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.
Here’s some not-so-interesting news that I believe indicates not being focused on the customer and the subsequent focus on waste elimination. Harley-Davidson is changing their ticker symbol on Wall Street from HDI to HOG. Read the press release here. How…
It is often said “what gets measured gets done.” I don’t quite believe that, but measurement has a clear impact on behaviors within an organization. Most of those behaviors are unfortunately negative. You can do more harm than good with…
PodcasterNews – Industry Report 8-4 Lean Blog Podcast – LeanBlog.org The link above is a short interview I did with Ken Rayment for his podcast, the “Better Process Podcast.” He does a daily showwith interviews and manufacturing news, you can…
Also from the August issue of Assembly Magazine is my latest column of Leading Lean. The topic this month is the key issue of observing. I believe the true ability to observe is a under appreciated topic in lean. Sure…
Here is an article from Assembly Magazine by Adam Cort about Boeing’s Dreamliner called Living the Dream. Boeing has been working on lean for a long, long time. For quite a while, there was little to show for it. But…
Although my book, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Lean: Lessons from the Road, is very much about lean, I particularly enjoy finding lessons on lean from books that having nothing to do with lean. I’ve already shared some lessons from two…
Few would argue that lean is about an journey to the ideal state, towards perfection. It’s a continuous, never ending journey. This is quite dated, but since it was before the blog, I’ve never written about it. I wrote a…
Odeo: 2006 Congressional Agenda, Lean Manufacturing, Auto Show- 01/22/06 The link above is an interview that Jamie did with a radio station earlier this year. Jamie’s appearance starts at about 12:00. Here is a link for a direct download of…
By Jamie Flinchbaugh Mark recently posted about Building Near Your Customers. Here’s another reason – your product might end up at the bottom of the sea. Check out what’s happened to 5,000 cars on their way to the Vancouver. I…
There are many books that are not at all about lean, but the lessons they contain are very helpful to a lean journey. Here’s one such example: The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell While this The New Yorker writer has…
Getting lean right is more than just ideas. Here’s an article on demand stream mapping that I was actually interviewed for. Don’t know what that is? Well, here’s the crux of the article that I believe gets it wrong: But…
I know that you can say whatever you want in the press, particularly if you’re trying to sell this, but I couldn’t believe I read this: I had a feeling as I went into this that people had reached their…
