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Knowledge of Work is Key to Better Knowledge Work

By Jon Miller - August 17th, 2015

One of the questions and concerns most often raised by people in position to lead continuous improvement efforts in their organizations is, “Where will I find the time?” It is rarely the case that this person has a full tim

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Owning Numerical Ignorance

By Kevin Meyer - August 14th, 2015

Earlier this year I discussed the value created by writing by hand.  By writing on whiteboards or scribbling in a notebook, ownership, learning, and understanding is created. Similarly, truly understanding numbers creates ownership,

Fun With Measurement Systems Analysis – Part 2

By Ron Pereira - August 12th, 2015

Welcome back to the second, and final, part of this measurement systems analysis series.  If you didn’t read part 1 of this series please do before pressing on with this part.  We’ll wait on you! Measurement System Analy

Respect for Humanity… of Your Boss

By Jon Miller - August 10th, 2015

The notion of “respect for people” is widely recognized as an essential pillar of lean management. It stands out among lean principles by being the most important yet least clearly defined. As such, it is most often at the

Fun With Measurement Systems Analysis – Part 1

By Ron Pereira - August 7th, 2015

Over the years I’ve been fortunate to visit many different companies across the world.  During these visits, I’ve seen some amazing examples of continuous improvement in action. But, to be blunt, there is one aspect of con

Review of Management Lessons from Taiichi Ohno by Takehiko Harada

By Jon Miller - August 7th, 2015

I had previously read and enjoyed the Japanese version of this book by Toyota veteran Takehiko Harada. Therefore I was curious to see how its idiosyncrasies would be handled in the process of editing and presenting it to a Western aud

Toyota’s 8 Step Practical Problem Solving, Revisited

By Jon Miller - August 5th, 2015

  The practical problem solving steps… It is too early to talk about solutions. It is still too early to talk about solutions. It is still too early to talk about solutions. It is still too early to talk about solutions. Did som

There’s More to Nemawashi than Consensus

By Jon Miller - August 3rd, 2015

A local grocery store has been doing some major remodeling. This summer they redesigned their parking lot, including new landscaping. A number of young oak trees were planted in the soil beds dividing the parking area into sections. Th

There’s More to Nemawashi than Consensus

By Jon Miller - August 3rd, 2015

A local grocery store has been doing some major remodeling. This summer they redesigned their parking lot, including new landscaping. A number of young oak trees were planted in the soil beds dividing the parking area into sections. Th

Lean for Social Good

By Jessica Bush - July 31st, 2015

For most of us, the desire to improve and to be respectful of others is inherent. Many people practice some rudimentary form of lean without even realizing it. Those familiar with lean typically think first of manufacturing, and fo

Jidoka, Self-awareness and the Value of a Lean Coach

By Jon Miller - July 26th, 2015

How do you feel? It’s a simple question that isn’t always easy for some of us to answer without a reference standard. Not too long ago, I didn’t always recognize exactly how I felt. This has changed now, thanks to my tran

The Whole Problem of End-to-End Productivity

By Jon Miller - July 20th, 2015

As the adage attributed to management guru Peter Drucker goes, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” Well, you might be able to improve it by chance or by heroic effort, but not in a sustainable way.

What’s This Thing Called Lean?

By Steve Kane - July 17th, 2015

By Steve Kane My introduction to lean occurred many years ago while working in the motorcycle business.  I went to work for a BMW Motorcycles dealer in California as a parts and accessories specialist.  My job was to sell cool motor

Last Week in Bad Problem Solving, 2016 POTUS Candidate Edition

By Jon Miller - July 13th, 2015

When one spends as much time as I do thinking about the ins and outs of the problem solving process, it soon becomes painfully obvious that the U.S. political system demands very little from our elected leaders in that regard. Last

You’re Good When You Think You’re Bad

By Kevin Meyer - July 10th, 2015

By Kevin Meyer Well over a decade ago I created my first lean enterprise assessment, just as a tool to help me understand gaps in my organization.  I’m generally loathe to use such tools as they are often misinterpreted, gamed,

You Had One Job, Fireplace Poker

By Jon Miller - July 6th, 2015

A fireplace poker has one job: to take the place of the unprotected hand in tending a fire. Normally a rigid metal rod with a curved bit at the end, a poker is used to move firewood, hot coals or whatever else one happens to be bur

Fun with Tennis Balls

By Ron Pereira - July 3rd, 2015

If you’re American and are reading this on July 4…  Happy Independence Day! I recently delivered a live workshop to a group of printing professionals.  The talk was a combination of Practical Problem Solving and Quick Cha

The High Cost of Ignoring Standard Work

By Jon Miller - June 29th, 2015

This June marked the 200th anniversary of the defeat of Napoleon by Wellington at Waterloo, which effectively ended his career as a military and political leader. Reading Andrew Roberts’ excellent book Napoleon: A Life, it became app

Lean Beginnings: My Journey So Far

By Jessica Bush - June 26th, 2015

By Jessica Bush I’ll admit, when I applied for the Marketing Specialist position at Gemba Academy, I didn’t know much about lean. I was less than a year out of college and all I had to go off of were snippets of information from on

The Most Dangerous Idea in the World

By Jon Miller - June 22nd, 2015

This week I learned about a new book, Kaizen Forever: Teaching of Chihiro Nakao by Bob Emiliani, Rudy Go and Katsusaburo Yoshino. Mr. Nakao was the first Shingijutsu consultant I met and worked with in 1993. Even just one week spent

How Do You Fight A Fire With A Garden Hose?

By Steve Kane - June 19th, 2015

By Steve Kane Many years ago, I was visiting a friend’s house in Southern California.  It was a 1950’s ranch style house with a straight walkway from the street to the door.  There was a tall palm tree where the walkway met the s

Own-Process Completion as the Basis of Lean Quality

By Jon Miller - June 15th, 2015

JKK sounds like something that the young people of today might say. Perhaps a text in reaction to hurting another’s feelings, as in “Just kidding, OK?” In fact, it’s one of the lesser known Toyota concepts that

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The Value of Uber and Airbnb

By Kevin Meyer - June 12th, 2015

By Kevin Meyer The following is not an advertisement, even if it sounds like it. I will admit I am a big fan of Uber and use the service pretty much anytime I travel. Now that they’re in my relatively small town, I might start us

Bootstrap Root Cause Analysis into Your Strategic Thinking

By Jon Miller - June 8th, 2015

I’ve had some interesting differences of opinion lately about if and how root cause analysis fits into an organization’s strategic planning. Both hoshin planning, the strategy deployment method practiced by Toyota and many other le

The Power of Essentialism

By Ron Pereira - June 5th, 2015

Greg’s wife was scheduled to give birth to a baby girl on Friday. Upon hearing this wonderful news Greg’s boss explained, in a rather direct way, “Friday would be a very bad day to have the baby.” You see, as it turns out, Greg

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