Lean Roundup #176 – January, 2024

A selection of highlighted blog posts from Lean bloggers from the month of January 2024.  You can also view the previous monthly Lean Roundups here.  

 

The Pearls and Turds of Continuous Improvement – Kevin Meyer illustrates keys points of continuous improvement in small sequential steps and learning from failure from the documentary Stutz he recently watched.

 

What Conversations Does Your VSM Drive? – Mark Rosenthal discusses how the values stream map can change the conversation in your organization and drive continuous improvement.

 

Mastering Mistake-Proofing: Insights from Toyota’s Poka Yoke Approach – Mark Graban discusses Toyota's revolutionary approach to mistake-proofing, a concept that has redefined workplace efficiency and quality.

 

Many Ways to Win – Bob Emiliani says the passing of time, experience, and facts prove that we, collectively, were wrong to think of Lean management as a replacement for classical management on a widespread basis, given that there are many ways to win in business.

 

Embracing System-Level Problem Solving over Firefighting – John Knotts explores the paradigm shift from individual, ad hoc problem-solving to systemic approaches that empowers every employee to be a hero in their domain.

 

Complexity is a Crude State, Simplicity Marks the End of a Process of Refinement – Pascal Dennis explains the issues of complexity within strategy and advocates for simplicity.

 

Keep Calm and Stop the Line—Part 1 & Keep Calm and Stop the Line—Part 2 - Christoph Roser explains the reasons why you would want to stop the production line.

 

New Competency #3: How We Learn, Develop, and Improve - Christopher R Chapman reviews Peter Scholtes’ six new leadership competencies by taking a look at the third entry, Understanding How We Learn, Develop, and Improve; Leading True Learning and Improvement.

 

Why We Care So Much About Continuous Process Improvement - Maggie Millard shares 12 reasons why process improvement is so important and it’s role in different industries.

 

Are You Organized for Leadership? - Josh Howell reflects on a recent learning tour to Toyota and GE Appliances, sharing insights the group gathered about lean transformation.

 

Things I Have Learned – Bob Emiliani shares his learning about people and systems over the last 15 years in the Lean community.

 

Mastering Mistake-Proofing: Insights from Toyota’s Poka Yoke Approach – Mark Graban discusses Toyota's revolutionary approach to mistake-proofing, a concept that has redefined workplace efficiency and quality.

 

Cultivating a Culture of Learning: Overcoming Fear and Futility in Problem-Solving – Mark Graban shares a recent mistake he made that illustrates the two elements necessary to overcome these mistakes.