INTERVIEW – If we truly believe lean can change society, then we should use it as a lens through which to look into different aspects of our lives – even when those associations are hard to make. This month, we discuss the world of media.
FEATURE – 2019 was another momentous year for the Lean Community. John Shook reflects on what we lost and what we gained in the last year of the decade.
FEATURE – We tend to describe lean as a holistic approach to a transformation, but we won’t be able to truly embrace it until everyone starts to see the organization as a system.
GETTING TO KNOW US – We continue our series of interviews with key Lean Global Network people with a chat with the President of Holland-based Lean Management Instituut.
WEB SERIES – Today, we launch a new documentary series on lean around the world, with the first season focusing on lean in Brazil. In the first episode, we visit the lean clinic on a mission to reduce the burden on cancer in our lives.
FEATURE – This year, PL will try to understand what the future of work looks like in a world with AI. To kick us off and make us think, we publish an article that is the result of a one-hour conversation between a human and a machine.
ROUND-UP – In his annual review of the best content we published, our editor looks back at 2022 and what this year was like for the Lean Community.
FEATURE – As the senseless war in Ukraine continues, the author looks back to his visit to the country in 2017, recalling and celebrating its vibrant lean community.
VIDEO INTERVIEW - In this conversation with our editor, John Shook discusses Lean Thinking post-pandemic and its role tackling large-scale problems, and introduces an upcoming free event you don't want to miss.
VIDEO - In this video from the recent European Lean Educator Conference, John Shook and Isao Yoshino draw on their experience at Toyota to reflect on the development of lean thinkers.
VIDEO INTERVIEW – Last year, the Lean Global Network launched an initiative to leverage the knowledge of our institutes to positively impact the healthcare industry. We caught up with the group in São Paulo this week.
RESEARCH - This interesting study, based on 44 Volvo plants and 200 Volvo interviewees, looks at how the implementation of lean thinking influences a plant’s performance over time.
RESEARCH – The author reflects on several highly-ranked academic publications to paint a picture of salient lean knowledge, both past and present, and suggests several avenues for future lean research.
WOMACK’S YOKOTEN – This month, the author looks at the production line, a century-old idea that still fascinates us, reflecting on how lean thinking has changed it.
RESEARCH – What kind of financial results can a SME owner expect from a lean transformation? To find out, the author of this interesting research analyzed the performance of 100 Italian small and medium-sized companies.
INTERVIEW – The extraordinary events of the past year have encouraged lean organizations around the world to ask deeper questions about purpose and value creation, says Josh Howell.
FEATURE – SMEs represent the backbone of many economies, but few of them contemplate embarking on a lean transformation. The author discusses why and offers some tips to help them embrace lean.
FEATURE – As 2020 finally draws to an end, our editor reflects on the year that was and discusses why the Lean Community is a such an important source of inspiration and hope.
ROUND-UP – As the year ends, our editor reflects on the state of the lean movement and looks back at the best articles published by Planet Lean this year.
GETTING TO KNOW US – It’s easy to over-complicate lean thinking. This month’s Lean Global Network interviewee tells us why we should always start with the work and the people doing it.
WOMACK’S YOKOTEN – As tariffs spread, the author explains where forcing production to move overnight is wasteful, particularly for lean producers.
INTERVIEW – With the closure of Toyota’s operations in Altona, the land Down Under is left without its lean poster child. Alister Lee tells us who the community there should look to next.
FEATURE – CEOs need to see people as assets and transform their companies’ product development systems if they are to tap into the full potential of a lean strategy.
FEATURE – Organizations can only reap the full benefits of modern technologies if they pair up their digitalization efforts with an enterprise-wide lean transformation.
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.
INTERVIEW – Twenty years ago a book started a movement that is growing stronger every day and that has changed the world in many ways. We caught up with the authors to sneak a peek behind the scenes.
WOMACK’S YOKOTEN – In this month’s column, Jim shares an insightful analysis of the trends and dynamics of today’s automotive industry and looks at the opportunity that lean has to facilitate its next transformation.
INTERVIEW – At the recent Lean Healthcare Transformation Summit in Brussels, Planet Lean editor Roberto Priolo sat down with John Toussaint to discuss the state of lean thinking in healthcare, its challenges and its opportunities.
COLUMN - In political terms, is lean management more in line with conservative principles or progressive ideas? Michael Ballé reflects on a tough question.
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.
YOKOTEN – Lean has changed the world in many ways, even though the original vision of its founding fathers has failed to materialize. Jim discusses why, as a movement, we shouldn’t give up and review our strategy instead.
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.
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.
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.
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.
WOMACK’S YOKOTEN – On October 10, 1990 the book that introduced lean thinking to the world was published. Twenty-five years after Machine, one of the authors reflects on what the lean movement has achieved and on what is slowing it down.
FEATURE ARTICLE - It is always fascinating to learn about the evolution of lean in other countries. This piece gives us the lowdown on the state of lean in Russia, a late adopter where interest is now growing fast in all sectors, from government to agriculture.
WOMACK’S YOKOTEN – The Volkswagen “defeat device” scandal is the latest example of a company that has chosen to focus on growth rather than the customer. What can we learn from this, and what should we do when such a shift takes place?
FEATURE – By offering an alternative approach to management, lean thinking has disrupted the business world in the past three decades. But in what way has it really innovated?
ARTICLE - How can creativity and standards coexist? How do we move beyond silos? How do we fully understand the voice of the customer? Dan Jones reflects on three key questions for the lean movement.
WEB SERIES – Episode 3 of our docuseries on lean in Brazil takes us to the second largest bank in the country. Learn how Bradesco is striving to improve its processes to provide more value to its customers using Lean Thinking.
WEB SERIES – In Episode 2 of our docuseries on lean in Brazil, we learn how the pioneering efforts of a cancer clinic have inspired the city of São José dos Campos to transform into a lean healthcare cluster.
FEATURE – Every lean generation has faced challenges, and it’s critical we understand the context around us if we are to continue to grow our Community, says Jim Womack.
FEATURE – Fresh from a number of visits to Norwegian gemba, the authors share their reflections and discuss the importance of making the information flow visible.
FEATURE – The impact of humankind on the environment is now beyond dispute. Yet, too little is being done to adapt our business models. This compelling read explains why we need to create prosperity beyond profit.
RESEARCH – The authors explore the leadership traits that Lean Thinking and the implementation of Industry 4.0 practices call for and explore their synergies.
FEATURE – Reflecting on Nomura-san’s recently published book on radical quality improvement, the author encourages us to embrace the spirit of “Dantotsu” to meet the challenges we face as a society.
FEATURE – In this call to arms, the author encourages us to fight to prove the relevance of Lean Thinking in such difficult times and explains why only mastering it can truly address our problems.
FEATURE – The author describes Lean Thinking as a path of discovery and explains why attempts to define it “once and for all” are destined to fail.
INTERVIEW – In the fall of 1990, a book was published that would kickstart a revolution in business. This week we are catching up with the authors to understand where we are and where we are headed. First up, Daniel Jones.
FEATURE – Looking to the future, the author encourages us to challenge obsolete ideas and seize the opportunity provided by Lean Thinking to make the world a better place for all.
GETTING TO KNOW US – We continue our series of interviews with Lean Global Network directors with a Q&A with another veteran of the global lean movement, Poland’s Tomasz Koch.
INTERVIEW – At last month’s Lean Digital Summit in Lisbon, César Gon told attendees how, with lean digital, we have an opportunity to finally get the attention of CEOs and business leaders.
GETTING TO KNOW US – Earlier this month, our editor visited Istanbul to learn about the work Lean Institute Turkey is doing to spread lean in Turkey and beyond. He sat down with the institute’s President for a chat.
WOMACK’S YOKOTEN – The author discusses the benefits that the many family businesses making up our economies can harness from embracing lean management.
GETTING TO KNOW US – We sit for a chat with the President of Institut Lean France. Not only has ILF created a vibrant community of lean CEOs in France; it also launched one of the most innovative lean events out there.
FEATURE – The author offers an overview of the ingredients that made lean thinking what it is, of the 30 years of incubation it underwent at Toyota, and of its diffusion from 1980 onwards.
FEATURE – Lean thinking is still largely absent from the mining industry. The author explains the great opportunities that lie ahead for an industry with a huge potential to improve.
WOMACK’S YOKOTEN – What does a lean employer look like? In this month’s column, the author reflects on the long-term commitment to employees a company engaged in lean thinking should make.
LEAN THINKING WOMEN – We speak with women lean leaders about the link between gender equity and the creation of value as well as the value of diversity to the global lean community.
WOMACK’S YOKOTEN – Ahead of the holidays, for his last column of the year, the author reminds us of the power of sharing. Go out and spread the lean word!
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?
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?
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?
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.
WOMACK’S YOKOTEN – The rise of the robots may still belong in sci-fi books, but there is no doubt that work as we know it is fading away. What is the role of lean thinking in this world of drones and driverless taxis?
WOMACK'S YOKOTEN – The author reflects on how the legacy of Taylor and Ford still poses challenges to the lean movement, and why critics should move past a simplistic view of lean as mere standardization.
SEEN FROM OTHERS – In a new series, we ask experts from outside our community to share thoughts on lean-related topics. This month we meet an economist with an interesting take on the West’s productivity slowdown and its link to learning.
FEATURE – By looking at the state of lean management in the South African government sector, the author shares a number of important lessons that apply to public service organizations all around the world.
INTERVIEW – We asked Greg Lane to reflect on his experience with lean transformations and to share his thoughts on the leadership behaviors that best support them.
WOMACK'S YOKOTEN – As a new age in aerospace dawns, with a need to move from huge and bespoke designs to affordable and high-volume production, lean thinking has a key role to play. But will the industry listen?
FEATURE – Lean thinking is increasingly applied end to end, reaching virtually every area and function of the enterprise, and yet in many companies IT is still left out of the lean transformation. Isn't this dangerous in a world that is going more and more digital?
VIDEO INTERVIEW - At last month's UK Lean Summit, we sat down with Dan Jones and Jim Womack, founding fathers of lean thinking, to discuss the evolution, current state and future of the methodology.
RESEARCH – A recent report by the National Audit Office looks at what works and what doesn’t when lean management is applied in UK government organizations.
VIDEO - Dan Jones was one of the keynote speakers at this year's Lean Summit in The Netherlands. Here's a 15-minute excerpt of his talk, with some great insights into the state of lean thinking.
INTERVIEW – Brian Swain, Director of the Lean Construction Institute UK, has supported some of the largest construction projects in Britain, including London’s Olympic Village. Here he talks about the evolution of lean in the industry.
INTERVIEW - What does "leading through incompetence" mean? Peter Willats discusses the role of leadership in a lean management system and the evolution of lean thinking.
RESEARCH - In the last 10 years lean has made its way in many hospitals and healthcare systems, often with impressive results. Professor Dan Jones looks back at the lessons learned throughout the decade.
WOMACK’S YOKOTEN – The sharing economy came with a very “lean” promise – underutilized resources made available to those who need them for a reasonable fee – but not all that glitters is gold.
INTERVIEW - In this video interview, René Aernoudts, Michael Ballé and Dan Jones answer a few key questions on what's next for the lean movement.
INTERVIEW – At the recent European Lean Healthcare Transformation Summit, we sat down with Helen Zak for a few minutes to discuss the state of change in the healthcare sector.
NEWS - Back from his annual trip to Shanghai, Anton Grütter, CEO of the Lean Institute Africa, shares a few interesting insights into the Chinese culture.
FEATURE - Professor Dan Jones looks at the unique challenges the digital age presents the business community with, and explains how lean thinking can help us to effectively address them.
FEATURE - Britain’s National Audit Office looks at how well taxpayer money is spent, gaining invaluable insight into the use of lean management in central government.
