Ideal State Challenge

I have been reflecting to gain a deeper understanding of standard work and came across this outstanding article from 2007 by Jon Miller called Standards, Abnormality and the Ideal.  Please check it out because the concept of negative inventory blew my mind.  I think ideal states are easy shortchanged and this article really challenges you [...]

Free Visual Storytelling

I love comic books and they have played a huge part in helping me understand how to communicate visually.  This Saturday is Free Comic Book Day where you can explore this medium for free.  The comic book art form has evolved past superheros and many different kinds of stories will be available for you this weekend. Visit http://www.freecomicbookday.com/ to find your [...]

Lean and Dental Floss

One of the things I love about Lean is the philosophy to make things more visual. 
This weekend our household dental floss ran out unexpectedly due to the classic white plastic container.  My wife commented that you can never know when you will run out of it. 
We replaced it with Oral B Dental Floss because the plastic is clear [...]

Drawing: Treasure Map To Find Truth

Royce Willard said something via Twitter (@Rwilliard) a while ago that really stuck with me when I asked about executives at gemba.  He said “The truth is not in their office.“
I created this drawing to show places people try to find the treasure of truth instead of seeing where “X” marks the spot in gemba.

Afar Land: [...]

Lean Leadership Articles

I really found a lot to reflect on these great articles related to Lean Leadership.  Check them out!

The 7 Wastes of Lean Leadership – Common Errors in Working With Continuous Improvement Teamsby Jeff Hajek
Seeing Things for Yourself by Lee Fried
12 Leader Standard Work Questions to Ask on the Gemba by Jon Miller
Toyota leadership model in [...]

Create A New Reality Via A3

Jamie Flinchbaugh wrote a fantastic post called Grabbing the A3 Tool from the Toolbox for the Industry Week’s Best Plants conference on A3 problem solving. 
I like his take on writing the target condition.  He states “This is not the result you would achieve; this is how you will change the work in order to get the [...]

A Song About Charts (really…seriously)

Dan Pink posted this 2 minute PBS Video aimed at kids to teach them about charts (RSS readers will need to open post to view).  Am I the only one who thinks this song is catchy?  Too bad they couldn’t think of something that rhymed with qualitative!
My 2009 Hansei: Scarcity inspires creativity [...]

Consultant Dependency = Etch A Sketch

Think of an Etch A Sketch when you solely rely on a consultant to do the majority of your Lean work.  A consultant may make a wonderful Lean picture for your organization, but once they are gone it only takes a couple of shakes to make it disappear.
Stephen Spear made a great comment on a recent Leanblog.org podcast.  [...]

Parkinson’s Law and Improvements

In 1955, Cyril Northcote Parkinson wrote what has become Parkinson’s Law:  “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”  The background on this is on Wikipedia.
Lean organizations should have a keen sense to look for this law because it will be fertile ground for improvement.  A lot of front-line workers will not [...]

John Wooden: Coaching for people, not points

 

 
 
 
I have been focusing on coaching lately and found this 18 minute Ted video of John Wooden to be inspiring (RSS readers will need to open post to view).  I think he is in line with Lean on both the respect for people principle and his primary focus on learning.
I like how he explained a teacher’s response to [...]

Book Review: Managing To Learn

Managing to Learn by Shook

rating: 4 of 5 stars
“Managing to Learn” is an excellent book for managers and coaches of A3 authors/advocates. John Shook is a true sensei with 11 years of Toyota history and real world experience in helping organizations with Lean transformations. I have been learning a lot from his incredible blog [...]