Gemba Tales Blog

We have all experienced significant stress. You know, the feeling that you're treading water after just being dunked by more than a few unforgiving waves...

Being tech support over the phone is a difficult job, being tech support for my 87 yr old grandmother (Mimi) and her TV remote should qualify me for sainthood.

Among other things, vitamin C boosts one's immune system. That's pretty important, especially around the cold and flu season. But there is another type of vitamin C.

A few weeks back, I had the privilege of attending the 2-day Shingo Prize workshop on the Principles of Operational Excellence.  The experience was nothing short of mind-blowing, as I developed a far deeper understanding of Lean and why it works, not just what works.  In other words, my understanding grew from something based on an understanding of Lean’s tools to something based more on Lean’s philosophy.

Mapping, whether it's process mapping or value stream mapping can be powerful stuff. It should be a familiar and trusted weapon within your continuous improvement arsenal.

We've all heard the oversimplification that lean is about attacking waste, while six sigma is about reducing variation.

Many months ago, Norman Bodek sent  me a copy of the book,

Truthfully, the only times I have ever heard the term "plausible deniability," other than my own frivolous use, is in movies or TV shows about clandestine operations and the like. Wikipedia says, at least for now,

Plausible deniability refers to the denial of blame in loose and informal chains of command where upper rungs quarantine the blame to the lower rungs, and the lower rungs are often inaccessible, meaning confirming responsibility for the action is nearly impossible...

The lights went out the instant the squirrel died.

They engage in “magical thinking” she said.  They think something is true, or becomes true, just because they say so.  She was describing the leadership approach of her hospital.  She has