As a manager, supervisor, continuous improvement facilitator, or coach, you know that communication is a key skill for success and improvement. So, how we are communicating? We know what we say is important, right? And most of us would acknowledge …
Take a look at the building that you are in. Foundation, walls, floors, roof, wiring, lighting, windows, doors, plumbing, heat, air conditioning, and so much more.. So many components – and so many people involved from design to delivery. It’s not…
When you’ve been practicing continuous improvement for a while, whether as an internal or external consultant, you follow your own advice, and create standard work for yourself. You have an approach to training, and approach to coaching, and an appro…
The mysteriously silent lean sensei is an archetype – but is that the only model for a lean leader? My guest, Tina Provost, joins me to talk about the value of positivity, encouragement, even of of peppiness, and the lessons she brings from college …
A long time ago, in a breakroom far far away, I got into a heated debate with a fellow improvement professional over the topic of standard work. I had just completed my Creative Problem Solving facilitation training, and was excited about using my ne…
I can only imagine what you’re thinking! What on earth do dentistry, and piercing have to with each other, never mind to do with lean or continuous improvement? But when I think about it, there are a lot of parallels between a dentist’s office and a…
If you made a list of organizations that were unlikely to implement lean practices, you might put law firms pretty high on the list. But Barry Appleman Leiden, (BAL) a top corporate immigration law firm, would not be on that list, because they are a…
Think back to your first continuous improvement training? What did you learn about? Define, measure, analyze, improve, control (DMAIC)? Or was it a lean training, and you talked about single-piece flow and how to define waste? Did the topic of rac…
There are those places in our world that are arrival and departure points. A port, a bridge that crosses a great river, an airport, a helipad. At these places, drivers, transportation companies, airlines, shipping companies, passengers and more rel…
That laptop on your desk – where is it going when you are done with it? Most e-waste is not recycled to reclaim its precious metal components, and it ends up in in landfills. From a lean perspective, there’s a lot of waste n the e-waste problem! Tha…
