Lean Roundup #199 – December 2025
- Lean Roundup
- December 29, 2025
So you might ask what does standard work and drawing a pig have in common. Well, the activity of drawing a pig can be used to teach the importance of standardized work. I learned of this activity a number of years ago during a standard work seminar. It was described in the AME Target Magazine
READ MORELet’s take an opportunity to look at the resources over at the Lean Learning Center. The Lean Learning Center was founded in 2001 by Andy Carlino, Jamie Flinchbaugh and Dennis Pawley to address the gaps and barriers that are holding back companies from successful and sustainable lean transformation. The biggest failure mode of lean transformation
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In a previous post I discussed a formula for success that prioritizes tasks by the Urgency and Importance of the task. I am typically one that uses a list type of priority system arranging my tasks in order of highest priority to lowest. Occasionally, I will hand write a “To-Do” list but it is often
READ MORELean leaders and those who manage change realize well that change is the only constant. In times of recession like today or times of great performance organizations can still learn a great deal from W. Edwards Deming. Deming tells us, “Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service, with the aim to become
READ MORELean practitioners are looking for new ways to engage employees to freely challenge status quo in a systematic manner to build highly flexible and innovative organizations. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal highlights the story of how The Bank of New Zealand unshackled employees after 148 years. In most languages, “control” is the
READ MOREThere has been a lot of conversation in the Lean community in recent years about Starbucks’ Lean undertaking. This past week the Wall Street Journal had an article on Latest Starbucks Buzzword: ‘Lean’ Japanese Techniques. In my experience it can often be more challenging to transform service segments to Lean thinking. Many times individuals in
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