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Lean as the management strategy of the future
August 25, 2017
Lean as the management strategy of the future

FEATURE – Lean is a people-centric system for learning that acts as an alternative to traditional management and financial capitalism. It represents the best strategy a company can adopt to meet the needs of the future.

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How lean coaching changed the culture of a restaurant chain
August 23, 2017
How lean coaching changed the culture of a restaurant chain

FEATURE – An approach based on coaching and experiments is transforming the way restaurant chain Xibei works with its people to improve service and dishes: the story of Chef Liang and his Kongfu fish.

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Tracey Richardson on the deep meaning of standards at Toyota
August 21, 2017
Tracey Richardson on the deep meaning of standards at Toyota

FEATURE – Through this intimate anecdote from her days at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, the author tells us of her experience with standardization… and of the deep leadership lessons hiding behind it.

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Michael Ballé reflects on how lean really works
August 17, 2017
Michael Ballé reflects on how lean really works

FEATURE – Continuously studying the challenges we meet and the responses we devise, lean gives us endless opportunities to learn. The author goes back to basics, reflecting on some core lean premises.

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How to turn HR into a catalyst for lean thinking
August 15, 2017
How to turn HR into a catalyst for lean thinking

FEATURE – In most organizations on a lean journey, the people management function is not very involved. So, how should HR change, if it is to effectively support a lean transformation?

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Identify objectives and issues before starting a new venture
August 11, 2017
Identify objectives and issues before starting a new venture

COLUMN – With many of us about to leave for our summer vacations, the importance of planning (a holiday just like a business venture) could not be clearer. But objectives and potential problems should be identified before setting off.

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Lean in a building maintenance and renovation company
August 9, 2017
Lean in a building maintenance and renovation company

FEATURE – Visualizing the work, increasing customer focus and changing the way to interact with employees has helped a family-run Dutch building maintenance and renovation firm to transform itself.

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What informs disaster recovery efforts at Toyota
August 7, 2017
What informs disaster recovery efforts at Toyota

FEATURE – Much has been said and written about Toyota’s ability to recover from disasters. What many don’t realize, however, is that the company’s recovery strategy is informed by its underlying values – not just its tools.

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An alliance to bring lean capabilities to Singapore
August 3, 2017
An alliance to bring lean capabilities to Singapore

FEATURE – Last year, the Lean Global Network entered a partnership with the Singapore Institute of Technology to bring lean capabilities to local SMEs. Along the way, we discovered an alternative approach to academic teaching.

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When the boss joins people on the production line
August 1, 2017
When the boss joins people on the production line

FEATURE – At Nijhuis Mitech, management is so involved that the owner can often be seen at the gemba running experiments with people. The transformation that ensued is helping the firm become more efficient and stay competitive.

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The lean journey of Sisma towards continuous innovation
July 27, 2017
The lean journey of Sisma towards continuous innovation

INTERVIEW – Italy-based precision machinery manufacturer Sisma has changed skin many times over the years. We sat down with its general manager to learn how the firm has been able to continuously innovate over the years.

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Jim Womack on creating the social basis for lean management
July 26, 2017
Jim Womack on creating the social basis for lean management

WOMACK’S YOKOTEN – The author looks at hoshin planning, A3 thinking and daily management as the three key elements of a lean management system, and highlights the related behaviors that will allow lean to thrive.

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Games as a way to coach and teach lean thinking
July 23, 2017
Games as a way to coach and teach lean thinking

FEATURE – Simulations and games can be extremely beneficial, so long as we use them to highlight and explain the underlying behaviors we must adopt if we are to successfully embrace lean... and not only the tools.

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Understanding what really happens on a gemba walk
July 20, 2017
Understanding what really happens on a gemba walk
gemba walk Tokheim Michael Ballé

FEATURE – Lean encourages us to go to the gemba as much as we can, but what should we actually do when walking the workspace? It turns out it’s not so much about doing as it is about thinking.

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How lean is enabling the growth of a Turkish company
July 18, 2017
How lean is enabling the growth of a Turkish company

CASE STUDY – With plans to double capacity year on year in its new precision machining business, a Turkish company found in lean a way to control growth by stabilizing old processes while new ones are introduced.

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How lean is enabling the growth of a Turkish company
July 18, 2017
How lean is enabling the growth of a Turkish company

CASE STUDY – With plans to double capacity year on year in its new precision machining business, a Turkish company found in lean a way to control growth by stabilizing old processes while new ones are introduced.

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Boaz Tamir on why we must do more than just go see
July 14, 2017
Boaz Tamir on why we must do more than just go see

COLUMN – Want to grasp the current situation? Then you must go to the gemba, but it would be a mistake to think that alone is enough to change your business… you also have to ask why and show respect.

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Learning about environmental concerns and strategy at Toyota
July 12, 2017
Learning about environmental concerns and strategy at Toyota

INTERVIEW – It might seem a paradox that the world’s largest automaker is setting the pace for corporate social responsibility. Then again, Toyota never really followed the status quo. Kelly Singer interviews Toyota's Steve Hope.

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Lean thinking transforming the lives of African children
July 10, 2017
Lean thinking transforming the lives of African children

FEATURE – At Malamulele Onward in Johannesburg, a do-it-yourself lean transformation is increasing the impact the nonprofit organization is having on South African children living with cerebral palsy.

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Lean and sustainable fashion meet at Eileen Fisher
July 6, 2017
Lean and sustainable fashion meet at Eileen Fisher

FEATURE – Designing beautiful work helps design beautiful clothes. Here’s the story of how women’s clothing brand Eileen Fisher found in lean a way to support its environmental sustainability strategy.

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Failure is so important a museum about it has now opened
July 4, 2017
Failure is so important a museum about it has now opened

INTERVIEW – Last month the Museum of Failure opened in Sweden. We caught up with the curator, who tells us what the museum is all about and why failure is now “cool”.

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Arnaldo Camuffo discusses what makes lean a good practice
June 30, 2017
Arnaldo Camuffo discusses what makes lean a good practice

FEATURE – We tend to take the “goodness” of lean for granted, but – the author says – we should stop and think about what makes lean a good business practice. Why is it a way of thinking all businesses should adopt?

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Jim Womack drives the Toyota Mirai and talks lean and green
June 28, 2017
Jim Womack drives the Toyota Mirai and talks lean and green

WOMACK’S YOKOTEN – After a road trip from Boston to Philadelphia driving Toyota’s hydrogen fuel-cell Mirai, Jim reflects on lean and green and why the two are not necessarily the same.

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The first steps of Emirati firm NPCC towards lean thinking
June 26, 2017
The first steps of Emirati firm NPCC towards lean thinking

INTERVIEW – We speak with the National Petroleum Construction Company in the Emirates, learning how improving one of their critical processes is boosting the spread of lean thinking across the business.

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How to leverage low hanging fruit for long term lean success
June 22, 2017
How to leverage low hanging fruit for long term lean success

FEATURE – The importance of leveraging early successes to drive engagement to lean is often talked about. The story of this Brazilian hospital confirms this is the way to go.

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How a Kinross mine drives lean thinking using CI boards
June 20, 2017
How a Kinross mine drives lean thinking using CI boards

FEATURE – The Continuous Improvements Boards at the Round Mountain mining site have been critical to shifting the company's culture... the secret, it turns out, is always providing feedback on people's suggestions.

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How a construction company survived the recession using lean
June 16, 2017
How a construction company survived the recession using lean

NOTES FROM THE GEMBA – With a strong focus on quality and on solving problems once and for all, Paris Ouest Construction has managed to weather the storm of the recession, the author finds out during a gemba walk.

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Managing digital product teams to outcomes instead of output
June 13, 2017
Managing digital product teams to outcomes instead of output

FEATURE – A traditional output-based mindset is not appropriate in the digital world. In this piece, the author explains why digital product teams should be managed to outcomes, instead.

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How the initiative of nurses transformed a whole department
June 11, 2017
How the initiative of nurses transformed a whole department

FEATURE – We can't go wrong when we trust our people to take the initiative that we will improve their work... that's how Siena University Hospital cut its procurement lead-time in Surgery by two-thirds.

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How Tokheim uses 5s to boost its environmental performance
June 7, 2017
How Tokheim uses 5s to boost its environmental performance

FEATURE – The many benefits of 5S are well known, but few people realize the positive impact the technique can have on our environmental performance, says our lean and green correspondent after visiting Tokheim Italia.

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The impressive lean turnaround of DBS Bank in Singapore
June 5, 2017
The impressive lean turnaround of DBS Bank in Singapore

CASE STUDY – Over the past few years, DBS Bank in Singapore has undergone an extraordinary turnaround inspired by lean. Here, the COO explains how the company has become the world's "best digital bank".

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Why we should create a learning environment in our companies
June 1, 2017
Why we should create a learning environment in our companies

COLUMN – Creating a learning environment that welcomes problems and experimentation and adapts to market changes should be our main objective. So why do we stick to obsolete ways to teach and develop people?

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Jim Womack on the lean shut-down of Toyota Australia
May 30, 2017
Jim Womack on the lean shut-down of Toyota Australia

WOMACK'S YOKOTEN – On October 3, Toyota will cease its manufacturing operations in Australia, but the way it is managing the transition - in the leanest way possible - holds great lessons for us all.

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How a book club helped Fuji Xerox Australia support lean
May 28, 2017
How a book club helped Fuji Xerox Australia support lean

FEATURE – Upon realizing they were struggling to engage people in continuous improvement, Fuji Xerox Australia’s IT team found a unique way to breathe new life into its lean efforts… a book club.

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Lean in higher education: improving Macquarie University
May 24, 2017
Lean in higher education: improving Macquarie University

CASE STUDY – An Australian university has been applying lean to streamline and improve its processes, discovering along the way how big a change the methodology can affect in the organization's culture.

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Being a learner-in-chief: a lean healthcare leader profiled
May 22, 2017
Being a learner-in-chief: a lean healthcare leader profiled

PROFILE – Another month, another inspiring profile of a lean practitioner. We were impressed by Dr Billi’s deep conviction in the idea that, first of all, leaders must be learners. You will be too.

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How Dun & Bradstreet combines agile, lean and lean startup
May 19, 2017
How Dun & Bradstreet combines agile, lean and lean startup
Dun & bradstreet lean transformation

INTERVIEW – Business services company Dun & Bradstreet learned that the best way to tackle organizational challenges is using a combination of agile, lean startup and more traditional lean principles.

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How to successfully roll out and sustain TWI programs
May 17, 2017
How to successfully roll out and sustain TWI programs

FEATURE – The use of TWI is widespread, but course material doesn’t tell us much about rolling out programs and ensuring their sustainment over time. The authors come to the rescue, discussing how we can ensure the success of TWI.

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People development and competitivess - the Alliance story
May 15, 2017
People development and competitivess - the Alliance story

NOTES FROM THE GEMBA – This month, Catherine visits a metal injection moulding specialist and hears about the strong link between growing people’s capabilities with lean thinking and staying competitive in a complex market.

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Dedicated patient paths to slash discharge delays
May 11, 2017
Dedicated patient paths to slash discharge delays

FEATURE – Having dedicated clinical paths for specific types of patients is a well-known method for reducing waiting times. By doing it, Siena University Hospital managed to slash delays by 80%.

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Develop and engage leaders to progress with lean
May 9, 2017
Develop and engage leaders to progress with lean

INTERVIEW – One of the world's largest dairy cooperatives, FrieslandCampina, has embarked on an ambitious global lean journey. Along the way, they found how critical leadership engagement is.

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The power of networks - the story of four hospitals
May 5, 2017
The power of networks - the story of four hospitals

FEATURE – This article shares the lean journeys of four North American hospitals, and their learning's, reminding us that being part of a network of likeminded practitioners is critical to our success.

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CI&T: lean as a way to develop leaders and manage growth
May 3, 2017
CI&T: lean as a way to develop leaders and manage growth
CI&T lean thinking agile

INTERVIEW – CI&T is a very successful Brazilian IT and software engineering company that has found in lean thinking a way to build on its agile work while better approaching leadership development.

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The lean lessons from the United Airlines controversy
May 1, 2017
The lean lessons from the United Airlines controversy
Boaz Tamir on United Airlines

COLUMN – Last month a video surfaced of a passenger being forcibly removed from an overbooked United Airlines flight and the Internet went ablaze. What does this story tell us about the relationship between profitability and customer value?

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Where the Lean Community is and where it should go
April 28, 2017
Where the Lean Community is and where it should go

WOMACK'S YOKOTEN – As the Lean Enterprise Institute turns 20, its founder provides us with a bit of hansei on where we are and where we are going next as a community, and on what challenges we might tackle.

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Thinking lean is like playing music: meet the lean fiddler
April 24, 2017
Thinking lean is like playing music: meet the lean fiddler

PROFILE – Persevering, letting people inspire you and committing to continuous learning. These are the things you need to do to successfully embrace lean thinking and, it turns out, learn to play the violin.

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The lean turnaround of the San Diego Zoo Global
April 19, 2017
The lean turnaround of the San Diego Zoo Global

CASE STUDY – Lean thinking is transforming San Diego Zoo Global, helping this century-old organization provide a better experience to its visitors and a better life to its animals.

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A lean plan exists, but it's not a way to please the boss
April 18, 2017
A lean plan exists, but it's not a way to please the boss

FEATURE – Is there such a thing as a lean plan? There is, but it's not an off-the-shelf solution that will appease your boss – and that's why traditional, bureaucratic organizations continue to exist.

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Beau Keyte on the challenges of bringing lean to services
April 17, 2017
Beau Keyte on the challenges of bringing lean to services

INTERVIEW – With more and more organizations in the service sector adopting lean thinking to turn around their modus operandi, it only makes sense to highlight the struggles and misconceptions they still encounter.

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Avoid deterioration of results with solid daily management
April 12, 2017
Avoid deterioration of results with solid daily management
work of management Lancaster interview

INTERVIEW – Does your company feel like a sand castle? Do you struggle to sustain lean results? At the recent Lean Transformation Summit, the CEO of Lantech told us how the firm is using daily management to prevent “deterioration”.

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Changing the layout of a nursery to improve neonatal care
April 10, 2017
Changing the layout of a nursery to improve neonatal care

FEATURE – Another month, another story of a lean project told by the Siena hospital front-line folks. This time we take you to the Intensive Care Nursery, whose layout was transformed to provide better care to premature newborns.

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A gemba walk at a manufacturer of tablet inspecting machines
April 6, 2017
A gemba walk at a manufacturer of tablet inspecting machines

NOTES FROM THE GEMBA – Follow Catherine on another one of her gemba walks around French companies. This time, she visits a manufacturer of inspecting machines near Bordeaux, with a visionary leader and a great story.

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How to harness lean to foster innovation and improve society
April 4, 2017
How to harness lean to foster innovation and improve society

FEATURE – We spend a lot of time talking about innovation, but what is the actual impact of leveraging lean to achieve it? As the author points out, the potential is huge, provided certain conditions are met.

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How Auto Trader UK embraced lean to become fully digital
April 3, 2017
How Auto Trader UK embraced lean to become fully digital
CASE STUDY – Around four years ago, classified ads magazine Auto Trader printed its final issue and moved to a web-only business model. As its digital transformation progressed, the company discovered why real innovation must become business-as-usual ...Read more

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The journey of a website from agile to lean thinking
March 29, 2017
The journey of a website from agile to lean thinking

INTERVIEW – After transitioning from agile to lean kanban, French insurance comparison company LesFurets.com has found in lean management an ever stronger foundation for value creation.

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Business school education should be gemba-based
March 27, 2017
Business school education should be gemba-based

WOMACK’S YOKOTEN – Somehow surprisingly, management schools teach very little about management, and when they do all learning is classroom-based. Instead, they should go to the gemba.

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Lean thinking unleashes your power to innovate
March 24, 2017
Lean thinking unleashes your power to innovate

OPINION – Our systems to develop new products are slow and inadequate for the ever-changing markets we have to work in. The author describes the three lean elements that will unlock your potential to innovate.

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The improvement journey of Dubai Police
March 21, 2017
The improvement journey of Dubai Police

INTERVIEW – When we say that lean thinking can be applied to any human endeavor, we mean it. In this Q&A we learn about how knowledge sharing has been boosting the improvement journey of Dubai Police.

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To master lean thinking, lead with lean thinking
March 19, 2017
To master lean thinking, lead with lean thinking

FEATURE – When lean seems to fail, leaders should persist and work even harder to bring people on the journey - by observing the situation, providing clear success criteria, and learning together on the job. That's what leading with lean is about.

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How the Glenday Sieve applies to business processes
March 15, 2017
How the Glenday Sieve applies to business processes

FEATURE – In the final article of his series on levelled production, the author debunks the belief that the Glenday Sieve is a method that can only be used in a manufacturing environment.

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A serious game to grasp set-based concurrent engineering
March 13, 2017
A serious game to grasp set-based concurrent engineering
SBCE lego game monica rossi

FEATURE – In a world of disruptive innovation, being faster and smarter at developing new products has become critical. The authors explain why set-based concurrent engineering is the answer, and why a game is the best way to learn it.

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Adopting lean principles to speed up blood donation
March 10, 2017
Adopting lean principles to speed up blood donation

FEATURE – In the second article of our series written by the front-line staff of Siena University Hospital, we learn how the lean principles of pull and flow have transformed the blood donating process.

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When lean gets hard it is managers who have to persevere
March 7, 2017
When lean gets hard it is managers who have to persevere

FEATURE – A lean journey often has more downs than ups, but it is a responsibility of management to persist and keep asking the right questions that will steer the firm in the right direction.

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When a book on lean thinking shapes management behaviors
March 6, 2017
When a book on lean thinking shapes management behaviors

FEATURE – When they realized their lean efforts had overlooked the crucial aspect of management behavior, AkzoNobel senior leaders turned to a great lean book for help with leadership development.

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Ten strategic planning problems hoshin kanri can solve
March 2, 2017
Ten strategic planning problems hoshin kanri can solve

FEATURE – Is your organization experiencing any of the strategic planning problems described in this article? If so, it might be time to tap into the potential of hoshin kanri.

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What foils our ability to apply effective daily management
February 28, 2017
What foils our ability to apply effective daily management

WOMACK'S YOKOTEN – Effective daily management is still hard to achieve for most organizations. But until line managers start tackling problems first hand as they emerge, rather than deferring and delegating them, basic stability will remain a mirage.

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Michael Ballé introduces his new book Lead with Lean
February 27, 2017
Michael Ballé introduces his new book Lead with Lean
VIDEO - The author of Lean with Lean explains why he published a collection of papers rather than a business novel - his signature writing style - or a manual. Experience lean through the eyes of one of its greatest students... one a-ha moment at a t ...Read more

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Good lean consultants humbly create trust and dialogue
February 24, 2017
Good lean consultants humbly create trust and dialogue

OPINION – After reading the latest book by Edgar H. Schein, the author reflects on the nature of consulting and management, and explains why humility must become a defining trait of both.

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In the digital world customer service alone is not enough
February 22, 2017
In the digital world customer service alone is not enough

FEATURE – As many retail giants are finding out, great customer service is no longer enough to ensure competitive advantage in a world where the digital revolution is taking no prisoners.

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Why there is no Lean Manifesto
February 20, 2017
Why there is no Lean Manifesto

FEATURE – Why doesn't lean have a manifesto? The authors highlight the core principles and values of lean thinking, but warn these can only go so far without the learning that comes from working every day towards solving the next problem.

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The relationship between lean change and human nature
February 3, 2017
The relationship between lean change and human nature

RESEARCH – Human behavior tends to make change even harder to attain than it already is. This brilliant research paper looks at change from a psychological, technical and leadership point of view.

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What levelled production has to do with product costing
February 3, 2017
What levelled production has to do with product costing

FEATURE – What does levelled production have to do with product costing? This article explains how getting your accountants to understand this link can help your company become less complex, more efficient and profitable.

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Nurses and doctors tell us how they are changing their ward
February 3, 2017
Nurses and doctors tell us how they are changing their ward

FEATURE – Every year, Siena University Hospital runs a Lean Day to celebrate and award its best lean projects. In this new series, front-line people write about five of these initiatives: first up, Internal Medicine.

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The visual management lessons learned at Thales Group
February 3, 2017
The visual management lessons learned at Thales Group

FEATURE – How do you ensure that visual management doesn’t become anything more than a way to reassure the boss, rather than foster a learning and problem solving culture? The author reflects on her company’s journey towards effective visualization.

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The Nordstrom model to teach coaching skills to leaders
February 3, 2017
The Nordstrom model to teach coaching skills to leaders

INTERVIEW – We meet one of this year's Lean IT Summit speakers to hear about her team’s effective approach to turning Nordstrom’s IT leaders into coaches and truly supporting the firm's lean transformation.

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Leadership and business transformation go hand in hand
February 2, 2017
Leadership and business transformation go hand in hand

VIDEO – We constantly talk about the role of leadership, but perhaps we don't realize just how intertwined leadership transformation and business transformation really are. This short video discusses why.

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Learn about the BBC's improvement initiative Spark
February 1, 2017
Learn about the BBC's improvement initiative Spark

INTERVIEW – The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) has been working with a lean-inspired improvement program that is gradually transforming the culture of the business – one creative idea at a time.

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Picturing trade in a world of lean enterprises
January 31, 2017
Picturing trade in a world of lean enterprises

WOMACK'S YOKOTEN – Between the upcoming Brexit negotiations and the protectionist stance of the new US Administration, trade is making the headlines once again. But what would trade look like in a world of lean organizations?

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A modern HR department must offer a dynamic work partnership
January 25, 2017
A modern HR department must offer a dynamic work partnership
talent retainment digital revolution

OPINION – The digital revolution has forever changed the nature of employment: today's workers have more choice and employers competing for them than ever before. It's about time our approach to HR reflected that.

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Grasping the paradoxes of lean to learn leadership
January 25, 2017
Grasping the paradoxes of lean to learn leadership

PROFILE – We may think it is cut and dried, but lean thinking is, in fact, full of paradoxes and trade-offs. According to Cécile Roche, learning to navigate them is one of the defining traits of a lean leader.

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Without lean IT our banks have no way to fight competition
January 23, 2017
Without lean IT our banks have no way to fight competition

FEATURE – The banking sector is floundering in the face of heavy regulation and increased competition from fintechs. So what can banks do? The author suggests they embrace lean IT in order to change their ways.

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An interview with Michael Ballé on lean as a strategy
January 20, 2017
An interview with Michael Ballé on lean as a strategy

INTERVIEW – In this interview, Michael Ballé discusses lean thinking as a strategy, how to unearth problems, and the best (or only) way to initiate a lean transformation.

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What the election of Donald Trump tells us about leadership
January 19, 2017
What the election of Donald Trump tells us about leadership

OPINION – Tomorrow, January 20, Donald J. Trump will be sworn in as 45th President of the United States. What can his campaign and dumbfounding victory teach us about leadership?

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John Shook on failure, innovation and the resilience of lean
January 17, 2017
John Shook on failure, innovation and the resilience of lean

INTERVIEW – In this must-read Q&A, our editor sits down with lean guru John Shook to discuss the meaning of failure, the nature of innovation, and the resilience of our movement.

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The first steps of a Paris hospital towards lean healthcare
January 13, 2017
The first steps of a Paris hospital towards lean healthcare

NOTES FROM THE GEMBA – On this gemba walk in the cardiology department of a Parisian hospital, the author discovers how the team is changing its internal dynamics and processes to make lean their way of thinking.

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Dedicated green and red equipment for different products
January 11, 2017
Dedicated green and red equipment for different products

FEATURE – If we have high-volume (green) and low-volume (red) items in our production schedule, doesn’t it make sense to also have dedicated green and red equipment whenever possible?

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The improvement history of wire manufacturer Ducab
January 9, 2017
The improvement history of wire manufacturer Ducab

FEATURE – With an open-minded approach to improvement tools, a long history of quality and engaged top leaders, wire manufacturer Ducab aims to fulfil the strategic needs of the Emirates.

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How humility transformed a car dealership in Botswana
January 5, 2017
How humility transformed a car dealership in Botswana

CASE STUDY – The story of how a humble leader, who recognizes the importance and contribution of each individual to the company’s success, is making a car dealership in Botswana a fantastic example of lean transformation.

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The 10 most read articles on Planet Lean in 2016
January 3, 2017
The 10 most read articles on Planet Lean in 2016

CONTENT ROUNDUP - Happy New Year, readers! Before kicking things off for 2017 with new, original content, we wanted to share with you the Top 10 of the most-read Planet Lean articles from last year.

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You can't make countries great without great jobs
December 21, 2016
You can't make countries great without great jobs

WOMACK'S YOKOTEN – Small firms represent the backbone of the economy, and there is no doubt lean can help them improve and grow – by making the jobs they offer great. Without it, countries won't be great either.

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When technology hinders our ability to innovate
December 19, 2016
When technology hinders our ability to innovate

OPINION – In a competitive and unpredictable market, the temptation to rely on technology is always strong, but experience proves that there is no better support than people's ability to learn and adapt to new situations.

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An organic metaphor of the organization to truly grasp lean
December 15, 2016
An organic metaphor of the organization to truly grasp lean

FEATURE – We are used to seeing the organization as a mechanical entity, but how can a machine possible change and improve? We must change our mental model and learn to see the lean enterprise as a growing plant.

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How John Deere Iberica is developing a lean supply chain
December 13, 2016
How John Deere Iberica is developing a lean supply chain
john deere lean supply chain

INTERVIEW – For the past year, agricultural equipment manufacturer John Deere Ibérica has worked to spread lean thinking to the supply chain. We met with them in Madrid to understand how they’re going about it.

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To initiate levelled production you need to run to time
December 9, 2016
To initiate levelled production you need to run to time

FEATURE – What if we ran our production schedule to time instead of quantity? While creating overproduction, running to time is a temporary first step to establish levelled production with fixed repetitive cycles.

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Bringing lean thinking to organ donation in Michigan
December 7, 2016
Bringing lean thinking to organ donation in Michigan

FEATURE – A Michigan NGO that facilitates organ and tissue donation shares its experience with value stream mapping, reflecting on people coming together to understand the gap between current and future state.

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Using lean as a way to transform your business model
December 5, 2016
Using lean as a way to transform your business model

INTERVIEW – Lean is making inroads in the Middle East! In this interview, a Senior VP of Gerab National Enterprises tells us how the company is using lean to reinvent itself as a project management firm.

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KK Wind Solutions in Poland uses TWI to improve onboarding
December 1, 2016
KK Wind Solutions in Poland uses TWI to improve onboarding

FEATURE – When you are hiring 20-30 people in a week, getting them up to speed with the company’s way of working becomes critical. But how to do it effectively? A Polish factory found the answer in TWI.

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Jim Womack on asking questions rather than providing answers
November 29, 2016
Jim Womack on asking questions rather than providing answers
womack yokoten answer man

WOMACK'S YOKOTEN – As a first instinct, most of us tend to provide answers and solutions rather than ask questions. In this month's Yokoten, Jim Womack provides advice on how to fight this behavior and become a coach.

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Real innovation stems from team efforts
November 24, 2016
Real innovation stems from team efforts

OPINION – Development managers and start-up entrepreneurs are under the illusion that innovation is just the work of especially talented individuals, but in today's world resource sharing and teamwork are preferable.

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Five lean practitioners answer the same question #7
November 23, 2016
Five lean practitioners answer the same question #7

ONE QUESTION, FIVE ANSWERS – Inspiration can help us solve a problem, get our colleagues interested in lean, or even pick ourselves up after a failure. But where do we get it from? We asked five practitioners.

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