Leadership

I have had many conversations lately where people are asking about the simplest way to get started with process improvement.  The simplest way is to start with one simple question – why.  

The idea that just as doctors practice medicine we must practice lean is the premise of a book I contributed to called Practicing Lean which was edited by Mark Graban. We must be wiling to evolve our practices and learn as we move forward.   Order a copy of the book today

In Part 1: The evolution of lean, we explored how our insight into lean has evolved. In this part, we explore why behaviors are so important to lean. The most important aspect of lean evolution has been the acknowledgement of the role of behaviors as central to a lean organization.

I recently had the opportunity to give a speech for a different audience that I’m used to – the Centennial National Convention for the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority. The majority of the audience were university undergraduates, either in leadership roles at their sorority or planning to take leadership roles. As

In 2016 I am trying, with my column Lessons from the Road, to stretch people’s thinking and not just refine it. I hope that most of my columns will generate some disagreement or at least some questions. This month in White space for important work I am addressing Leader Standard

While attending the Summit on Lean Leadership by Lean Frontiers in partnership with the Lean Leadership Academy, I was leading a discussion on the lean board of directors. Coming out of the conference, I will produce a paper outlining some of the key thoughts. We discussed 3 aspects of the

You are a talented engineer. You’ve lead technical research and product development teams. But running a team is one thing. Now you’re promoted to a role where leading is just about all you need to do. That’s a great time to pick up a book from my friend Stephanie Olexa

There are 1,000s of leadership books out there. And for good reason. Leadership is one of the secret weapons of success whether it be in lean transformation in a Fortune 50 company or running a 3-person startup or running a high school science class. It’s really far too important to

My last two Lessons from the Road columns [Building Behaviors Bedrock of Lean Success and Build a Deliberate Culture, Not an Accidental One] focused on the tactics and strategies of culture change, which is crucial for a successful lean journey. One of those tactics is to role model the right

Leadership development has gone by many names over the last century and has evolved in many ways. It has come in the form of apprenticeships, to purposeful rotational assignments, to training, and executive coaches (which are about as generic today as accountants). But through this entire evolution, leadership development has