5S for Email
We recently released Issue 14 of Lean Progress and it included a brief set of tips on how to apply 5S on email. There is perhaps much more that could be written, but most people are so overwhelmed by the…
Jamie Flinchbaugh
Jamie Flinchbaugh is an accomplished Entrepreneur, Senior Executive, and Board Member with more than 20 years of success spanning finance, manufacturing, automotive, and management consulting. Leveraging extensive operational experience, Jamie is an invaluable asset for a company seeking expert guidance with process improvements, lean strategies, and leadership coaching in order to transform operations, reduce costs, and drive profitability. His areas of expertise include continuous improvement, entrepreneurship, coaching and training, process transformation, business strategy, and organizational design.
5S Still Gives Companies Fits
I am amazed that as long as we’ve talked about 5S, it still gives companies fits and trouble. Many companies start with 5S because it’s simple. It may be simple, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. This isn’t a tool…
Shortening up the Value Stream
On this blog, there have been several discussions and posts about jobs going overseas, not so much from a protectionist and politics standpoint, but more about the impact on your value stream. Is it shortsighted? Do our cost systems tell…
How to Adjust your Lean Efforts in this Economic Crisis?
I can’t count how many times I’ve said that there is no recipe for lean. You must chart your lean journey based on both where you are and where you want to be. This requires knowing your current condition very…
The Key to a Successful Lean Journey? Leadership!
A friend of mine, Kurt Woolley at Intel, has written an article for Industry Week that is quite popular. I thought I would share it here. It’s title is: The Key to a Successful Lean Journey? Leadership! Kurt talks about…
Leading Lean A-Z: "I" for Integrity
by Jamie Flinchbaugh, co-author, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Lean Some of you have read the beginning of my Leading Lean A-Z. You can see the introduction and the first post here. I continue, quite out of sequence, with I. I:…
Guest Host on LeanBlog Podcast
I will be standing in for LeanBlog founder and podcast host Mark Graban for the upcoming 50th podcast. While I clearly will not be quitting my day job, this was fun being on the other side of the mic for…
Continuous Improvement on a National Scale
By Jamie Flinchbaugh, co-author, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Lean We all struggle with taking continuous improvement from a department or process level to an enterprise level. But what would it mean to take it to a national level? What would…
The Value Stream of Succession Planning and Leader Development
by Jamie Flinchbaugh, co-author, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Lean What’s the purpose of thinking about work as a value stream? Is it just a buzzword? It helps us identify how our activities connect and flow together in order to deliver…
Lean and Green
As some of you know, I’ve been answering questions on lean in partnership with Bosch Rexroth both on their newsletter and through the recently launched podcasts. Here was one question that was simply put: How is lean green? This is…
Leadership versus Management
For a long time, we have been saying that leadership is one of the top reasons that lean efforts fail. Many have begun to figure this out. Lean is more than changing a few systems and training a few people.…
Skill Development Critical to Success
Why do many of our best companies move to China or other countries? Some do it for the lower labor rates, but just as many move because they can’t find skilled labor, engineers and other resources here in the U.S.…