Toyota is widely regarded as the Lean community's "True North," the compass guiding us on who we should be and what we should do as a Lean community. Twenty years ago this past April, Toyota Motor Corporation published "The Toyota Way 2001" internal document. The basic ideas contained in the … [Read more...] about Revisiting The Toyota Way 2001
Mechanistic Approach to Status
In classical management, social status and status-seeking is understood to be both good and right. It is an integral part of the history of success of humans individually and the human race (humanity) whether in business, government, military, or religion. There is a very long, multi-millennia, … [Read more...] about Mechanistic Approach to Status
Two Lean Journeys
People often talk about their "Lean journey," a never-ending quest for learning and improvement. But if you look closely, you will see that there are actually two Lean journeys. Most people are on the Lean Journey 1. It is a quasi-random journey with some success and laden with hype. But it is … [Read more...] about Two Lean Journeys
From Thought Leadership to Banal Thoughts
The late 1970s and 1980s were an exciting time for those who studied Toyota's production system and Japanese management practices. Authors such as Monden, Cusumano, Schonberger, Suzaki, Hall, Imai, Womack, Jones, Fujimoto, and others -- particularly the great Norman Bodek (1932-2020) who published … [Read more...] about From Thought Leadership to Banal Thoughts
Cuckoo for Kata
"Can't see the forest for the trees." An expression [describing] someone who is too involved in the details of a problem to look at the situation as a whole. (Source: Dictionary.com) Click here to learn the context for this post. I continue to be confounded by the supposed great problem … [Read more...] about Cuckoo for Kata
The Problem with Lean Thinking
It's not so much the word "Lean" that is the problem. It is the word "thinking" that is the problem. "Thinking" is a chronic problem among non-Lean people, but it includes Lean people as well. We cannot or do not want to think. Or we think we think, but we do not think. On top of that is a … [Read more...] about The Problem with Lean Thinking
Great Expectations
Our most ardent promoters of Lean have great expectations that business leaders will magically see the need to care for people -- employees, customers, suppliers, and communities. That they will develop employees through the coaching and improvement katas rather than treating them as disposable … [Read more...] about Great Expectations
Apparent Problems More Profitable Than Actual Problems
It is common knowledge that the biggest management consulting businesses go from company to company "solving" the same problems using the same or similar "solutions" whose trade names change over time. The long-lived success of top tier consulting's business model is significantly aided by the … [Read more...] about Apparent Problems More Profitable Than Actual Problems
Misusing the “Respect for People” Principle
Since the grand awakening of the Lean community to the "Respect for People" principle in 2007, and especially post-2014, it has been interesting to see how it has been both used and misused. When used correctly, in its proper context -- the management of business enterprise, in the workplace -- … [Read more...] about Misusing the “Respect for People” Principle