From the monthly archives:

September 2009

Deciding When to Dig

09.29.2009

If lean is about anything, it is about solving problems both large and small. Becoming a world class problem solving organization takes time. It requires learning new skills and developing the culture to truly invest in problem solving as a daily practice. But as you begin this journey, you can’t stop and solve every problem [...]

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Blog Friday Follows

09.25.2009

In following the tradition of Twitter’s Friday Follows, where people share who they are following, I thought I would bring the same spirit of sharing to blogging (and encourage other bloggers to do the same). I’ll start with my all-time favorite lean blog, Mark Graban’s LeanBlog.org. I’ve known Mark since before he started blogging, and [...]

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Inside the mind of Taiichi Ohno

09.22.2009

A book that is more obscure than it deserves is Taiichi Ohno’s Workplace Management. When most people think of this father of the Toyota Production System, they focus on Taiichi Ohno’s Toyota Production System book. However, that book is more transcribed from Ohno’s thoughts. Workplace Management is more direct, and much more of his advice [...]

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Lessons from my trip around the world

09.18.2009
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Lessons from my trip around the world Every year I promise myself I won’t take 3 week business trips anymore, and every year I break my promise. My recent trip took me interesting places: Poland, Israel, Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia. Both Poland and Philippines were new to me. Whenever I travel overseas, because things around [...]

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Open Court for Startups

09.15.2009
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Someone starts a business, maybe even get it really launched and see the seeds of progress. But where do they go for advice? The board serves that purpose, but in most small businesses and ventures they are too close to the fire to be truly objective. You could hire someone such as a consultant, but [...]

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Leading Lean: Develop a Target Condition Before Your Action

09.04.2009

I have a new post published on Assembly Magazine. See the full article on that site. My last three columns have touched on different aspects of applying lean thinking to projects and problems, including different aspects of A3 thinking and methodology. This month focuses on yet another aspect, the target condition. Continue reading…  

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Key Measurements in Implementing Andon

09.02.2009

I recently received a question about measuring andon, which I’ve extracted here: Based on your experience, when a company is trying to implement an “Andon” system, what are the key measurements you would use to evaluate the effectiveness of the escalation and help system?

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