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In the lean mindset, there is generally an intent to show respect for people, to blame the system instead of the individual, and give people what they need to be successful. But how far should we go to avoid blame? Who is ultimately responsible for the system that generates the

Spans is how broad an individual managers responsibility is defined, be it defined by subordinate ratios, geographic expanse, or process breadth. Layers is is how many levels exist in the organization between an action and a decision. It is best defined by handoffs – how many handoffs are required in

  Some groups don’t have to worry about motivation. Sports teams, for example, are filled with people who want to win, or at least enjoy trying. But for most of us, don’t have motivation so easy. Truly lean organizations have demonstrated a higher level of motivation, incentive, and engagement. In

Kaizen event, A3 projects, DMAIC projects – you name it, projects get done and results are generated. But… Are the results sustained? Too often the gains deteriorate over time. There are many reasons from the culture to changing priorities. But at the very least, we should be doing what we

I know I’ll catch plenty of flak from the lean stalwarts out there. This will certainly go against conventional wisdom and common practice. But sometimes conventional wisdom is wrong. I don’t believe companies should start their lean journey with 5S. Many believe is should be done early. Many believe is

Organizational design can be used to solve problems or enhance lean methods. I wrote on the relationship that HR can play with lean, and fitting in with organizational design, in Organizational Design and Role of HR in Lean. Certainly mental models are challenged within a lean journey and the organizational

Noses In, Fingers Out is a long-standard rule of thumb for boards of directors and the organizations they govern. What does it mean? Well, that’s not so clear especially as the world has gotten more complicated. Fundamentally it means that board members should have their noses in the business. They

Last week I was visiting a very large operation in Costa Rica. As the strategy was being discussed, I noticed that we were going to review 5S efforts later in my visit. I started questioning this line of thought, because they had so many things going on in their organization

Today I am giving a speech at the Printing Industries of America conference in Tampa, Florida. The topic is Developing People Using A3 Thinking. I have written a lot about the A3 process before and you can find some of my posts here. Here is the presentation I will be

Today I am presenting at the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association annual meeting. Some of you know that I have some roots in this industry as my father ran Weldon Machine Tool. Below in Slideshare you can see a modified version of my presentation. AMTDA for slideshare View more presentations