Ohno Circle at the Bank
Working from home today, I ran out during lunch time (actually after lunch time in my effort to help level load area businesses) to the bank. As I entered, I saw this sign. By “ways to serve you better”, I…
Search Results for taiichi ohno
Major League Baseball Works on Standardizing the Ball… For What Purpose?
Back in 2014, I wrote an article for The Lean Post:
"Standardization is a Countermeasure, Never the Goal"
I'm a big fan of Taiichi Ohno's advice to "start from need." I cringe when I hear people say that we should standardize the way work is done "because Lean says so." There's no substitute for judgment in the grey areas related to standardized work.
What should we standardize? For what purpose? How standardized should the work be?
Baseball is struggling with questions like this... how standardized should the balls be... and for what purpose?
Eric Ries on The Startup Way, Lean Startup, and Corporate Innovation
Joining me again for episode 290 is a three-time guest, Eric Ries. When we first talked, in episode 115 six years ago, his New York Times bestselling book The Lean Startup was being published. In 2012, we discussed the impact of Toyota's Taiichi Ohno on his work, in episode 142. This time, we're talking about his new book, The Startup Way.
Revisiting a 2011 Lean Startup Podcast with Eric Ries–and What Still Matters Today
In today's post, I look back at my 2011 interview with Eric Ries about his book "The Lean Startup." I share a new PDF summary of the discussion along with some excerpts from the book that cite W. Edwards Deming and Taiichi Ohno. I'll be speaking at the annual Lean Startup Week event this year (and this post contains a link that will save you 15%). His next book, "The Startup Way," looks at how bigger companies like GE and Toyota can use Lean Startup methods to bring new products to market more effectively...
Toyota and the “Thinking Production System”
Many interesting comments here from someone who worked directly for/with Taiichi Ohno. He comments on developing workers who can think — TPS being the “Thinking Production System.”
Elementor #85460
Blog What Toyota’s 1992 Booklet Leaves Out About Leadership ByMark Graban July 8, 2026 Comment (0) 36 The 1992 Toyota booklet says surprisingly little about leadership. There’s a Kiichiro Toyoda quote… Read More Blog The Taiichi Ohno 1981 Story Keeps…
Is Lean Just About Speed and Six Sigma About Quality? No — and Here’s Why
No. The claim that “Lean is for speed and Six Sigma is for quality” misrepresents both methodologies. Lean — based on the Toyota Production System — improves safety, quality, delivery, cost, and morale (SQDCM) together, with built-in quality (jidoka) as…
AI Didn’t Invent Lean Slop. It Learned It From Us.
I have been seeing more AI-generated Lean infographics on LinkedIn lately. So many. It’s annoying. I try not being annoyed, but it’s hard. So, I made one of my own about the trend and posted it on LinkedIn. It collects…
Why You Can’t Think Your Way to a Root Cause
You know the feeling in the conference room when the team finally lands it. The fishbone is covered in sticky notes. You’ve worked through five whys, or ten, or fifteen. Somebody on the team traces the line with a finger…
The 8 Wastes of Lean: A Practical Guide (With Healthcare Examples)
TL;DR: The eight wastes give you a lens for seeing problems — but Lean isn’t a scavenger hunt for waste. The real work is understanding why waste exists and building systems where people feel safe enough to point it out.…
The Most Misunderstood Role in the Toyota Production System
Jamie Bonini described a person who looks like 25% overhead to a finance team — but without whom the entire Toyota Production System falls apart. Bonini is the vice president of Toyota’s Production System Support Center (TSSC), which has spent…
Create Your Own Lean System — But Don’t Lose Sight of These Three Things
TL;DR: In a 1993 speech, Toyota leader Fujio Cho said organizations can create their own Lean systems, but success depends on three principles: leaders going to the gemba, asking “why” to learn from problems, and respecting and motivating people —…
