I selected these articles from the 2025 reader favorites and the all-time most-read list. Choose the question that is closest to a challenge you face. Each group offers a starting point for thinking about your own work.
The archive below includes additional posts I have selected over the years. Browse by date or use the pagination to explore further.
Tesla builds cars in what used to be the NUMMI factory, a joint venture between Toyota and GM (which meant it was run as a Toyota plant with "Lean" practices). Before that, it was a dysfunctional GM plant. Now that it's a Tesla plant, did they learn from Toyota or does it seem more like "the old GM?"
TL;DR Larry Culp, CEO of GE Aerospace, shows that Lean leadership isn’t about tools or slogans–it’s about daily behaviors. By grounding Lean in safety, respect for people, and continuous improvement, Culp practices kaizen at every level, including his own role…
TL;DR Leader Standard Work isn’t a calendar or a checklist. It’s the daily responsibility of leaders to show up with the right behaviors–listening, asking, following up, and creating psychological safety. How leaders act in everyday moments matters far more than…
TL;DR: PDCA is meant to be a learning cycle, but in fear-based cultures it becomes PDCYA–Plan, Do, Cover Your A**. When leaders punish mistakes, people stop learning and start protecting themselves. Psychological safety turns PDCA back into real improvement. Lean…
TL;DR: Jim Womack explains how the term “Lean” was coined to describe creating more value with less waste–and how it became misunderstood as cost cutting. Nearly 40 years later, the real purpose of Lean remains respect for people and continuous…
TL;DR: Daily Kaizen is essential–but it can’t overcome broken systems. Only leaders can fix structural constraints like layout, staffing, policies, and budgets. When leaders remove those barriers first, Kaizen can finally deliver real, sustained improvement. One of the most persistent…
Why did New Coke fail? Coca-Cola’s taste tests supported a new formula, but they did not establish that customers would accept losing the original. The company changed its flagship drink on April 23, 1985, then brought the original formula back…
Mistake-proofing at Kura Revolving Sushi offers an everyday example of process design: a plate-return slot, an automatic count, and a payment reminder each help prevent or detect different errors. My April 2024 visit also showed the limits of those safeguards.…
tl;dr: The Boeing 737 MAX incident wasn’t caused by careless workers. It was the predictable result of weak systems, rushed production, poor mistake-proofing, and a culture that discourages speaking up. Blaming individuals prevents learning; fixing systems prevents recurrence. As we…
TL;DR: Workarounds are not a sign of employee resistance. They are signals that standardized work or supporting systems make the “right way” harder than an alternative. I’ve spent years using a single photo in presentations to make a simple Lean…
tl;dr: Red/green metrics encourage snap judgments and overreaction. Process Behavior Charts provide context, separate signal from noise, and help leaders make better decisions that reduce wasted effort and drive real improvement. Thanks again to Prof. Eric Olsen for inviting me…
TL;DR: Why do outdated practices linger in Lean and healthcare? This post dives into the clash between habit and evidence, exploring examples from surgical rituals to “starting with 5S.” True Lean thinking means questioning what we’ve always done–and being brave…
