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Friday, March 5, 2010

Lean Quote of the Day, March 5, 2010

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.

Feel free to share some of your favorites here as well.

The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution. - Bertrand Russell

A problem well stated is a problem half solved. - Charles F. Kettering

A well-stated problem statement speeds a robust corrective action process. It helps identify potential root causes and eliminate bias and noise.  Accurate problem statements save time and effort by focusing the team on root cause identification.  Continuous improvement happens when root causes are found and permanently eliminated.  Learn more about the first step in this process by review this post on defining the problem statement.

1 comment:

  1. I could not agree more. It's amazing how often a complex problem can be simplified just by getting everyone together and agreeing on what the problem actually is. Remarkably sometimes there isn't even a problem at all, just a lack of effective communication (which is a problem unto itself.) Try getting all the stakeholders to gemba with a flipchart and making them write a problem statement. Half solved.

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