News – StatesmanJournal.com From Oregon: “Neilsen Manufacturing Inc. said Monday that it will slash its work force from 175 to 50 because of competition from Southeast Asia. The 48-year-old company is a model of lean manufacturing, a group of practices…
People keep asking me a reasonable question: “Why not just use ChatGPT?” After all, ChatGPT “knows” a lot about Lean. You can ask it about value stream mapping, PDSA cycles, or the Toyota Production System and get a decent answer.…
TL;DR: I asked ChatGPT how to use Lean to reduce hospital headcount. It gave me a detailed plan to do exactly that. My custom Lean AI refused and explained why. Generic AI will confidently help you damage your culture. I…
TL;DR: GM said it believed in long-term thinking. NUMMI actually practiced it. A 1987 GM executive summary admitted that short-term financial pressure drove decisions at GM far more than at NUMMI. The difference wasn’t philosophy — it was system design.…
Why do so many Lean efforts stall after early wins? In this episode, Darren Walsh explains why firefighting feels productive but prevents real progress–and how leaders can build daily routines and standards that sustain improvement over time. Scroll down for…
In this episode of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast, Dale Lucht reflects on the leadership habits that separate short-lived Lean gains from lasting cultural transformation–and the mistakes leaders must stop repeating. Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more…
One of the most important, and most misunderstood, principles in Lean thinking is this: Lean is not a cost-cutting strategy. Lean is a people-development strategy. If your organization is using Lean as a tool to justify layoffs, you’re not practicing…
TL;DR: GM had the chance to learn the Toyota Production System firsthand at NUMMI starting in 1984. They didn’t. I asked ChatGPT to imagine what might have happened if they had. Updated May 2024: I worked with ChatGPT 4 to…
TL;DR: UMass Memorial Health has implemented more than 100,000 employee improvement ideas by treating continuous improvement as a leadership responsibility–not a suggestion program. This post highlights how clear expectations, psychological safety, and enabling systems allow frontline ideas to turn into…
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #442 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Crystal Davis, the Founder, CEO & Principal Lean Practitioner at her firm, The Lean Coach, Inc. She was previously…
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #437 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Peter Docker. He is the author of the book Leading From the Jumpseat: How to Create Extraordinary Opportunities by…
I was planning on easing into the holidays, staying safe and healthy at home, trying to be thankful and appreciative for all that I have… and then this article ran across my radar via a Google Alert for the phrase…
