http://www.leanblog.org/audio302 Thanks to Elisabeth and the team at GoLeanSixSigma.com for inviting me to contribute some thoughts in this piece : How Lean Six Sigma Can Help Fight the Coronavirus Pandemic
http://leanblog.org/audio301 It's great to see examples of manufacturing companies being flexible and adaptive in these challenging times. Lean methods are often providing a huge boost in what can be life-saving efforts. Lean often gets mislabeled as a “low inventory” system (or “zero inventories”) but that misses the point. We don't just lower inventory at all costs (anybody can make that mistake without Lean) — we have to create systems and supply chains that might possibly allow for low inven...
http://www.leanblog.org/audio300 I had a phone conversation yesterday with an emergency medicine physician after her shift at an unnamed hospital in an undisclosed state. She had a number of frustrations to share and she doesn't really have an outlet (and doesn't want her name out there for fear of retaliation). More importantly, this isn't about one institution. She works in a well respected system. So this lack of preparedness and leadership could be widespread. When I posted my concerns about...
http://www.leanblog.org/audio299 I normally love the public radio program "Marketplace" and have listened to it (on radio or as a podcast) for 15 years or so. But, I was very disappointed with this recent piece , which you can read here : "Just-in-time" manufacturing model challenged by COVID-19 Yes, many factories have been shut down in China, which disrupts global supply chains. However, if you're a company that decided to move all of your production to China (to then ship out to customers aro...
http://www.leanblog.org/audio298 I've been thinking a lot about hospitals and how they're preparing for the expected tsunami of Covid-19 patients who will need ICU beds and ventilators (when it's expected that there won't be enough of either ). There have also been recent preparations (and ongoing actions) to screen patients who arrive at emergency rooms and outpatient clinics. I was at one organization last week that was in the process of installing new protocols and procedures in an outpatient...
http://www.leanblog.org/audio297 Looking back at a blog post and an article from 2012 and 2014...
http://www.leanblog.org/shingo2020 Thanks to the Shingo Institute for inviting me to facilitate a half-day workshop at the Shingo Conference , being held this year in Orlando, April 16 and 17. The workshop covers concepts and methods from my book Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More . I hope you can join us for the conference, as this is an event I have enjoyed in the past — and if you're going to be there, please say hi and, better yet, come to my session. My workshop will...
http://www.leanblog.org/audio295 Here's an article from Bloomberg BusinessWeek: GE's Larry Culp Faces Ultimate CEO Test in Trying to Save a Once-Great Company Very early on, the article mentions Culp's advocacy for "Toyota-style lean manufacturing." Or is he pushing "Danaher-style lean manufacturing" and is that different? And does that matter? Culp was "in his element" visiting a GE factory in Pensacola -- can that be said about most CEOs?...
http://www.leanblog.org/audio294 Today, I'm sharing a question from a reader who started their career at Toyota and now works at another company. See previous posts with reader questions . The reader has given me permission to share this -- to get your input -- and there are no identifying details included: I came across something interesting at work around goals that I wanted to share with you and perhaps get your thoughts. At the beginning of the fiscal year, our manufacturing sites submitted ...
From 2014 -- http://www.leanblog.org/audio293 We had an excellent English-speaking tour guide for our visit (she lived in Hawaii at one point). As we talked through the facility (up in a "catwalk" that gave good visibility down into the process), she would occasionally stop at pre-determined points to explain something about the process or about the Toyota Production System and its elements. At each stop, there was a box with a microphone and other audio/visual equipment and speakers. She didn't...
From 2012: http://www.leanblog.org/audio292 Dr. Iida talked about the connections between " Kaizen " (small improvements) and innovation (larger improvements) and how, together, they lead to breakthroughs. He also talked about how one is absolutely necessary for the other to occur. Dr. Iida has been the CEO for just over 20 years and his hospital receives visitors from around the world, including Europe and Africa. They were on the verge of bankruptcy when he took the job in 1991 and they are no...
http://www.leanblog.org/audio291 Last week was our fifth annual KaiNexus User Conference (or " KaiNexicon " as we now call it). One of our keynote speakers was Jess Orr , a former Toyota engineer who shared perspectives on what it was like to now lead continuous improvement in another company. Jess has previously presented three webinars for us at KaiNexus (see links at the end of the post) and she always has something insightful to say. I took a lot of notes during her talk, so here are some of...
http://www.leanblog.org/audio290 So, upon some reflection, it seems like "Just Do It" isn't really the right phrase to use. A classic suggestion box system has cards that start with listing a suggestion. That's, in a way, jumping to solutions. Kaizen isn't a suggestion box model. Maybe "Just PDSA It" is a more accurate phrase to use?
http://www.leanblog.org/audio289 In the huddles, the manager and team talk about problems, issues, or opportunities for improvement. In some huddles, the team might say, "We can't think of anything that came up yesterday." But, then, as the huddle progressed, the team was asked if anybody should get recognition or kudos for something they did.
http://www.leanblog.org/audio288 http://www.kainexus.com/webinars Today, I'll be hosting and moderating the latest in our KaiNexus Continuous Improvement Webinar series . I'm really excited that the presenter will be Mark Valenti -- he's been a bit of a mentor and coach for me on the topic of " Motivational Interviewing ," something I've really found helpful these past few years. Click here to register for the webinar , which is intended to provide tips for leaders and managers (and a transcript...
http://www.leanblog.org/audio287 General Jim Mattis has been making the rounds to talk about his new book that is out today: Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead . "Learning to Lead" sounds like it could be the title of a book about Lean management. We're learning how to lead people, to lead improvement, to lead organizations. You might say we're "practicing leadership," myself included. A few things jumped out from an article and an NPR interview with Mattis that made me think about Lean and the c...
http://www.leanblog.org/audio286 This past weekend, an old friend came down from Michigan to spend two days in the Dallas area. Amongst the activities and catching up, we went bowling -- something I did a lot of as a kid and something my friend and I usually do when we get together. I ordered a drink -- not a Lean whiskey , perhaps surprisingly -- but this: "An UN-sweetened iced tea, please"
http://www.leanblog.org/audio285 This is a radio segment from the KOGO morning news on August 23rd, 2019. LaDona Harvey: When it comes to your career path, your family’s financial future, or even a weight loss journey, focusing on little setbacks can throw a real wrench in your progress. Ted Garcia: Joining us on the KOGO news live, the author of, “ Measures of Success. React Less, Lead Better, Improve More ,” Mark Graban. Good morning, Mark. Mark Graban: Good morning....
http://www.leanblog.org/audio284 Here is an article that caught my eye recently, from HBR: " How One Health System Overcame Resistance to a Surgical Checklist "
http://www.leanblog.org/audio283 Anyway, this article caught my eye the other day: Top Chefs and Restaurateurs on the Best Lessons They Learned from Failures Check out the article for the detail, but here are the five lessons and I think they apply to Lean and other things we practice , with my commentary…...
http://www.leanblog.org/audio282 Hat tip to Stan Feingold from StoreSMART (a Lean Blog sponsor) for sending me this article : Bob Lutz Talks Panel Gaps, Tesla, and Why Every Detail Matters -- Getting it right starts at the top....
http://www.leanblog.org/audio281 When we have really sticky, complicated problems (like the widespread healthcare patient safety and quality problems ), I think it's interesting to think about problems in the following terms... for a particular problem, which is true? It can't be solved (in general) That organization can't solve it (don't know how?) They won't solve it They don't need to solve it When we look at patient safety, there are many examples that show improvement is possible . So, it c...
http://leanblog.org/audio280 I guess I'm wired for improvement. Or, it's just become a habit. Or, it's both. I celebrate moments when I can identify an opportunity for improvement in my work. I tend to be pretty transparent about problems and even mistakes (like forgetting my socks ). The Toyota-ism of "No problems is a problem" resonates with me. Identifying a problem shouldn't bring blame and shame... it's the first step in improving the way work is done. I'm fortunate that we've built a cultu...
http://www.leanblog,org/audio279 Registration is open for "Kaizen Live!" -- the 2019 edition. Joe Swartz and I are excited to announce that we are hosting the fourth site visit to his organization, Franciscan St. Francis Health, in Indianapolis. It's being held October 3 and 4, with an optional workshop on October 2nd. Click here to learn more . You'll find links to the registration page and be sure to check out the early registration and group rate discounts that are available....
This is an interesting article: Inside Toyota's Takaoka #2 Line: The Most Flexible Line In The World I had a chance to visit the 'Takaoka #1" line in February 2018 as part of my tour with Kaizen Institute . This article makes me wish we had been able to see Takaoka #2, but that sounds like a somewhat rare and special opportunity (even more special than visiting Toyota is normally)....
From 2013 -- http://www.leanblog.org/audio277 A principle that has been often discussed (and hopefully practiced) in the Lean community over the past few years is usually described as “respect for people.” A certain British rabble rouser recently said the following at a Lean conference: “All this respect for people stuff is horse sh*t,” and it is a “conventional Western management interpretation.” He mocked the idea of “respect for people programs,” although I'm not sure where such a standalone ...
https://leanblog.org/audio276 "Over the past year, I've heard about the “OKRs” methodology that is used in tech companies like Google. OKRs stands for Objectives & Key Results. The approach (along with examples and case studies) are laid out in the book by venture capitalist John Doerr, Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs." There are things I like about this model... and it reminds me of the Lean "Strategy deployment" practice... but I th...
I always enjoy the KaiNexus User Conference (now called KaiNexicon starting this year) and they ask me to give a talk each year. Last year, I gave a talk called “When Being Right is the Wrong Strategy for Change” and KaiNexus recently shared a nicely-shot video of that talk on YouTube . So. I'm sharing that here... and the blog post has a transcript I had done, annotated with some slides and links. You can also read a shorter summary via the KaiNexus blog . http://www.leanblog.org/audio275...
http://www.leanblog.org/audio274 I find it really interesting when scientific facts and truth get superseded by new evidence. Science isn't supposed to be stubborn… it's OK to cast aside the old status quo when we learn something new (pay attention, “flat Earth” crowd). There are a lot of these themes, also, in a book I've been reading, The Case Against Sugar , by Gary Taubes. Some of the established science about low-fat diets being good for us might not really be true. How does this all apply ...
I haven't read it, but Marie Kondo's book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing has been a pop-culture phenomenon the past few years. I've seen some compare her process to the Lean practice of “ 5S.” Kondo says you should only keep an item if it “sparks joy.”...
