This article from the Toronto Star caught my eye the other day: Cyclist says his pool noodle makes Toronto streets safer for him There was a law passed in Ontario requiring drivers leave one meter of space between them and…
TL;DR: Archival GM and NUMMI documents reveal how deeply Toyota embedded kaizen, problem-solving, and respect for people into daily work–principles that contrasted sharply with old GM management practices and still offer timely lessons for Lean leadership today. These firsthand materials…
I watched the movie "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" for a second time. The film focuses mainly on Jiro Ono, a now 90-year old sushi chef in Tokyo who has received the rare and coveted Michelin 3-star rating for his restaurant. The film reminds me of Lean thinking, especially the drive for Kaizen, or continuous improvement.
Joining me for Episode #265 of the podcast is Bernita Beikmann, AIA, EDAC, LSSBB, a Principal and Director of Lean Strategy at HKS, an international architecture firm. Bernita is originally from Kansas and has a Bachelor of Architecture from Kansas State University…
I was fortunate to take a nearly two-week vacation recently, a trip that included a week in France. My wife and I had a chance to, I guess, do a number of “gemba visits” at some wineries in the Burgundy,…
I’m away on vacation through October 10th, but I’ve scheduled the posting of an article of interest most weekdays. Feel free to comment and share your thoughts on each and I hope you keep up your daily habit of reading the…
My guest for Episode #264 is a friend from here in the Dallas / Fort Worth area, Tyrone Butler. He is LSS Managing Partner at his company, Butler Active Business Solutions LLC. He has a background in the Air Force, he pre-dated…
tl;dr: Wells Fargo didn’t have a “bad apples” problem–it had a bad management system. Unrealistic sales quotas and fear-driven incentives made gaming the numbers easier than doing the right thing. The Wells Fargo scandal is a textbook example of how…
Continuing my series of blog posts about my July trip to China, today’s post is about my first significant walk through a hospital during the trip. My group had a chance to visit the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University.…
My guest for Episode #262 is Steven J. Spear (@stevenjspear on Twitter). He is author of the fantastic book The High-Velocity Edge: How Market Leaders Leverage Operational Excellence to Beat the Competition. He’s a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School…
Joining me for Episode #261 is an old friend and trusted mentor, Jamie Flinchbaugh. Among other things, he’s the co-author of the book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Lean. He writes for a number of publications, has his own blog, and was previously…
A number of you emailed me about this report in the Detroit News. I grew up in Detroit and my first job was as a carrier for the News. Loved ones have received care from the Detroit Medical Center system……
