If we’re trying new things, there are bound to be “failures.” If our leaders want guaranteed success, we won’t be trying many new things. The best way to guarantee that we won’t fail is to not try. A Domino’s Pizza…
Regular readers of the blog will know that one of my favorite topics is “Gaming the Numbers” (or “Gaming the System“). As Brian Joiner so brilliantly wrote, as shared by the late, great Peter Scholtes , there are three things people…
In 2009, I wrote about a nurses’ union in New Brunswick that supported Lean because they realized this methodology could help reduce waiting times and improve working conditions. It’s win Yet, as part of the recent politicized Lean healthcare brew-ha-ha in…
I enjoy reading the magazine Inc. for my interests in startups and entrepreneurship. There are often examples and case studies that directly reference Lean thinking or just sound like Lean and Kaizen with another label. There were two articles in…
Out there in the Lean and quality improvement communities, you sometimes hear some silly things. Sometimes, I want to attach the “Lean As Mistakenly Explained” (or L.A.M.E.) label to what’s said when it really seems off the mark from what…
Here’s a great post from Pascal Dennis on Lean and PDCA (or PDSA): PDCA – the Pounding Heart Muscle of Life Everybody should read Pascal’s post… twice. Honestly, go read it a few times before returning here. I was fortunate…
I’m in my home town of Livonia, Michigan this week, having arrived to the snow and cold yesterday, staying through Thursday. Boy, my blood has really “thinned out” from 15 years of mostly living in Texas or Arizona. I made…
tl;dr: Lean encourages learning and iteration, but PDSA is not a license to roll out poorly tested, customer-facing changes and promise to “fix them later.” I’ve added a new post to my LinkedIn Influencers series: “The Ability to Iterate is…
It’s been interesting to follow the rise and fall of former Apple retailing executive Ron Johnson during his less-than-two-year stint as CEO at long-struggling retailer JC Penney. Johnson was often cited as the genius behind the generally outstanding Apple stores,…
TL;DR: Toyota’s real advantage isn’t automation–it’s how leaders design systems that support people, make problems visible, and create time for Kaizen. These same principles translate directly to healthcare and other complex organizations. I had the chance to tour the San…
The PDSA cycle (Plan, Do, Study, Adjust) is at the heart of Lean problem solving. Most of these mistakes cluster in the Plan phase, where the temptation to skip ahead is strongest. A few live in Study and Adjust, where…
NBA to ditch new ball, return to old Following up this earlier story about the lack of employee involvement, the NBA has decided to go back to their old basketball. From this article (no longer available): Without consulting the players, the…
