One of the bigwigs asks how things are going, and you’re not sure how, or if, you should respond.

In a well-run Lean organization, leaders are frequently present on the shop floor. They will be likely to engage with you and ask lots of questions about specific things that they see. They will also probably ask the open-ended “How are things going?” question. You can brush it off with a “Fine” or you can take the opportunity to put a senior leader to work on one of the problems you are facing.