At the time, I
knew nothing about blogging, the implications of choosing a catchy name, or how
to develop a following. I opened an account on Blogger.com, uploaded the photo
above to my profile page, and started to blog. I shared my perspective of Lean
and chronicled my own “Lean Journey in the Quest for True North." Slowly,
I even learned the basics of HTML, which was essential at the time.
Here are links
to the first few posts, one to introduce the blog, the next one on DOWNTIME and the Eight Wastes, and the first Roundup.
Each year I
take the opportunity to reflect. The act of "self-reflection" is
called Hansei is Japanese. It is the practice of continuous improvement that
consists of looking back and thinking about how a process can be improved.
First a few
numbers
Since May 23,
2009 I have shared almost 2530 posts. The most popular ones are about leadership,
best practices, empowerment and engagement. I shared more than 3500 tips on my Facebook site. Written/contributed to 1 book and over
12 articles. I’ve also had the pleasure of presenting at 6 conferences, doing 2
radio shows, and hosting more than a dozen webinars.
After 15 years
I'd like to think this simple blog has been a success. It has been a valued
contribution in the Lean Community with over 2.1 million visitors. Many articles are frequently shared and many
key word searches lead to A Lean Journey Blog. Less than 10% of the blogs I
read 15 years ago (which got me started) are still publishing articles today. I
get great feedback from many of you which motivates me to continue.
What have I
learned?
Blogging helped
learn more and make great connections. This space allowed me to explore/express
my own learning, experiment with best practices, and share this with all of
you. This has been a tremendous learning process both from the great fans and
other colleagues online that I exchange with as well as the process of
distilling my own learning with you. I've been fortunate to meet so many great
people from experts to layman (like myself) along the way who've taught me so
much. These connections have led to great opportunities to write articles and books,
present at conferences, and even a number of career roles.
I still can't
even believe it’s been FIFTEEN YEARS! That is crazy. I had no idea then what I
was getting into or that I'd still be doing this 15 years later. Frankly, I wasn't sure anyone would read what
I wrote never mind find value in it. It truly has been a wonderful experience
and full of opportunities.
Thanks all the
visitors and contributors to A Lean Journey Blog who make this such a successful
journey.
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