Lean

1655 Articles

Building Habits to Support Lean Initiatives: A Guide for Business Leaders

By Ron Pereira - January 31st, 2023

In the world of lean and six sigma, there’s a lot of emphasis placed on the importance of habits and processes. After all, a company’s success depends on the collective actions and habits of its employees. Here are some tip

GA 460 | Newsletter Wisdom with Ron Pereira

By Jessica Bush - January 26th, 2023

This week’s guest is our own Ron Pereira. Ron discussed two of his favorite email newsletters: The Process and The Curiosity Chronicle. He also shared some powerful content from each. An MP3 audio version of this episode is avail

Measuring The Pig In The Python

By John Knotts - January 20th, 2023

Data collection and analysis are critical in process improvement. Data shows progress in process improvement over time and serves as a barometer of process effectiveness and efficiency. Measuring a straightforward process that takes se

GA 459 | Dealing with CAVE People with Adam Lawrence

By Jessica Bush - January 19th, 2023

This week’s guest is Adam Lawrence. Ron and Adam discussed the Wheel of Sustainability, kaizen events, and how to handle “CAVE People.” An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this epis

GA 458 | Exploring Risk Analysis with Ron Pereira

By Jessica Bush - January 12th, 2023

This week we’re sharing audio from three of our newer courses on risk analysis. Learn all about Bowtie Analysis, FMEA, and Fault Tree Analysis, and check out our website to watch the free videos that accompany them. An MP3 audio

GA 457 | Leading with Care with Bob DeKoch and Phil Clampitt

By Jessica Bush - January 5th, 2023

This week’s guests are Bob DeKoch and Phil Clampitt. Ron, Bob, and Phil talked about servant leadership, toxic positivity, and what it means to lead with care. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here.

GA 456 | “This Is Water” by David Foster Wallace with Alex Judd

By Jessica Bush - December 29th, 2022

This week’s guest is Alex Judd. Ron and Alex listened to and discussed David Foster Wallace’s famous commencement speech, “This Is Water.” This is a very powerful episode that contains some great food for though

GA 455 | The Intersection of Lean and Sustainability with Julia Goldstein

By Jessica Bush - December 22nd, 2022

This week’s guest is Julia Goldstein. Ron and Julia discussed the concept of circular economy, what sustainability looks like in a lean context, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In th

Quick Way To Time A Process

By John Knotts - December 16th, 2022

Understanding and measuring process time is one of the most important aspects of process improvement. Much of the waste (muda) in a process causes a process to take longer than it should. When a process takes longer, customers are wait

GA 454 | Practicing Lean in a Pandemic with Sabrina McCorvey

By Jessica Bush - December 15th, 2022

This week’s guest is Sabrina McCorvey. Ron and Sabrina discussed what it’s like practicing lean in a pandemic, how she has used Gemba Academy, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. I

GA 453 | Navigating the Struggle of Learning with Katie Anderson

By Jessica Bush - December 8th, 2022

This week’s guest is Katie Anderson. Ron and Katie met up at the AME conference in Dallas to discuss what Katie’s been up to as well as her book, Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn. Katie also shed some light on her approac

GA 452 | The Power of Transactional Lean with Jen Borden

By Jessica Bush - December 1st, 2022

This week’s guest is Jen Borden. Ron and Jen discussed transactional lean, what it entails, and how you can get started with it.  An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you’ll

GA 451 | Good and “Evil” in Kata with Scott Laundry and Marc Bicknell

By Jessica Bush - November 24th, 2022

This week’s guests are Scott Laundry and Marc Bicknell. Ron, Scott, and Marc discussed all things kata, including being a good coach and how kata can be “evil.” An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for do

Eliminate budgets

RIP Steve Player, Budget Destroyer

By Kevin Meyer - November 22nd, 2022

We all know a couple people who have changed the direction of our lives and careers, even with very brief interactions.  Something they said created an a-ha moment that changed our perspective or provided the catalyst that helped draw

Going To The Electronic Gemba

By John Knotts - November 18th, 2022

Going to Gemba — where the work is done — is a pretty simple concept. Go where the work is being performed and watch what is happening. What happens when the process is all online?  Where everything that is happening, is o

GA 450 | Governing the Standard with Billy Taylor

By Jessica Bush - November 17th, 2022

This week’s guest is Billy Taylor. We caught up with Billy at the recent AME conference in Dallas, where he and Ron discussed his book The Winning Link and the concept of governance. Billy also shared some powerful anecdotes we t

GA 449 | Firefighting, Docility, and the Top-Down Approach to Lean with Mike Thelen

By Jessica Bush - November 10th, 2022

This week’s guest is Mike Thelen. Ron and Mike caught up at the recent AME conference in Dallas, where they discussed company culture, the role of docility, and why “firefighters” get promoted instead of leaders.  An

GA 448 | Planning an AME Conference with Gregory MacDougall

By Jessica Bush - November 3rd, 2022

This week’s guest is Gregory MacDougall. Gregory’s interview is the first we’re sharing from the recent AME Conference in Dallas. Gregory explained how he chooses keynote speakers, what his health journey has taught h

GA 447 | Reality Fights Back with Trond Undheim

By Jessica Bush - October 27th, 2022

This week’s guest is Trond Undheim. Ron and Trond discussed Trond’s book Augmented Lean, and his thoughts on automation and technology. He and Ron also each shared their stance on social media and its effects on humanity. A

karma dominos

The Good Karma of Lean

By Kevin Meyer - October 24th, 2022

Our Gemba Academy team was at The Association for Manufacturing Excellence annual conference in Dallas last week, the largest lean conference in the world.  By all accounts it was a great success, with over a thousand people excited a

Making Big Problems Into Little Problems

By John Knotts - October 21st, 2022

Over the last couple of months, I have talked about how the Process Improvement Project is different than just a regular Project.  This is because, when you start a process improvement project, you do not know what is really happening

GA 446 | From “Here” to “There” in Leadership with Alex Judd

By Jessica Bush - October 20th, 2022

This week’s guest is Alex Judd. Alex explained his growth-oriented approach to leadership and coaching, and even gave Ron some parenting advice. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode

GA 445 | Ventura County’s Lean Journey with Paul Stamper

By Jessica Bush - October 13th, 2022

This week’s guest is Paul Stamper. Paul shared how lean has helped Ventura County improve its processes and how continuous improvement can bring positive change to government and service environments in general. An MP3 audio vers

GA 444 | Navigating Volatility with Patrick Dippel

By Jessica Bush - October 6th, 2022

This week’s guest is Patrick Dippel. Ron and Patrick talked about volatility and how leaders and organizations everywhere can deal with uncertain times. Patrick also explained the merits of on-demand labor and how his website Ver

chess

Lean, Chess, and Techno-Solutionism

By Kevin Meyer - September 30th, 2022

Those of us somewhat interested in chess, or perhaps curious thanks to blockbuster shows like The Queen’s Gambit, have been following the chaos in the world of grandmaster-level chess, particularly the feud between world champion

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