“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.
Lean Blog: Lean Should be Better Supported by HR I got this email from a blog reader, name withheld: “I read your items about annual reviews and had to email. I work for a large global corporation that says it…
In the Lead – WSJ.com The WSJ wrote Monday about the leadership styles of Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith, the Super Bowl coaches for the Colts and Bears. The Super Bowl should be required viewing for managers who think screaming…
Metal expands when it’s hot Here’s a story from a small company that’s grown from $3m to $10m in revenue, in part due to Lean methods, but also due to apparent notions of “respect” for employees and customers. There are…
By Dan Markovitz: (Mark’s note: I saw this article and instantly thought of Dan, re: Lean in an office environment. The dynamics in this article reminded me of the typical dynamics in a non-Lean factory, where lots of expediting takes…
‘Welcome to My World’ – WSJ.com: You might remember the story about how the NBA unilaterally changed to a new ball without much input from the players (or that was the complaint). The NBA later reversed course and went back…
Business Week Article OK, so here’s the palette cleanser after my Bob Nardelli rant. I like to keep a positive piece at the top of blog for good blog karma. It’s a companion piece about another guy who was passed…
Business Week: Out At Home Depot As more details about the former Home Depot “leader” and his “leadership” come out, it’s a sad case study of bad leadership (written about earlier, at risk of being accused of Shadenfreude). Why am…
Forbes Article on Wal-Mart Here is a decidedly pro-Wal-Mart article (“the fair and balanced Lean Blog”) in a follow up to this post about Wal-Mart’s new employee scheduling practices. Forbes points out that Lowes and Target also use this type…
I saw this at a hospital lab last year, a great example of true error proofing vs. just putting up warning signs. “Cautions” and “Warnings” are lazy engineering, in general, with product design. Signs are not good problem-solving in any…
TL;DR: Matching staffing to customer demand can make sense from a Lean perspective — but when scheduling systems create unpredictable hours and treat workers as variable costs, they undermine respect for people and ultimately harm both employees and customers. Wal-Mart…
A few articles in the news today about bad bosses. Hopefully, more than a few have 2007 resolutions to get better. Chances are though, the bad bosses think they are great. If your boss has resolutions for becoming a better…
American Proposes Chicago-Beijing Route – Los Angeles Times A lot of lean is based on the idea of “respect for people.” That was often lacking when I worked at GM in the 90’s. It certainly seems to be lacking in…
