tl;dr: Lean encourages learning and iteration, but PDSA is not a license to roll out poorly tested, customer-facing changes and promise to “fix them later.” I’ve added a new post to my LinkedIn Influencers series: “The Ability to Iterate is…
This article appeared back in March… March of 2013… as in this year: “Windsor Chrysler workers reduce waste to be world class.” I mean, good for them, but they are just now getting to this (even if the effort started…
Listen My guest for podcast #175 is Mike Taubitz of the firm Sustainable Lean and FDR Safety. Mike is a retired GM employee (including a stint as Global Safety Director) and we met at the Michigan Lean Consortium conference in 2011.…
My friend Chad Walters has contributed guest posts to my blog (and has been a podcast guest), and I’m happy to return the favor with a guest post on his site: “Guest Post: A Clown Post About Bryce Harper and…
After the nice response to Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen, I often get asked, “So, what’s your next book going to be?” (other than the upcoming Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen, that is). I’ve had people suggest writing something about…
Joining me for Episode #169 is Leonard L. Berry, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Marketing in the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University. We are talking about his article that he co-authored with John Toussaint, MD Mayo Clinic Proceedings: “The…
From today’s news: “Backup presidential limo on its way for Obama in Israel after fuel filling failure.” U.S. President Barack Obama’s trip to Israel was tripped up by a preventable error – the Presidential limousine was mistakenly filled with diesel fuel…
TL;DR: Toyota’s real advantage isn’t automation–it’s how leaders design systems that support people, make problems visible, and create time for Kaizen. These same principles translate directly to healthcare and other complex organizations. I had the chance to tour the San…
TL;DR: At Toyota, the principle is closer to “respect for humanity” than “respect for people” — and that difference matters. It’s not a slogan or a soft value. It is one of two equally important pillars of the Toyota Production…
“A bad system, will defeat a good person, every time.” — W. Edwards Deming Would you polish drinking glasses at home with the furniture cleaner Lemon Pledge? Of course not – it’s got to be poisonous or at least harmful.…
As we enter the new year, it’s a great time to reflect back on 2012 – what worked and what didn’t work… what do we plan to do differently in 2013? Those are some of the core questions found on…
In his kickoff to the Lean Startup Conference, Eric Ries promised that there was so much content and so many speakers crammed into the day that we would all have a headache at some point. Yes, that came true for…
