Suggestion boxes collect ideas–but Kaizen builds capability. In this short video, I explain why continuous improvement depends on leadership behaviors, not passive systems. The Lean Enterprise Institute recorded this short video while we were at the recent Northeast Shingo Prize…
Thanks to Karen Martin for hosting yesterday’s webinar that I gave based on my book (with Joe Swartz) Healthcare Kaizen. The title was somewhat cheeky — “The Suggestion Box is Dead.” But, long live kaizen as a style of continuous…
Free Webinar on Tuesday, August 21, 2 pm ET I will be giving a free webinar titled: Healthcare Kaizen: The Suggestion Box is Dead If you can’t attend live, it will be recorded and available afterward.
Last week, I found and read an article, “Whatever happened to the company suggestion box?,” that makes some really great points about the problems with the ole’ box as a way to facilitate continuous improvement. This is a favorite topic…
Here is the fifth in our series of short, simple Kaizen education videos from KaiNexus, a software startup where I am on the management team. We are embedding these videos into our web-based software, to provide short tips and hints for…
I love employee ideas and continuous improvement, but I really dislike suggestion boxes. As I’ve said, they are well intended, but the whole suggestion box process is usually pretty ineffective. I see more and more articles about the failures of…
I saw this article the other day on BusinessInsider.com: “10 Predictions For How The Workplace Will Change In 2012.” Two of the predictions caught my eye: 3. “It’s about the people stupid.” 4. The suggestion box will be reborn. Other…
Today’s post is a short one, a bit of a visual puzzler and a reader participation post (leave a comment!). If you were in the market for a traditional “suggestion box” you might use this google search. Or check out…
I saw this in a workplace, posted by a union. But, you know, as a Lean practitioner, I couldn’t agree with this cartoon more. For one, in the Lean approach, real kaizen (continuous improvement) happens without suggestion boxes. Boxes cause…
No, this isn’t about Al Gore and his infamous Social Security “lock box.” This is about suggestion boxes that we sometimes see hanging on the wall in workplaces. With my current lean project, we co-opted the existing department suggestion box…
I’ve been reading The Birth of Lean, a collection of talks and interviews with the people who helped build the Toyota Production System. One passage stood out because it explains something I had never seen described this clearly: Toyota copied…
I just got back from a vacation that included some time in Greece. On the way to the airport, we stopped for a slow, delicious breakfast at a seaside cafe. Excellent food, better view. Check out the menu and some…