Lean in Lock-down
So myself and my family are now in lock-down due to the spread of Covid-19. In New Zealand that means that only essential services, food, medical etc can operate. Unfortunately […]
In Lean and in Life, start with a work standard
Yesterday, I attended a short webinar by Lean Frontiers and the TWI Institute entitled “An Introduction to Standardized Work and the 5 Levels“. This webinar is free so if you’re […]
Lean Leadership – Managing the Impact of Change through Respect for People
Just recently, I taught a class about ‘Managing the Impact of Change.’ As I was preparing for and delivering the class, I started to think about how deeply the ‘Respect […]
Four dynamite steps for lighting a fire under your improvement program
What do leaders need when they are starting out in improvement? They need some strong tips to help them understand what they are trying to achieve and some tools to get started with. I’m a big believer in giving people simple, straightforward options when it comes to lean and starting an improvement program is no different.
Lean Leadership – Why you must celebrate those tiny lean successes
I’ve heard it many times from really successful managers. “We’re doing improvement, we’re just not documenting it.” My eyebrows always raise a bit when I hear this particular phrase. That’s […]
The Three Essential Things Every Company Needs for a Successful Lean Transformation
The pursuit of perfection in systems and processes has been the key theme of my career for twenty years. Now I’ve read a ton of books, lean books, theory of constraint books, books about how to combine theory of constraints and lean and don’t even get me started on books about six sigma. But earlier in my career I found that not one of those books gave me any pointers on how to move a company from one state to another in terms of culture, or how to create momentum. For sure, I knew about Value Stream Mapping, PDCA cycles and Just in Time but what I was lacking was the secret formula to making lean or any other methodology really work.
The Most Exciting Thing
As we have gotten closer and closer to the end of the first stage, our team has started talking about what happens next and which areas of the process will be worked on next. The resulting plan is so exciting that we all feel like something wonderful is just around the corner.
Clear that Desk! – Tips on achieving a more minimalist, lean workspace
Earlier this year I wrote a post about managing workplace clutter and my own personal quest for a minimal ‘lean’ workspace. At the time, I wasn’t sure how easy my seriously pared down workspace was going to work out. Would I be buried under clutter a few months later, or constantly frustrated by having nowhere to put anything?
In Lean and Intentional Living, the path to improvement is lined with discomfort
Change often comes with discomfort, even change for the better. Our minds are comfortable with the status quo and reluctant to forge ahead into known obstacles and discomfort. If we focus on WHY we want to change and fix our gaze to the horizon where our ambitions hover, we can see that discomfort is merely a necessary part of following the path to true north.
