Manufacturing is where many Lean ideas were first developed—but lasting results never come from tools alone. This archive explores manufacturing through the lens of leadership, safety, culture, and systems thinking, drawing lessons from real plants, executives, and frontline experiences that still matter today.
From Toyota and NUMMI to modern aerospace, appliance, and industrial operations, these posts show how manufacturing excellence depends on respect for people, learning from problems, and designing systems that make the right work easier.
As I recently shared on LinkedIn, I really appreciated the annual shareholder letter that was published and shared by Larry Culp, who has been CEO of General Electric for just over five years now (the first-ever outsider CEO in their…
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #496 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Randy Carr, the CEO of South Florida-based World Emblem – one of the largest embroidery companies in the world with plants in…
Join me for a LinkedIn Live session on Tuesday at noon ET, where I’ll be joined by my friend Billy Taylor. We’ll preview the panel discussion that Billy will be facilitating at the AME International Conference in Cleveland. The conference…
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #485 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Erica Lee Garcia, a perfect blend of problem solver, leader, and entrepreneur. Join us as we explore her unique…
This bonus episode captures an unscripted, post-event conversation with Jim Womack, Katie Anderson, Jamie V. Parker, and Mark Graban reflecting on GE’s “Lean Mindset” event. Together, we explore what it really takes to sustain Lean thinking–learning from failure, leading with…
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #484 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Keith Ingels, who previously joined us in Episode 390. He’s the RLM Manager of Solutions & Support Centers —…
tl;dr: In this post, Mark argues against the conventional punitive approach to mistakes in organizations, advocating for a culture that prioritizes learning and improvement. Using case studies and real-world examples, he outlines how such a shift in perspective can lead…
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #481 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is George Saiz. As a coach, writer, and speaker, George Saiz actively promotes enterprise excellence through a people-centric culture to…
tl;dr: GE CEO Larry Culp emphasizes Safety, Quality, and Delivery before Cost (SQDC) as the foundation of Lean. By putting safety first and focusing on leadership behavior and daily management, GE is using Lean to improve performance without resorting to…
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more Joining us for Episode #478 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Shaunté Kinch. In 2022, Shaunté founded Empact Global, a consultancy that works with organizations to help them solve really…
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more Joining us for Episode #474 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Norbert Majerus. He has his own firm now but previously worked for Goodyear, joining the company in 1978 in…
Joining us for Episode #470 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Gary Michel. He was Chairman and CEO of Jeld-Wen, Inc. until August 2022 and, just after that, I saw him give an outstanding keynote talk at the AME annual conference in…
