Weekend Fun: Muda and a Lack of Kaizen on “The Office”

Here's a great clip from Thursday's episode of The Office. One of the new employees shows how he enters customer complaints into the computer and THEN has to fill out green comment cards. He asks why he has to fill out the cards if it's already in the computer… Andy, the office manager, told him to “chillax…” such a wasted opportunity for Kaizen!

What examples of waste do you have in your work? Does your manager let you take action to reduce the waste or improve the system?

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Mark Graban
Mark Graban

Mark Graban helps leaders build workplaces where people speak up and improvement sticks, through Lean management, psychological safety, and better use of metrics. He is a keynote speaker, advisor, and host of the Lean Blog Interviews and My Favorite Mistake podcasts.

He is the author of The Mistakes That Make Us, Measures of Success, Lean Hospitals, and Healthcare Kaizen, and a three-time recipient of the Shingo Publication Award. His next book is The Silence Tax.

Mark is also a Senior Advisor to KaiNexus. Get his free ebooks.

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2 Comments

  1. A worst situation is when you have to jump through hoops to leave a compliment! Last week I flew on Delta for the first time in a decade they went way, way, way beyond my expectations to accommodate my family and my autistic daughter. No one knew how I could easily leave a glowing comment.

    • I know American has a “compliment” link right next to “complaint” on their website. I’ve rarely thought to click it :-)

      Too bad Delta doesn’t make it as easy.

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