Books shape how we think about leadership, improvement, and learning—but only if we reflect on them and apply their lessons thoughtfully. This archive includes blog posts and podcast episodes about Lean, healthcare, leadership, mistakes, psychological safety, and continuous improvement, including reflections on my own books and conversations with authors whose work has influenced how organizations build better systems and cultures.
By Luke Van Dongen: Name of Book: Lean Kaizen: A Simplified Approach to Process Improvements Authors: George Alukal & Anthony Manos Publication Date: 2006 Reviewed By: Luke Van Dongen, February 2007 Book description: what’s the key message? This book is…
Teaming up may aid Ford, Toyota Another article about potential collaboration between Ford and Toyota. One tidbit: The grapevine buzz has it that the former Boeing leader is prompting his managers to read books on the Toyota Production System, the…
Why Clean Up Your Desk? Delight in Disorder Instead (WSJ $$)What does a clean desk have to do with 5S? It depends. Do you have your own desk or do you share a workspace with others? Can you find any…
By Jamie Flinchbaugh One of the most underrated voices in the “lean” world is Tom Johnson. I still regularly recommend his latest book, now 6 years old, Profit Beyond Measure. It’s a little hard for some to read, but the…
New Hybrid Book Takes a ‘Novel’ Approach to Strategy Deployment: Financial News – Yahoo! Finance Has anyone read the new book from the Lean Enterprise Institute? They are sending me a copy that I hope to review in the near…
by Jamie Flinchbaugh I’m not sure if this has much to do with lean, other than to say that business leaders are needed to make lean work. My friend Randy Pinkett who last year won Donald Trump’s The Apprentice has…
I’m still waiting for the lean comic book to arrive after buying it on eBay. The link above is a column written about Hytrol Conveyor Company (more on their lean effort). They created a custom comic book to help explain…
We have winner (12/27) Hi, blog readers. It’s time for another Lean Blog contest. Our first was the “Everyday Lean” contest, where the winner won a copy of Jamie Flinchbaugh’s book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Lean: Lessons from the Road.…
In my Assembly Magazine monthly column Leading Lean, I chose to address in December one of my favorite topics, PDCA or Plan-Do-Check-Act. This is the practice of learning through improvement. I hope I did it justice, at least as much…
Recently I was giving a speech and had to follow Phil Gordon, famous poker pro and host of Celebrity Poker Showdown. Needless to say, he’s a tough act to follow with stories of massive pots, wealthy businessmen who lose millions…
The Society of Manufacturing Engineers is offering a special holiday sale on their best-seller for 2006, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Lean: Lessons from the Road. The price on Amazon is $30, but SME is selling it for $25.50 for regular…
I’ve been reading the book Managing The Professional Service Firm by David Maister, which is targeted toward the management of professional firms: consulting, law, and finance for example. But, he has a concept that should resonate for any business: “Quality…
