Lean

1655 Articles

GA 011 | The Role of Employee Ideas in Continuous Improvement with Dr. Greg Jacobson

By Ron Pereira - June 19th, 2014

I’m excited to introduce this episode’s guest, Greg Jacobson, Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder of KaiNexus. Also an emergency medicine practitioner, Greg brings a unique angle to the subject of continuous improvement.

The Secret to Lean Success in One Sentence

By Ron Pereira - June 16th, 2014

I was working on an office value stream map module for the refresh we’re doing to our Transforming your Value Streams course. During this module we share several questions that can be asked as team’s work to create an impro

GA 010 | Using Lean to Help NGOs with Steve Bell

By Ron Pereira - June 12th, 2014

This episode’s guest speaker is Steve Bell, a longtime lean thinker. While his background is in the IT and Agile spaces, Steve’s passion is using lean to help NGOs and nonprofits. I think you’ll find Steve’s a

Gemba Academy Culture Code – A Guide to the Way of Life at Gemba Academy

By Ron Pereira - June 9th, 2014

My business associates and I have been busy creating what we’re calling the “Gemba Academy Culture Code.” We’re sharing it with the world since we hope it gives everyone a better idea of what we’re strivin

GA 009 | Applying Lean Thinking at Home to Improve Your Family’s Way of Life with Joel Gross

By Ron Pereira - June 5th, 2014

Do you practice lean thinking at home? And I don’t mean simply 5Sing your garage… I mean really practicing the tenets of what authentic lean is all about. Well, today’s guest, Joel Gross, most definitely does and I

GA 008 | Creating a Kaizen Culture with Jon Miller

By Ron Pereira - May 29th, 2014

In this episode I’m joined by one of the most incredible lean thinkers I’ve ever known, Jon Miller. Jon is the CEO of the Kaizen Institute and one of my business partners at Gemba Academy.  I’m also proud to call J

GA 007 | Using Lean Thinking to Transform the Healthcare Industry with Mark Graban

By Ron Pereira - May 27th, 2014

In this episode I’m joined by one of the world’s leading lean healthcare experts, Mark Graban. During the show Mark and I discuss how lean is being leveraged within the healthcare world.  And even if you don’t work

GA 006 | Exploring Why So Many Companies Struggle to Fully Embrace Continuous Improvement with Bill Waddell

By Ron Pereira - May 15th, 2014

In this episode, I’m joined by one of the most experienced lean thinkers I know.  Bill Waddell is a lean author, blogger, and consultant. Bill is, without doubt, one of the most interesting and, some might even say, controversia

GA 005 | Value Stream Mapping: How to Visualize Work and Align Leadership for Organizational Transformation with Karen Martin

By Ron Pereira - May 8th, 2014

In this episode, I’m joined by one of the most passionate lean thinkers I’ve ever met – Karen Martin. During this podcast, Karen and I explore the topic of Value Stream Mapping. Specifically, Karen and I have an excel

GA 004 | Leveraging the Toyota Kata Approach to Learning & Coaching with Michael Lombard

By Ron Pereira - May 8th, 2014

During this podcast Michael Lombard and I explore the Toyota Kata topic. Michael, a long time lean thinker, is the Director of Operational Excellence at a major hospital here in the Dallas Fort Worth area. Specifically, during this sho

Lean Thinker Challenge #5

By Ron Pereira - May 5th, 2014

Welcome to another edition of the Lean Thinker Challenge! The Situation Your company has been on the lean journey for a little over a year… things have gone well and while there’s been some resistance to change most associ

GA 003 | Learn What Joyfulness and Lean Thinking Have in Common with Richard Sheridan

By Ron Pereira - May 1st, 2014

How much joy and happiness do you, and your colleagues, feel each and every day?  Are you excited to come to work or do you dread it?   No matter your answer… if you’re interested in learning how to create a more exciting

GA 002 | Learning, Focus, and Innovation with Matthew May

By Ron Pereira - April 30th, 2014

Welcome to Episode 2 of the Gemba Academy podcast! In this episode, I’m joined by Matt May.  Matt is an incredible lean thinker who specializes in helping companies innovate. Originally, Matt and I were planning to talk about an

GA 001 | Welcome to the Gemba Academy Podcast!

By Ron Pereira - April 30th, 2014

Welcome to the first episode of the Gemba Academy podcast! We’re extremely excited for this podcast and hope to reach as many people as possible with the good news that is lean and six sigma! During this first episode we share

Is Home Depot’s Expedited Checkout Lean?

By Ron Pereira - March 31st, 2014

It’s warming up here in North Texas… as such businesses like Home Depot are EXTREMELY BUSY places. Yesterday I joined the crowd to buy some tomatoes and other vegetables to plant in our garden.  And, yes, the checkout line

My Newest Stand Up Desk!

By Ron Pereira - January 23rd, 2014

Friends, I have a confession to make. In November of 2009 I wrote about my new stand up desk. I was quite proud of how I’d managed to prop an old desk up on some crates… I guess you could say I definitely used my wits over my w

Review of Value Stream Mapping by Karen Martin & Mike Osterling

By Jon Miller - January 14th, 2014

There have been several watershed moments in the development of Western consciousness and practice of Lean management over the past 25 years. Perhaps first was the arrival of Masaaki Imai, Chihiro Nakao and Yoshiki Iwata in Connecticut

Lean Thinker Challenge #4

By Ron Pereira - January 7th, 2014

Welcome to the first Lean Thinker Challenge of 2014! The Situation You’re the owner of a very successful manufacturing company. Your company began its lean journey 10 years ago and has realized tremendous benefits. In fact, lean thin

Review of Humble Inquiry by Edgar Schein

By Jon Miller - December 17th, 2013

It’s a happy day when a favorite author-business philosophers integrates two favorite qualities into 121 concise pages. Edgar Schein has done this in Humble Inquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling. He argues simply a

What does ‘right first time’ mean in an R&D environment?

By Jon Miller - December 8th, 2013

Decades that have passed since anchoring principles of Lean have been published, reworded and republished, from Deming, Liker and others. Lean tools and their results abound, but Lean behaviors evidencing belief in these principles are

Why the Only Way to Think is Long-term

By Jon Miller - November 20th, 2013

Lean principles are hard to live by. It is far easier to use Lean methods to drive for and achieve results, cash in on performance incentives and leverage that success for a promotion or even a new job, quickly before the lack of susta

What Problem Are You Trying to Solve?

By Ron Pereira - November 15th, 2013

The most frequently asked question we receive at Gemba Academy goes something like this, “What videos should we watch first?” A close second is, “”What lean tools or philosophies should we focus on first?” How to Respond Of c

Lean Gurus Womack, Jones & Shook in 70-minute Video

By Jon Miller - November 14th, 2013

The Lean Enterprise Institute in cooperation with Gemba Academy has produced a free online 70-minute video discussion among Lean gurus and thought leaders James Womack, Dan Jones and John Shook. The 11 videos cover a range of themes in

Process, Results & the Anti-Portfolio

By Jon Miller - November 13th, 2013

What’s an “Anti-Portfolio”? It’s what students or organizational culture would call an artifact. The anti-portfolio is a collection of terrible decisions and costly mistakes, in the same way that a portfolio of

Does Jim Womack Regret Calling it “Lean”?

By Ron Pereira - November 13th, 2013

If they had to do it over again… would Jim Womack & Dan Jones still support calling it lean?  And what did John Shook originally think about the book title “Learning to See?”  Finally, what is the “Great Stagn

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