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!

 

In the KaiZone Friday Favorites, I present my top ten favorite articles from the last week (give or take a few days) in the world of Lean – 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.  Did Toyota Fool the Lean Community for Decades? by Emiel Van Est & Pascal Pollet.  “In the Lean community, we admire Taiichi Ohno for his role in the development of the Toyota Production System.  Get ready to admire him even  more!”

9.  Overproduction in the Auto Industry (and Healthcare) by Mark Graban. “Accounting rules also make it seem like it’s cheaper, per vehicle, to produce more, as we’re spreading out fixed costs, including capital and overhead, across a greater number of vehicles… product that customers aren’t buying. Crazy… but rational given the rules of the game.”

8.  Debunking Standard Cost: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 by Nick Katko.  “Turning off standard cost is possible in any company, no matter how large or how small it is. It is just a matter of the vision and willpower of the leadership in the company.”

7.  Big Data, Small Data by Kevin Meyer.  “Just as we now find it ludicrous to talk of “big software” – as if size in itself were a measure of value – we should, and will one day, find it equally odd to talk of “big data”. Size in itself doesn’t matter – what matters is having the data, of whatever size, that helps us solve a problem or address the question we have.”

6.  The Four Levels of Visual Management: Part 1, Part 2 by Pascal Dennis.  “Who is the best source of Level 3 and 4 visual management?  Why, our front line team members, of course.  That’s why total involvement is critical. Alienate the front line and you lose all their insight & creativity. Problems mushroom!  But you already know that…”

5.  Compression, Immediacy and the Death of the Iron Triangle by Matthew May.  “In the age of immediacy, the old idea of the Iron Triangle–you know, that given quality, cost and speed you can have two, but not all three–is simply irrelevant. In fact, it’s been dead for quite a while for any entity that we’d properly label disruptively innovative…point to any product, service, or company you think of as a true groundbreaker, and tell me that haven’t put a nail in the coffin of the Iron Triangle.”

4.  Forget About the Toyota House of Quality by Dan Markovitz.  “It doesn’t matter what the pillars are, or what the roof is, or what blocks are in the foundation. You have to choose the structure that makes sense for your company. The concepts and elements are what’s important, not where they go.”

3.  Is History Repeating Itself? by Bob Emiliani.  “I am disappointed that, in general, the generation of executives who could have done the most good with Lean management did more harm that I ever expected they would. The baby boomers have learned little about Lean management and have essentially nothing to pass on to the next generation, who are left to discover the merits of Lean management for themselves – assuming they can overcome all the negatives resulting from “Lean done wrong” by their predecessors.”

2.  The Human Element of TWI by Patrick Graupp.  “Running an organization that truly respects its people and works on company culture first, before trying to implement tools that work on the production system, is a lesson that most organizations miss. Without the enthusiastic participation of people, in particular those people who actually do the work, we will not get the “buy-in” necessary to see that needed changes actually take place and are sustained. “

And, in an excellent week for Lean and continuous improvement posts, this week’s Friday Favorite goes to . . .

1.  Ask Art: How Much Lean Training Should We Be Doing? by Art Byrne. “I learned how to run a kaizen directly from the Shingijustu Company (men who spent years working directly for Taiichi Ohno at Toyota). They had a rather dramatic approach. “What do you want to work on?” they would ask me, and when I replied, their response was, “Ok, let’s go, start moving equipment and start a cell.” This was shocking, and it worked. As we went along with this, they taught us the organization, structure, tools, and materials needed to run a kaizen. But it all started simply, on the shop floor. See the waste, eliminate the waste, right now.”

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!

Also, don’t forget about The KaiZone Contest: Make Your Own Leanable Moment.

In the KaiZone Friday Favorites, I present my top ten favorite articles from the last week (give or take a few days) in the world of Lean – 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. When Standard Work is Not the Answer by Joe Crist.  “Standard work can provide the framework for sustainment and stability for a process in the elimination of undesirable outcomes (defects).  The hypothesis is simple; if the standard work is followed, then the defect will not occur. However, it is critical to recognize the difference between a standard work creation or revision problem and a standard work deployment problem.”

9.  Kaizen Methodologies: The Meaning of Kaizen by Benjamin Thompson.  “The Japanese word ‘kaizen’ simply means “good change”, with no inherent meaning of either ‘continuous’ or ‘philosophy’ in Japanese dictionaries or in everyday use. The word refers to any improvement, one-time or continuous, large or small, in the same sense as the English word ‘improvement’.”

8.  Even Knowledge Workers Get Dis-Engaged by Al Norval.  “Many of the same workplace issues of yesterday can remain in place today. Repetitive tasks without the ability to change and improve the work can lead to a dis-engaged workplace as much today as it did 50 or 100 years ago. Empowerment to make change, remove waste and improve the way work is done gives people some control over their immediate work environment.  The result – an engaged workforce constantly seeking a better way.”

7.  Performance Metrics: Don’t Lag Behind by Dan Littlefield.  “Think back to your school days: do you remember waiting for your report card to come so that you could find out how you did in a tough class?  Not only did you receive a standard performance measurement at the end of the course, but typically you would receive occasional milestone measurements, perhaps at the course mid-point, as well as scores on individual assignments.  Because of the constant feedback, rarely was I not at least directionally aware of my performance throughout the course.”

6.  Leadership Team Development by Jacklyn Whitaker.  “From our lean training, we understand the importance of respecting humanity. We understand that traditional thinking dictates to hire brilliant people to try to fix broken processes while lean thinking prescribes to empower regular people to improve upon brilliant processes. The difficult task isn’t recognizing the right approach, but rather being effective in putting it to practice.”

5.  Why No “Respect for People?” by Bob Emiliani.  “Hierarchies may be unavoidable in most cases, but the “I’m better than you” trap that leaders fall victim to, whether self-imposed or the view of others, is avoidable. If they can do that, then continuous improvement comes alive with the entire enterprise, top-to-bottom, with the spin-off benefit of reducing people’s stress and creating a healthier work environment both mentally and physically.”

4.  Hanging up My Cape by Josh Howell.  “Managers and front line workers hustle to work around problems resulting from poorly designed work systems (if it is justifiable to use the words “design” and “system”) and with such pride! We all like to be the hero, I suppose. I certainly did. Knowing what I know now, however, having experienced what I’ve experienced, this scene breaks my heart. Because there really is a better way!”

3.  Blame: Human Error is Going to Happen Even If We’re Being Careful by Mark Graban.  “Human error is GOING to happen, because we are fallible. That’s why we need good systems, tools, and processes and we can’t just ask people to “be more careful” and we can’t just blame them after an error occurs.”

2.  Leveled Production: Why Do It? by Ian Glenday.  “Batch logic is based on the principle “economies of scale.” The logic is focused on the machines. There is nothing wrong with economies of scale as long as you meet one criteria: you have very few products. As the product portfolio increases it becomes difficult to have long runs without unacceptable increases in finished goods inventories. Most companies have seen an explosion in their product portfolios in the last 20 years. What we need is a different focus that will improve efficiency while having shorter runs with more change-overs.”

And this week’s Friday Favorite goes to . . .

1. What is Enterprise Lean and How Do We Get There? by Jeffrey Liker.  “Since Plan-Do-Check-Act is the process needed to carry out sustainable improvement at all levels, it requires skilled practitioners at all levels—from the C-suite to the working level.”

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!

 

In the KaiZone Friday Favorites, I present my top ten favorite articles from the last week (give or take a few days) in the world of Lean – 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. How to Solve Difficult Problems Using the Inversion Technique by James Clear.  “Here’s a new framework for thinking about how you solve difficult problems (like losing weight and getting fit, creating more innovation in your company, learning a new skill, or otherwise changing your behavior).  I call this strategy the Inversion Technique and author Josh Kaufman covers it in his book, The First 20 Hours.”

9.  13 Pillars of the Toyota Production System by Eliott Farr.  “Underpinned by thirteen core processes and philosophies, The Toyota Production System pioneered modern manufacturing as we know it. Here’s what each one is and how each one works.”

8.  Lean Leader’s Visual Controls by Bob Emiliani.  “Leaders need visual controls as well, for both their day-to-day management work and for strategic direction. Leaders, like everyone else, must learn new ways of thinking and doing things. Yet, in most cases, leaders tell people do think Lean and do Lean things, while then proceeding to do the same things they have always done. Visual controls can help avoid this inconsistency.”

7.  Formula 1 Pit Stop 1950 to 2013 by Michael Baudin.  “The 1950 pit stop used 4 people for 67 seconds, which works out to 4 minutes and 28 seconds of labor. If we include the external setup — before the car arrives — and the cleanup afterwards, the 2013 pit stop used 17 people for 44 seconds, or 12 minutes and 28 seconds of labor. In terms of labor costs, the 2013 pit stop was therefore less “efficient.” In a race, however, cutting the car stoppage time by a factor of 22 is priceless.”

6.  Learning How to Manage by Pascal Dennis.  “Like many of you, I was lucky enough to go to a professional school in a well-known university.  My studies were in business and engineering. Chats with colleagues who went into law, medicine, nursing, architecture and so on, suggest we picked up similar mental models and habits.  Many of my courses were ostensibly focused on ‘management’ – at least that’s what the curriculum said.  But I never learned how to manage till I got to Toyota. And then, the first order of business was to unlearn what I’d been taught!

5.  Top 5 Influencers of the Toyota Production System (TPS) by Matt Elson.  “The Toyota Production System (TPS) has been developed, refined and improved over the course of many decades.  While there have been many major influences in its development, the strength of the system is the fact that everyone continues to improve upon it, based on their own experiences.”

4.  Coaching for Success by Tim McMahon.  “Coaching is the process of preparing your employees to succeed. It is an ongoing, two-way process that involves using constructive, consistent feedback to reinforce positive behavior, resulting in improved performance.  Coaching must be part of business processes if you want the most benefit.”

3.  The Status Quo is Risky, Too by Liane Davey.  “It’s now common practice to manage risk with heightened awareness, disciplined processes, and due diligence. Unfortunately, we are more likely to apply these tools to evaluate the risk of changing than to evaluate the risk of staying the same. If your teammates are anchoring your business in the past, it’s your responsibility to help them see the risk of the status quo.”

2.  Intentional Decision Making by Karen Martin.  “All parties benefit by being intentional and clearly communicating the level of decision making authority we’re operating from (which varies, depending on the decision to be made). Imagine a world with this level of clarity. No more wondering if you’re authorized to make a decision or not. No more irritation because someone made a decision they weren’t authorized to make. No more frustration with people who aren’t making decisions that are theirs to make simply because they didn’t know they had the authority to do so.”

And this week’s Friday Favorite goes to . . .

1.  Which Side Are You On? by Michael Ballé.  “Modern corporations are built upon the idea that efficiency must be enforced through staff systems. Finance enforces cost accountability because operational people will spend like there is no tomorrow.  IT enforces complexity management because things have gone so far out of hand no human could possibly deal with such complex systems. Human Resources are fast become a labor cost control function. Each functional director must convince the CEO that applying their preferred program, initiative, or system will force line managers in getting the results every one asks from them.”

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!