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Stress is hopelessness Stress is better understood today, and in particular its impact on our physical health. In our worst vicious circles, stress about poor health can lead to even further decline in health.  Acknowledgement of stress is also now more acceptable, and not just a sign of weakness that

The 6 Types of Working Genius by Patrick Lencioni is a thought-provoking and insightful guide to unlocking the potential of individuals and teams in the workplace. Lencioni, also known for books such as The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and Death by Meeting, identifies six types of working geniuses that

The Misunderstood Impact of Misaligned Perceptions of Your Abilities With Your Boss …or, why it’s not about your risk of getting fired.    You might hear from your boss “you’re great, a rockstar, we have every faith in you, you’re going to go far, but…you could improve in these ways…”

No matter what your profession, everyone should consider at some point in time a personal work retreat. For me, it is usually about research and writing. Certainly, almost all of People Solve Problems was written across multiple retreats up to the mountains. Bill Gates would take his “think weeks” away

Whether in problem-solving, or broad lean behaviors, or seeing the customer as an entrepreneur, there is much articulated about the idea of going to see for yourself. There are many terms for it, such as “direct observation” that we articulated in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Lean, or Gemba commonly used

It’s too complicated. I don’t understand. It doesn’t work. It’s not for me.  Whether launching a new product, or a new company initiative, these might be phrases that you’ve heard. It stems from overdesigning the solution. It shows up as the waste of over-processing, doing more than your customer requires

There are many problems where we struggle with things such as creativity and breaking down the problem. One such problem that is frequently voiced is the elimination of bureaucracy. You cannot just eliminate bureaucracy. What can you do? You can break down the problem, understand the elements and contributing factors.

A long time ago I was running an off-shift in operations. Late at night, we didn’t have any resources coming to train the team, and so if we wanted to learn, we were on our own. We began reading and applying books, beginning with two books from Kiyoshi Suzuki, The

Most people get coaching from multiple people, whether it be on their work, on their career, or just within problem-solving. How do you decide which coach to listen to? Well, that’s the wrong question, and in this video, I explain why. Watch here: https://youtu.be/B5PpWaVX9vs  

This article was originally published in March 2021.    I’ve been asked to help dozens of clients with their lean certification plans at some point in my engagement. How should we design our lean certification program? This is often the question presented to me. Before you get to design, you