Most people open the Lean Coach, ask a question about standardized work or value stream mapping, and get a solid answer. That’s the obvious use case. But the Coach Me mode — the Socratic coaching side — opens up something…
TL;DR: While some Japanese hospitals excel at Lean, many face the same cultural and systemic barriers seen elsewhere. Visiting Japan isn’t about finding a Lean utopia–it’s about sharpening your thinking by seeing what’s possible and how leadership, not geography, drives…
I’m doing another book giveaway contest — enter to win a signed paperback copy of my book The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation. Because of high international shipping costs, I’ve limited previous contests to…
I was thrilled to be invited to join more than 100 other speakers for this day-long (24 hours) global event — the Lean Global Connection event presented by the Lean Global Network. It was free, and it looked to be…
At yesterday’s Lean Global Connection event, I posed a straightforward yet revealing question to the audience: “What keeps you from speaking up at work?” The responses illustrated two of the common barriers. I posed the survey options based on the…
Roberto Priolo of Planet Lean shares how the Lean Global Connection has become a 24-hour, worldwide celebration of Lean thinking–and why its focus on adaptiveness and psychological safety matters more than ever. This free global event brings together practitioners, leaders,…
I’m very happy to be participating in Jared Thatcher‘s “Global Lean Summit” event this September in Indiana. I’ll be there to network and learn, which includes time visiting a Toyota Material Handling factory (an entire day!) I’ll be speaking and…
Lesa Nichols worked closely with Hajime Oba at Toyota’s Supplier Support Center (TSSC) and later became a production manager at Toyota’s powertrain plant in Georgetown, Kentucky. In this episode, she shares lessons from Mr. Oba on overburden, learning from mistakes,…
Joining me for Episode #397 is Hide Oba. His father was the late Hajime Oba, famous for his work at Toyota and the TSSC, as Steve Spear and I discussed back in Episode #386. Hide worked with his father at…
Steve Spear shares lessons from Hajime Oba, who founded Toyota’s Supplier Support Center (TSSC) and became one of the most influential teachers of the Toyota Production System in North America. In this episode, Spear describes how Mr. Oba looked at…
I’ve seen a number of people post on LinkedIn about the passing of the legendary “Mr. Oba” of Toyota (sometimes spelled “Mr. Ohba”) — Hajime Oba passed away on September 4th, in Connecticut. I’ve heard many stories from people who…
I do a lot of work across the U.S., but I’ve also been very fortunate to work with hospitals, clinics, and health systems around the world over the past 11 years. It started with a few trips to Canada to conduct some…