Change is hard for some people. And since Lean requires a significant shift from typical thinking, it can generate some strong resistance. One of the most common forms of pushback when changing to a Lean mindset is the use of excuses. People are extremely creative at coming up with reasons Read more…
In an effort to build the Lean community, I am introducing a new weekly posting in the Gotta Go Lean Blog. Every Thursday, I will profile a “Featured Lean Thinker”. These are the people who have a voice in the Lean community, and are shaping the way people think about Read more…
In any process improvement effort, observing a process is an important step. I recently came across an interesting article about how the Office of the Inspector General was observing the door-to door counting process of the Census Bureau. Just a few items of interest in the article. The observation was Read more…
I have an old stack of articles that I peruse from time to time to give me blog idea. One of my best sources is Men’s Health. It is surprising how often the little tidbits of information the magazine offers strike a chord with me. In this instance, an April Read more…
I had dinner last night with a friend I hadn’t seen in a number of years. We did a lot of catching up, but because we first met working for a company that was just ramping up its commitment to Lean, we talked a lot about continuous improvement. I made Read more…
The skills managers value is reflected in the way they recruit new employees. One noticeable shift last year was the widening of the gap between job postings for Lean versus Six Sigma. The data comes from The Avery Point Group. In their first year of reporting, 2005, they showed job Read more…
Standardizing processes is an important component of Lean success. But just because instructions are written down does not mean that they are correct, or even safe. I saw an article recently that reinforced this. Apparently, according to a story on MSNBC, a woman downloaded walking directions on her phone. The Read more…
Well, I have finally gotten around to editing the second part of my interview with Jay Watson about The Lean Management Mindset. If you are a regular reader/listener of the Gotta Go Lean Blog, you will recall that several weeks back, I posted part one, and mentioned that I’d post Read more…
Making improvements requires a complete understanding of a process. A surface knowledge leads to superficial solutions. Getting a permanent, robust, mistake-proofed process requires a level of scrutiny that takes a lot of time and effort. One way to simplify that deep dive and identify the underlying waste that impedes the Read more…
Recently, a study in New York City found that nearly three quarters of cabbies had charged an out-of city rate for rides within the city, at about twice the cost to the passenger. Now, the actual numbers come out to 1.8 million out of 360 million trips. The article I Read more…
I was working on a project for a consulting client and took a short break to see what was new in the news. I came across an interesting article about a late-night (alcohol-fueled) exchange between a blogger (the one fueled by the alcohol) and Steve Jobs of Apple. It was Read more…
A recent study on interruptions in emergency rooms had a surprising finding. (See the full article on CNN here) I wasn’t surprised at how often doctors were interrupted: 11% of all tasks. In fact, that might be low for any given office worker. Shop floor workers tend to be more Read more…