Every process problem is a customer problem in disguise. CI teams are good at finding waste, reducing variation, and improving flow. Customers experience those same breakdowns as uncertainty, frustration, effort, …
Voice of Customer has been a fixture in Lean and Six Sigma for decades, but the word “voice” carries a hidden assumption: that the customer has to do something — …
Improvement efforts stall for reasons every CI practitioner knows by heart: unclear problem statements, missing data, inconsistent teams, rejected countermeasures. Anne Frewin argues those are symptoms. The root cause is …
Most continuous improvement programs don't stall because the strategy is wrong or the tools are missing. They stall because of what leaders do, or don't do, every day. In this …
Karen Martin joins Mark Graban for a wide-ranging Ask the Expert session, answering audience questions on organizational clarity, leadership behavior, value stream mapping, and continuous improvement. Topics and questions covered …
Karen Martin — founder of TKMG Inc. and TKMG Academy, and author of “Clarity First” and “The Outstanding Organization” — joins Mark Graban for a short preview of the upcoming …
Read the blog post TL;DR: Toyota’s real competitive advantage is not its tools — it is mutual trust and mutual respect. Leaders are responsible for cultivating both. When trust is …
Read the post TL;DR: Respect for People is the foundation of Lean management. It means engaging employees as problem solvers, creating psychological safety so people speak up, developing standardized work …
Read the blog post A dysfunctional workplace culture isn’t just an HR problem—it’s an operational one that directly affects retention, innovation, safety, and financial performance. In this episode, we explore …
Read the blog post Operational Excellence rarely fails because of a lack of ideas. More often, it breaks down when strategy, daily work, and improvement efforts operate in silos. In …
