I’ve probably seen the “Current Condition” portion of the fantastic “Toast Kaizen” DVD (from GBMP) more than a hundred times over the past seven years. At the end, when Bruce learns that his wife wants raisin toast (when he makes…
You might also have seen the first video animation that I did last week about the waste of getting new recycling bins. I've created a new video that shows what a "bad office 5S" scene might look like... something that's "L.A.M.E." not Lean.
One of the things I love about the NBC show “30 Rock” is the way it skewers GE culture (such as its past mocking of Six Sigma – see here, here, and here). In the parallel universe of 30 Rock,…
Since the webinar I’m doing later today for Gemba Academy (Using SPC to Make Better Management Decisions) allows me to cite the late great Dr. W. Edwards Deming when talking about variation in systems, I thought I’d share this silly…
I was driving the other day, listening to the 1980s music channel on XM Radio. The DJ announced a song by Duran Duran and it really sounded like “Juran Juran,” reminding me of the quality legend Joseph M. Juran. It…
Some of you might be familiar with the internet meme, spreading on Facebook especially, about “what people think of my profession” (as described in this Washington Post blog post). For example, see “what a contemporary artist does.” It’s all a…
Catching up on an episode of the NBC show “Parks & Recreation” from a few weeks back, Rob Lowe’s character is talking about going to a Japanese restaurant and he enthusiastically blurts out a few random words, including “Kaizen!” It’s…
A Vivid Example of Gaming the Numbers on “The Office” NBC’s “The Office” is often a good source for clips that illustrate the opposite of Lean thinking. Last week’s episode continued the subplot where the new CEO assigned Andy, the…
If you’re watching college football bowls or the NFL playoffs, it’s hard not to see this commercial from DirecTV. It’s not exactly the reverse of the “5 Whys” (as popularized in Lean and the Lean Startup methods), but it made…
You might remember Dr. Les Muda, the “World’s First Lean Healthcare Comedian” (arguably the only one?) from a video back in June. He has taken a break, apparently, from his comedy club tour schedule to be interviewed by Diana Davis…
On last Thursday’s episode of The Office, Dwight Schrute installed a software system that he called an “accountability booster,” aka the “doomsday device,” as it was referred to by the rest of the office staff. There had been a number…
Thanks to Jamie Flinchbaugh for sending this funny video my way. It’s the comedian Louis C.K. in his show “Louie” (or maybe it’s from the earlier “Lucky Louie“). It’s a clip where, after an initial question, his young daughter does…