You heard enough from me yesterday… today I want to share some other voices with you and their thoughts on Lean. First, familiar voices (John Shook and Jeff Liker) and someone who might seem like a new voice in the…
Ten Common Misconceptions About Toyota | Quality Digest I found this interesting column from Quality Digest, by Stewart Anderson, a guy who says he has first hand experience with Toyota people and suppliers. The website bio page requires registration to…
University of Michigan looks to lean principles for system-wide improvements – MLive.com Here is some positive news coming out of my home state of Michigan… the U of M health system is a leader in Lean thinking for healthcare. The…
Lean Leap to Health Care #7 (click for Part #6) by Scott McDuffee “Where is the main entrance? Why do I follow the signs to HERE? Now you are telling me to go all the way down THERE! How far…
Dear Lean Blog Readers: I try hard to not bombard you with commercial messages, but I do want to take a minute to recognize three of the sponsors that allow me to bring these free resources to you, like the…
Here’s another Lean Blog reader question from Joe, who writes: Last year I was part of an ERP implementation team at our company, and while part of that I became interested in lean manufacturing. For reference I manage our Field…
Award Recipients – The Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence – shingoprize.org The full list of winners has been released. Congratulations to all! It’s personally quite an honor to be included in this list. Steven J. Spear: Chasing the Rabbit: How…
Toyota’s plunge into big pickups veers into a Texas-size ravine – USATODAY.com I’ve already written about this before, but there was a new article in USA Today about Toyota’s commitment to its workers in San Antonio, even during a slow…
TL;DR: Toyota’s leadership philosophy isn’t about control — it’s about confirming processes, supporting people, and solving problems without blame. This quote from The Toyota Way 2001 shows how “thoughtful leaders” build quality and psychological safety into the system. A Powerful…
Fixing East-West clash challenging Prof. Jeffrey Liker keynoted a Lean event in Oklahoma and is quoted as saying: Maybe the cowboy and the samurai best illustrate the chasm between Eastern and Western corporate cultures, author Jeffrey Liker offered Thursday during…
CURRENTS / ‘Toyota way’ inspires lean practices From a Japanese newspaper, an article about the impact the Toyota Production System is having on organizations around the world. The first example is the U.S. military, the Air Force more specifically: Since…
Why do so many Lean efforts fail at the leadership level? Jeffrey Liker explains how Toyota develops managers over time–through stability, daily coaching, and deep respect for people–rather than quick rotations or promotions. Here is LeanBlog Podcast #41 with Dr.…
