Deciding When to Dig
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
Read MoreBlog Friday Follows
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
Read MoreInside the mind of Taiichi Ohno
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
Read MoreLessons from my trip around the world
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
Read MoreOpen Court for Startups
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
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Key Measurements in Implementing Andon
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?
Read MoreWelcome
Welcome to JamieFlinchbaugh.com, a project that has been a long time coming. I have been blogging since 2005 but as a guest blogger on various sites, particularly LeanBlog.org. I will continue to do so, but will share here more frequent content, links, stories, and news. You will hear mostly my
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