“Respect for people” isn’t about being nice—it’s about how leaders design systems, make decisions, and respond to problems. In Lean organizations, respect shows up through listening, job security, psychological safety, clear communication, and a commitment to learning rather than blame. This archive brings together blog posts, podcasts, and examples that explore respect for people as a core Lean principle—one that enables trust, engagement, continuous improvement, and better outcomes for customers and employees alike.
In early 2025, Eric Veiel asked Larry Culp a question that most Lean deployment articles skip: when you’re getting ready to implement one of these programs, is there some hesitation from the workforce? Culp didn’t argue with the premise. “Well,…
It came across my LinkedIn feed again last week, and then a day later, a friend sent me the same thing from Instagram. Same story, a few words moved around, or copied word-for-word. If you spend any time in Lean…
A lunch, a hand gesture, and the question most Lean implementations are answering backwards. The gesture is the whole thing. The late Hajime Oba held his hands out in front of him, palms down, one higher than the other. “All…
Thanks, as always, to Ryan McCormack for this. He always shares so much good reading, listening, and viewing here! Subscribe to get these directly from Ryan via email. News, articles, books, podcasts, and videos about how to make the workplace…
TL;DR: Fujio Cho explained that standardized work is not about control or compliance–it’s the foundation for learning, quality, and continuous improvement. When used as Toyota intended, standardized work creates stability, makes problems visible, and helps leaders improve systems rather than…
TL;DR: Deming and Toyota’s Fujio Cho asked the same uncomfortable question: why do management systems destroy motivation in people who started out wanting to do good work? The answer points to practices leaders can actually change. When leaders talk about…
This week’s Operational Excellence Mixtape tackles the challenge of sustaining improvement amidst turbulence and change fatigue. We explore why values must act as your “North Star” when markets shift, methods for building quality systems that fight entropy (with examples from…
TL;DR: In a 1993 speech, Toyota leader Fujio Cho said organizations can create their own Lean systems, but success depends on three principles: leaders going to the gemba, asking “why” to learn from problems, and respecting and motivating people —…
TL;DR: NUMMI’s success was not driven by Lean tools alone, but by leadership behaviors that treated people as partners in quality and improvement. When you open the NUMMI Management Practices: Executive Summary–that thin, yellow-covered 1987 report preserved in the Don…
TL;DR: Larry Culp’s GE Aerospace CEO letter is a rare example of Lean leadership in practice, showing how safety, Respect for People, and small frontline improvements–not slogans or dashboards–create measurable operational and financial results. Most annual reports and shareholder letters…
The Real Lesson from Japan Wasn’t Tools — It Was Trust and Listening TL;DR: When a group of Ford and UAW leaders traveled to Japan in 1981, they went looking for secrets — faster machines, tighter processes, smarter tools. What…
Let’s commemorate today’s national holiday for Dr. King with a look back at my post from 2012: A Lean Lesson from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. And here is a quote that should remind folks of Kaizen and continuous improvement:…