinds, Tailwinds, Continuous Improvement and Respect for Humanity

By Jon Miller - June 12th, 2017

A Freakonomics Radio episode from March of this year titled Why is My Life So Hard? reminds us of the importance of gratitude, introduces the notion and Headwinds/Tailwinds Asymmetry, and offers a new way to understand Lean management

GA 166 | How to “Win” at Lean with Paul Critchley

By Jessica Bush - June 8th, 2017

This week’s guest is Paul Critchley, a lean consultant with a diverse background. Paul and Ron discussed some of the roadblocks organizations typically experience on their lean journeys, as well as what it means to be “win

Lean Thinking from Itchy Toes to NASA

By Jon Miller - June 5th, 2017

About a month ago I consulted a physician about itchy toes, for the third time in about a year. Through this process, I was able to reflect on Lean thinking, organizational culture, how we present problems, and what this means for th

Get the Facts

By Ron Pereira - June 2nd, 2017

Without sounding overly dramatic I’m fairly certain my content development team and I are working on the most important Gemba Academy course we’ve ever produced. This new course will be focused on the Job Relations (JR) as

GA 165 | Lean in the Auto Collision Industry with Chris Norris

By Jessica Bush - June 1st, 2017

This week’s guest is Chris Norris, a lean practitioner in the auto collision industry. Chris explained how he’s applied lean at several different companies, and what he’s learned over the years. An MP3 version of thi

Purpose for Asking “Why?”

By Jon Miller - May 29th, 2017

At its heart, Lean is about problem solving. Closing gaps. Overcoming obstacles. Making things better. The basic difference between organizations that succeed long-term with Lean and those who don’t can be gauged by how well they

Lean Outside of Manufacturing

By Steve Kane - May 26th, 2017

There are so many examples of lean in manufacturing that it can be easy to understand how well-suited the methodology is for that industry. Folks in other types of organizations and roles often comment that it is difficult to transla

GA 164 | The Lean Pilot with Todd Abshire

By Jessica Bush - May 25th, 2017

This week’s guest is Todd Abshire, an Instructor Pilot and Continuous Improvement Manager in the U.S. Air Force. Ron and Todd discussed how continuous improvement applies to aviation, and to the U.S. Air Force overall. An MP3

Brain Science on How Lean Works

By Jon Miller - May 22nd, 2017

How does Lean work? There are rational, that is to say scientific, explanations. It works because when outputs are increase and inputs decreased, profit follows. Lean works because flow, pull and visualization remove waste and expos

Waste Whack-a-Mole

By Kevin Meyer - May 19th, 2017

Today is garbage day in my neighborhood, and like most people in California and probably most of the U.S. if not the world, our trash is neatly segregated into green, blue, and gray containers for pickup – yard waste, recyclables

GA 163 | Addressing the Human Side of Lean with Rick Timlick

By Jessica Bush - May 18th, 2017

This week’s guest is lean consultant Rick Timlick. Rick shared how he helps organizations with their lean journeys, with a specific emphasis on the human component. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download here.

Visual Management Mind Trick

By Jon Miller - May 15th, 2017

Talk about thinking outside of the box. Each spring crows entered the abandoned lower floors of the research center. They stripped away pipe insulation for their nests. They left behind feathers and droppings. What did the researcher

GA 162 | Continuous Improvement in the U.S. Air Force with Damien Hocquard

By Jessica Bush - May 11th, 2017

Today’s guest is Damien Hocquard, a member of the Canadian Armed Forces who is stationed at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. Ron and Damien discussed Damien’s lean journey working within the U.S. Air Force CPI (Continuou

New Videos: TWI Summit 2017

By Kevin Meyer - May 10th, 2017

Gemba Academy has just released a new Gemba Academy Live! series with the videos from the 2017 TWI Summit that was held in San Diego. In these videos you’ll see Roger Bilas discuss TWI and brain science, learn how TWI can used

New Videos: Practical Problem Solving in Spanish

By Kevin Meyer - May 10th, 2017

We just released our fifth course in the School of Lean in Spanish, Practical Problem Solving. Going beyond Spanish subtitles, which are already available on all School of Lean and School of Six Sigma courses, these new courses use n

Lean is Not About Principles

By Jon Miller - May 8th, 2017

Lately I’ve been involved in several conversations of “Is lean about tools or is it about principles?” Hardly anybody argues for the tools. The popular consensus is that Lean is about principles, but it is a vague and loos

Will Gemba Academy Put You Out of a Job?

By Ron Pereira - May 5th, 2017

Over the years we’ve been fortunate enough to talk to a lot of people about how Gemba Academy could add value to their organization’s lean and/or six sigma journey. Many times these conversations start as sales calls. Fol

GA 161 | Succeeding at Job Relations with Ron Pereira

By Jessica Bush - May 4th, 2017

In today’s episode, Ron discusses one of the three components of TWI, Job Relations (JR). He reviews the different steps, explains how to be successful at it, and shares an example from his personal life. An MP3 version of this e

The Lean Journey: It’s in the Name

By Jon Miller - May 1st, 2017

While attending a recent event showcasing the ongoing lean transformation at a local hospital, I was reminded of the meaning of “journey”. Those of us practicing continuous improvement for our personal benefit or on behalf

Following Their Moral Compass

By Steve Kane - April 28th, 2017

By Steve Kane As an aviation enthusiast and airplane pilot, I take an interest in pretty much all kinds of flying. YouTube provides seemingly endless entertainment for people like me. I recently started watching lots of videos on p

GA 160 | The Power of Job Methods with Steve Brenneman

By Jessica Bush - April 27th, 2017

Today’s episode is a presentation by Steve Brenneman, CEO of the Aluminum Trailer Company, from this year’s TWI Summit in San Diego. In this powerful and informative talk, Steve shares how they use Job Methods, one of the c

To Lead with Respect, Stop Boring People

By Jon Miller - April 24th, 2017

One of the greatest challenges for leaders of an organization is to keep people engaged in the work. Annual Gallup polls tell us that less than a third of U.S. workers are engaged. People who are engaged deliver better quality, produc

Ensconcing Paranoia in Rules

By Kevin Meyer - April 21st, 2017

Silly boy you got so much to live for So much to aim for, so much to try for You blow it all with, paranoia You’re so insecure you, self-destroyer paranoia, they destroy ya It’s been over a week since the United incident wh

GA 159 | Lean and Profitability with Jim Lancaster

By Jessica Bush - April 20th, 2017

Today’s guest is Jim Lancaster, CEO of Lantech. Ron and Jim discussed Lantech’s fascinating history and lean journey, including the obstacles they’ve faced over the years. An MP3 version of this episode is available f

Why Won’t Senior Leaders Attend My Lean Training?

By Jon Miller - April 17th, 2017

Nothing focuses the mind like… Most words that end this sentence are rather unpleasant. The hangman’s noose. Being shot at. Impending death. What these have in common is that they limit our future options. They are constr

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