One of the best was to learn and improve is to recognize your mistakes. I recently missed out on an opportunity to coach in the moment to help someone learn how to solve a problem. I hope the outcome of writing this post will etch into me the principle to always be coaching.
I met with a doctor recently who [...]
Entries from February 2009
February 27, 2009
Always Be Coaching
February 25, 2009
Book Review: The Elegant Solution
The Elegant Solution: Toyota’s Formula for Mastering Innovation by Matthew E. May
rating: 5 of 5 stars View all my reviews.
My review
“Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away”. This quote from Antoine de Saint Exupery is included in “The Elegant Solution” [...]
February 23, 2009
Accidents Do Not Equal Success
The following statements are true in a Lean environment but are culturally hard to accept initially:
If you set out to solve a problem but get a different & unexpected favorable result, the experiment is a failure.
If you didn’t set out to solve a problem but see a correlated improvement, you can’t take credit for it.
“A process [...]
February 19, 2009
What Is Great About This Guy’s Visuals?
Paddy Hirsch at Marketplace.org has a great video podcast where he uses a whiteboard to visually explain complex financial concepts. I am sharing his latest about CRAMDOWNS (RSS viewers may need to open post to view).
more about “Cramdowns“, posted with vodpod
I have been diving in depth to learn and understand the power of communicating visually and [...]
February 17, 2009
Debunking Myths Of Gemba
I have heard resistance for going to Gemba and I want to address any myths and misunderstandings.
You only need to go to Gemba once: If you have multiple operators and/or lack of standard work, going once will not show the variation that exists. Gaining a deep understanding of the problem and root cause might require seeing it [...]
February 13, 2009
Great Recent Lean Articles
I would like to share some great Lean articles I have read recently. My full list of favorite posts is located at my shared/stared google reader site. There is a ton of wisdom in these that I hope will provide inpiration for innovation.
Are you Passionate about Lean?by Mike Wroblewski at http://gotboondoggle.blogspot.com
The Lean Workplace as Classroom, The Top [...]
February 12, 2009
The Power Of Individuals
I believe with all of my heart that all individuals have the capability to improve and be creative. There is a spark in everybody to want to make things better. When people see trouble, they instinctively want to correct it.
On the Lean journey, the tools and problem solving mentality should not reside only within consultants and [...]
February 9, 2009
Tips For Sketching
more about “Dave Gray » Some basic rules for napk…“, posted with vodpod
Dave Gray created this informative 5 minute video; Some basic rules for napkin-sketching (RSS readers may need to open post to view). The video shows easy-to-remember principles for creating visual language (merging words/numbers with shapes and images).
My colleague and I have been pushing [...]
February 5, 2009
Mediocrity vs Pursuit Of Perfection
In America, we are so results-based that it is easy to bypass the process of uncovering the root cause. We spend resources of time and money trying to apply bandages instead of curing the actual problem. I think organizations perceive Toyota Way principle # 13 as the ugly duckling they wish didn’t exist (“Make decisions slowly [...]
February 3, 2009
Information Is Like Water
Oscar Berg created this elegant SlideShare presentation about how information flows like water (RSS readers will need to open post to view). In Lean transformations, we sometimes think of improvements in a physical sense (5S, creating cells, etc). Information flow is just as important to target for improvements. I hope this presentation sparks creativity for you!
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