I recall my first encounter with my sensei, many, many years ago. I expressed amazement that he could so quickly observe processes and discern waste and opportunities. He assured me that, with practice, I would be able to do the same. At the time, it seemed like he was being nice or at least extremely overoptimistic. Fortunately, he was right.
The Traditional Ohno Circle
We’re all familiar with the Toyota Production System “house.” You know, the structure schematic with, among
We've all heard the flight attendant's compulsory safety announcement regarding oxygen masks.
This question is typically posed in response to a question that is deemed a bit nosey. It’s actually more of a statement. Along the lines of, “Mind you own business!” But, for the purpose of this post, it really is a question - one of, and for, the lean leader’s self-reflection. What truly is the purpose of the questions that we ask? Granted that we must always consider the particular situation, the intent of our questions says a lot about our own lean leadership effectiveness.
Leonardo da Vinci’s quote, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,” could easily serve as a lean tagline.
Surely, lean tools, like standard work, visual controls, and mistake proofing devices, are only truly effective if they are easily explained, understood, deployed, maintained, and adjusted. Heck, lean principles are simple too, just hard to implement.
Some lies you can see a mile away. The check is in the mail. Your table will be ready in a few minutes. I didn’t say that.
Lean transformations are not for the squeamish. Certainly not for the noncommittal.
The term, "judgmental," in my experience is consistent with Merriam-Webster's second definition, "charac
