The KaiZone

Improving the business of life

  • Home
  • The Lean Book Shop
  • Top 100+ Lean Blogs
  • Free Downloads
  • Meet the Author
  • Contact The KaiZone

Powered by Genesis

The KaiZone Friday Favorites for June 20th, 2014

June 20, 2014 by Joel A. Gross Leave a Comment

The KaiZone Friday Favorites

In the KaiZone Friday Favorites, I present my top ten favorite articles from the last two weeks in the world of Lean, continuous improvement and beyond.  With leading content from the world’s foremost improvement authors and future Lean leaders, I do the research so you don’t have to!

10.  A Simple Question without an Easy Answer by Steve Bell.  “When is the last time someone asked you the simple question: “What is Lean?”  It happens to me quite often, and I’m surprised by how difficult I find it is to answer in a simple way. Why is that, I wonder?”

9.  The #Lean Goals that Matter by Mark Graban.  “Do you have clear SQDCM goals for 1) your organization as a whole and 2) for your department? Do you have clear measures in each of these five areas of Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, and Morale? Do you update and review them daily or weekly instead of monthly or quarterly? Do those goals and measures drive your improvement work?”

8.  Honesty, Integrity and Respect in a Culture of Continuous Improvement by Allan Wilson.  “With honesty and integrity as primary core behaviors, respect is earned and the opinion and guidance offered by leaders is highly valued and utilized by the teams. The end result is a culture of Lean Agile Development accomplished by teams focused on continuous improvement in the development of quality products of high value to the customer.”

7.  Reinforcing Lean Behavior Through Visual Management, an interview with Doug Bartholomew and Mark Hamel.  “As a key component of Lean and lean management systems, visual management offers tools and practices that support adherence to standards, quick identification of abnormalities, daily problem solving, organizational alignment, and–when integrated with leader standardized work–the daily routine of lean leaders.”

6.  Where Did the Kaizen Event Come From? by Jon Miller.  “Where did the kaizen event come from? This excerpt from chapter 2 of Creating a Kaizen Culture explains the origin of the kaizen event, and the role of Kaizen Institute in popularizing it.”

5.  An Exercise in Observation: Practicing Your Genchi Genbutsu by Matthew May.  “One of my all-time favorite thoughts is by UK-based urban designer Ben Hamilton-Baillie, a master of designing shared space intersections: ‘If we observed first, designed second, we wouldn’t need most of the things we build.’  The Japanese phrase for what Ben is talking about is genchi genbutsu, which roughly translated means “go look and see.'”

4.  It’s About Best Practicing by Mike Rother.  “I believe that scientific thinking is not just for scientists, but an essential and widely-applicable life skill for everyone, which anyone can develop through practice. Sure, some guitarists will be professionals on stage and some will be amateurs strumming around a campfire, but they all will be playing those same six strings and making music.”

3.  The Undeniable Logic of Lean Management by Bill Waddell.  “Lean transformation has to begin with management transformation.  There is no getting around that basic fact – no matter how much we wish it weren’t true.”

At this point, I’ve got to tell you, I could not pick a single winner for this week’s Friday Favorites.  For the first time ever, and for very unique contributions, two posts will share the top spot!  

The first of this week’s favorites is a series of posts from The Lean Edge.  A question that I – as well as many others – often wrestle with was posed to some of the top Lean thinkers on the planet, and their responses did not disappoint.  Check out the question and perspectives below.

1A.  Kaizen Events: Good Thing or Bad Thing?

  • Kaizen Events Are Mainly a Tool to Open the Minds of Leadership by Jeff Liker
  • Kaizen is Not an Event, It’s About Everday-Everybody-Engaged by Tracey Richardson
  • Kaizen Every Day, Everywhere, by Everyone by Sammy Obara
  • What About Kaizen Events by Daniel T. Jones

Last, but certainly not least, is a post from one of my absolute favorite Lean thinkers and authors, Bruce Hamilton.  In a video that words cannot describe, Bruce and the GBMP crew give us all some good cLEAN fun! I am still rolling on the floor over this one.  Thanks, Bruce, for the many, many years of learning and laughs.   

1B.  Addicted to Lean by Bruce Hamilton.  “Leading change is marathon not a sprint. Sometimes you just have to pace yourself, give your mind and body a break and do something frivolous and fun to maintain your balance.”

Do you have an article that you’d like to share with The KaiZone community?  Post it in the comments section below.  Have a great weekend, friends!

 

 

Share with Others:

  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Filed Under: Friday Favorites, The KaiZone Community Tagged With: Friday Favotires

The Bucket Model: 3 Steps to Become a Productivity Master

June 18, 2014 by Joel A. Gross Leave a Comment

Tips for Increasing Personal Productivity and Time ManagementPersonal Productivity Pointers give you the tips and tricks that productivity masters use to get more things done.  Using Lean thinking to keep your ideas and your outputs flowing, you’ll turn your to-do list into a to-done list.  It’s like a shot of espresso for your daily grind.

Want to know the secret to making the most of your capacity for personal productivity?  Get a bucket!

Yes, you read that correctly.  A bucket.  Not what you were expecting?  Allow me to explain.  Although there is not much to be learned form the bucket itself, masters of productivity know that it’s how you fill the bucket that counts.

[Read more…]

 

Share with Others:

  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Filed Under: Personal Productivity, The KaiZone Way Tagged With: bucket model, mindsets, personal productivity

Leanable Moment #4: The Baby Feeding Frenzy

June 16, 2014 by Joel A. Gross 6 Comments

Completed Problem Solving A3 Report for Feeding the Baby

WARNING: The following content contains graphic images of a baby eating dinner, which may be disturbing to anyone planning to some day start a family.  Reader discretion is advised.

After nearly 2 months, Leanable Moments are back, taking you inside my family life to show you how I apply Lean problem solving to take the waste out of life.  Today’s Leanable Moment examines one of the most frustrating experiences in the life of being a parent: feeding solid foods to a six month old baby.

[Read more…]

 

Share with Others:

  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Filed Under: Leanable Moments, The KaiZone @ Home Tagged With: children, lean at home, leanable moments, problem solving

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

June 13, 2014 by Joel A. Gross 4 Comments

Recommended Reading from The Lean Book Shop

We interrupt the regularly scheduled Friday Favorites to bring you . . . something new!  I’m experimenting with a new content schedule for TheKaiZone, aimed at bringing the community a wider range of information that (hopefully) you will not find anywhere else in the wide world of Lean blogs.  As part of the changes, TheKaiZone Friday Favorites will now be posted on a biweekly basis – which should strengthen the quality of the curated articles significantly – with two new features filling the week-ending voids.

The first change to the Friday lineup is the Recommended Reading series brought to you by The Lean Book Shop.  Think book reviews, without all the fodder.  The posts are not meant to be full-fledged book reviews; I let the critiques to the experts (but will provide associated links in case you are interested in that sort of thing).  Recommended Reading will present a concise summary of the key themes and concepts in the selected text, as well as the key learning points that will contribute to your Lean journey.

The books that I review will fall into two distinct categories.  First, I intend to keep you up-to-date and informed of all the new releases within the world of Lean and continuous improvement publications.  And second, I will highlight books that I believe you will find useful on your journey, but which may not necessarily be written directly about Lean-related topics.  As the tag line to the Lean Book Shop says, Recommended Reading is dedicated to the continuous improvement . . . of you!

So, without further ado, I present the first post in the Recommended Reading series:

[Read more…]

 

Share with Others:

  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Filed Under: Recommended Reading, The KaiZone Community Tagged With: cognitive biases, daniel kahneman, lean book, recommended reading

Acting Ourselves to a New Way of Thinking

June 11, 2014 by Joel A. Gross 2 Comments

Tweetable Tips from @TheKaiZone Logo - v2

Every month, Tweetable Tips from @TheKaiZone brings you a quick-hit, high-impact lesson to improve your lean practice.  The learning is short, sweet – and best of all – sharable!  And if you find the tips to be useful, simply use the ‘”Click to Tweet” link within the post to share the learning with others!  

Conventional wisdom tells us that, if we want to change what we do, we need to first change how we think about those things.  It is a commonly held belief that our thoughts dictate our actions.  Therefore, as Lean practitioners, we spend a great deal of time and energy attempting to influence the thinking of others in order to drive changes in their behaviors.  The problem, as is often the case in the Lean world, is that conventional wisdom is wrong.  Dead wrong.

Take for example, health behavior.  We all know that we should eat healthy and exercise; but how well do these thoughts lead to changes in our behavior?  Obviously, not as well as most of us would hope.  According to the field of behavioral psychology, we are all subject to an “intention-behavior gap” that causes a significant discrepancy between what we intend to do and what we actually do.  While the underlying causes of the intention-behavior gap are not fully understood, research has identified several factors that narrow the gap, creating a stronger correlation between our actions and our thinking.

Research suggests that we can close the intention-behavior gap by increasing self-efficacy (the extent to which we believe we can complete a task or achieve a goal) and through the planning and execution of our actions.  In other words, behavior change occurs by believing that we can change, and then by simply taking planned action.  In this model of behavior, the gap does not close because our thinking drives changes in our actions, it closes because the outcomes of our actions, relative to our expectations, changes our thinking.

Therefore, the next time you are tasked with driving change at an individual, team or organizational level, focus on creating the right actions, routines and habits in those affected, rather than by influencing the prevailing beliefs or thinking.  And remember,

It’s easier to act ourselves to a new way of thinking than think ourselves to a new way of acting

Click To Tweet

 

Share with Others:

  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Filed Under: The KaiZone Way, Tweetable Tips Tagged With: behavior change, change management, lean thinking, tweetable tips

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • …
  • 15
  • Next Page »

Follow me on

  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Post Categories

Search TheKaiZone:

From @TheKaiZone

Tweets by @TheKaiZone