Tag: Japan
It’s Not the Worker’s Fault – in 1980 or Today (Part...
Recently, I shared the famed 1980 NBC documentary, "If Japan Can, Why Can't We?" that essentially introduced W. Edwards Deming to a mainstream Western...
Famed NBC Video with Dr. Deming from 1980 Now Available: “If...
The W. Edwards Deming Institute and Dr. Deming's grandson Kevin Cahill worked with NBC to make the 1980 program available, giving the institute perpetual rights to it (see their blog post). To the institute's credit, they've made this freely available on YouTube.
Podcast #233 – Katie Anderson, A Lean Thinker Living in Japan
Today's guest is Katie Anderson, and we're talking about her experiences living in Tokyo for 18 months and what she's learning about Lean culture, Japanese culture, and how those aren't always one and the same...
5S: The Good, the Bad, and the Extreme in Japanese Hospitals
My two previous trips to Japan have been incredible experiences, both personally and professionally. I'm planning to go back in December with a tour group I'm helping organize with Kaizen Institute. When people go to Japan, I think they are expecting to see perfect Lean practices. But, no...
Key Points About Kaizen from Japanese Hospitals, Going Back in December
I've gone to Japan twice now with Kaizen Institute to study Lean with healthcare professionals from around the world. I first went in 2012,...
Podcast #223 – Christian Wolcott, Lean Trips to Japan with Kaizen...
My guest for podcast episode #223 is Christian Wolcott, a senior advisor and director of Kaizen Institute North America and their director for Japan...
Why Kaizen is an Important Differentiator for Japanese Whisky
This article caught my attention the other day, primarily because I like scotch, whisky (and whiskey and bourbon). The Japanese love scotch whisky and...
Weekend Listening: Two Podcasts with Mark Graban
Normally, I like interviewing other people, through my podcast series (and this recent blog post with a hospital leader telling her story of putting...
Visiting and Touring the Toyota Tsutsumi Plant, Part 2
Last week, I wrote a post (part 1) looking back at our visit to the Toyota Tsutsumi factory that was part of our Japan tour that took...
My Visit to the Toyota Tsutsumi Plant, Part 1
I've been overdue in writing more posts about our Japan tour that took place two months ago now. See previous posts in this series....
Putting Up Signs and Shooting Down Ideas
A friend sent me a link to this article, "7 cultural concepts we don't have in the U.S.," and he told me to check...
Good Ideas, Lean Ideas, Keep Crossing the Pacific
The ideas, principles, and methods that we'd recognize as "Lean" aren't exclusively of Japanese origin. Many of us, myself included, draw inspiration from Toyota,...
