Lean Management

No Time for Improvement Means No Improvement 0
- Leadership, Lean Management
- July 9, 2013
Whether a company has just switched to Lean production or is still using a traditional manufacturing approach, if it does not establish an official improvement time policy, very little improvement will ever happen there. We have seen this everywhere, even in companies which loudly proclaim their commitment to continuous improvement. Little or no actual time
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Reader Question: Management Involvement In Lean 0
- Leadership, Lean Management
- May 28, 2013
A long time reader, Dave, recently asked me for advice on leadership commitment for Lean implementation: Can Lean be successful if you don’t have top down commitment? I currently work for a midsize manufacturer that only like to say they are Lean, when in reality they only have one division attempting. Any advice? In my experience I
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10 Signs of a Non-Lean Manager Who Disengages the Workforce 0
- L.A.M.E., Lean Management
- May 8, 2013
Companies with poor management practices typically have employees who are disengaged. While a disengaged workforce is a symptom of substandard leadership, just what constitutes bad management? Here are a few problematic practices and signs I believe should be axed: 1. Bad Communication Few things cause employees to tune out faster than a management team that
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Top 10 Reason Why Lean Transformation Fails 0
- Change Management, Lean Management
- May 6, 2013
I believe when Lean principles are properly understood and applied, the upside for productivity improvements is nearly infinite. I have personally witnessed numerous Lean thinking initiatives that have improved productivity by large amounts (like 40-60%) in short periods of time with minimal expenditures. The Lean track record is well documented by numerous authors. Despite the
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10 More Ways to Show Respect for People 0
- Lean Management
- April 3, 2013
Respect for People is one of the least well known and often under practiced principles of Lean thinking. As a voice in the Lean community I feel a sense of responsibility to try to change that. Showing respect in the workplace is one of the most important traits of a Lean environment. Some of the
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Top 10 Principles of Employee Empowerment 0
- Lean Management, Teamwork
- March 20, 2013
Empowerment may not be a new concept to you, but many organizations experience problems because they don’t know how to ‘live it’. Empowerment is often described as “having the power to make decisions”. However, this empowerment/decision making power is something that must be earned, not given, through a set of fundamental principles cultivated as follows:
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