At its core, much of continuous improvement is about problem solving. Tools such as Standard Work, policy deployment, kanbans, and andons are all really just pre-packaged solutions to common problems. Despite that focus on resolving issues, few people have well-developed problem solving skills. This holds true even in companies that Read more…
I’ve been trying to improve my overall fitness. Fortunately, it just got easier for me. Pizza and fries are now officially healthy choices. Congress has confirmed that both count as vegetables in school lunches. I am going to increase my consumption of both, as we are supposed to load up Read more…
There are many different styles of management. One that works well in a Lean leader’s bag of tricks is abnormality management. In a nutshell, processes and systems are refined to highlight abnormalities. When abnormal conditions are highlighted, leaders and their teams can take action to return the situation to the Read more…
Yesterday I read something I hadn’t heard before about a very well-known phrase. I heard that there are standard responses “Lights, Camera, Action.” That’s right. Each one of the words is actually an instruction that requires a specific response. I am pretty sure that most people know that when the Read more…
The “Voice of the Customer” (VOC) is the collective information that an organization obtains from or about its customers. This information comes in one of four basic ways, as shown on the image below: Organizations can either actively request information from a customer or can seek out information that is Read more…
Groupthink is the condition in which individuals set aside their beliefs and concerns to conform to group opinion. This is most commonly done because people value the cohesion of the group more than the risk of a poor outcome. While the term was first coined by William H. Whyte in Read more…
As I talk about making improvements, I invariably end up telling people they need focus more on their processes. Time and time again, just the simple act of gaining a deeper understanding of how work is done will shed light on what to improve. The spotlight shines even brighter when Read more…
I was having one of those ‘Father Knows Best’ moments with my daughter yesterday. I was trying to explain to her why school is so important. One of my arguments was that the better you do in school, the better job you tend to get. Of course, she saw at Read more…
As a small business owner, I have one luxury that most managers and employees in companies don’t have. When I go through the PDCA cycle, there are no competing agendas. Everything that is good for the owner (me) is also good for the manager (also me). For many situations, though, Read more…
Spend any time around Lean, or any other continuous improvement methodology, for that matter, and you will undoubtedly hear the term “Respect for People.” It is a simple concept that should act as a moral compass in how people do business. The fact is that a company does not have Read more…
Tim McMahon and I recently presented a webinar full of tips that can help you really speed up your progress on your Lean journey. The tips include: Go to the Gemba Watch and Listen to What People Really Say Develop Your People Find Little, Instant Rewards Many Small Wins, Rather Read more…
Policy deployment is the process of turning a strategic vision into an actionable task that frontline leaders and employees can commit to. Even with a great strategy and a highly effective team that is capable of making substantial improvements, a company can fall short of its goals. Why? The two Read more…