How Jim Baran Got Started with Lean
Mark’s note: Jim’s post originally started as a comment in response to my post “Where Did I Start with Lean?” but it exceeded the size limit for a comment, I believe. So I’m posting it here: By Jim Baran This…
Tag Gemba
Gemba Walks, Leadership Behavior, and Learning Where the Work Happens
Gemba means “the real place”—where work actually happens, problems become visible, and leadership behavior matters most. These posts explore what going to the gemba really means beyond symbolic walk-throughs, dashboards, or status updates.
Drawing from Lean, Toyota practices, healthcare, manufacturing, and knowledge work, this archive focuses on gemba as a leadership practice: listening more than talking, asking better questions, building trust, and creating the conditions for daily improvement rather than fear or performance theater.
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Book Review: "Kaizen Express"
I have always learned a lot from John Shook. As I’ve blogged about before, I’ve seen John present about TPS and management (leadership, really) a few times and probably learn more “insights per hour” than anyone else in the Lean…
Virginia Mason and Lean Healthcare on the CBS Evening News
A Carmaker As A Model For A Hospital? – CBS News Virginia Mason Medical Center and their use of Lean and TPS was featured on the CBS Evening News on Saturday. This is huge, I think, for the lean healthcare…
First 90 Days as Hospital Lean Director – What To Do?
Lean Leap to Health Care #9 (Click for Part #8) by Scott McDuffee “I’m not sure if I have ever learned anything with my mouth open. But, I know I learn a lot with my eyes, ears, and mind open.” Sitting…
Doofus and Leanie Cartoon #1 – Gemba
Back in February, I did a parody of a “Goofus and Gallant” cartoon, if you remember them from “Highlights for Kids” magazine that was in every doctor’s office and dentist’s waiting room. I was having some concerns about copyright infringement,…
Airbus "Violated Key Tenet of Lean"?
Airbus Aims to Pull Back Without Stalling – WSJ.com: This recent article about Airbus talks about facing a challenge of declining airplane orders. Airbus said Friday that it booked orders for just 16 planes in March, compared with 54 orders…
Jeff Bezos at the Amazon Gemba
Curious at Amazon, but Not Idle – Bits Blog – NYTimes.com This piece about Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos made me think about visiting the “Gemba” (the Japanese term that means “the actual place” — the place where work is done).…
Toyota’s Buyouts and New Leadership
Taking the Wheel as Toyota Skids – NYTimes.com Toyota’s Cost Cutting Plan to Include Buyouts for Factory Workers Toyota famously has avoided layoffs of permanent employees since 1950 and they’ve also taken extraordinary measures to avoid them in recent downtimes.…
Your Own Process and People, not the Internet
I get sort of tired of seeing questions like this on the internet (on the Yahoo Group for Healthcare Management Engineers): Just wondering if anyone has placed computers in each patient room? What layout has worked the best? One that…
More on Meijer (That Sounds Like "Moron Meijer")
Recently, I blogged about management practices at the midwest retail chain Meijer. It was a sad (and not uncommon) story of quotas and threats to employees — if you don’t work at a certain speed, you’re fired. My post drew…
A Lean Guy Reads FORTUNE
As I was catching up on my back issues of FORTUNE, I had a few Lean thoughts as I read. In the June 9 edition, the article “Wal-Mart puts the squeeze on food costs” caught my eye. It says: Wal-Mart…
"Rounding" and "Gemba Walks"
StuderGroup – The Magic of Rounding Here’s a good article from Quint Studer about “rounding” — something Lean folks might refer to as a “Gemba Walk.” Studer’s writing on leadership and management, although hardly referencing “Lean” or “Toyota,” is pretty…