In a recent blog post, "Dr. Emiliani’s No’s for Lean," I challenged people to solve the problem, in the words of Gregg Miner (Vice President Enterprise Excellence at Trane Technologies), of "how to make 100% of CEOs Lean zealots." This is next problem now that the prior problem, why CEO resist or … [Read more...] about Lean Must Learn From Black Lives Matter
The Case Against Lean
Everyone in the Lean community knows the case for Lean management. Most of my books and research papers strongly support the case for Lean, based on the facts. But, as Art Byrne says: "about 95 percent of all lean conversions fail." Why is that? And why aren't most CEOs interested in Lean? It's … [Read more...] about The Case Against Lean
The Back Story – Management Mysterium
This is the back story to the book Management Mysterium. Management Mysterium is a follow-on to The Triumph of Classical Management Over Lean Management (2018) and Irrational Institutions (2020). It adds to this body of work by examining invisible aspects of leadership and management … [Read more...] about The Back Story – Management Mysterium
Lean and COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic is causing a lot of business leaders to re-think many things, from paid sick leave to health insurance for all to the shortening of supply lines reducing dependence on globalized supply and the wisdom of spending cash on share buy-backs. One thing is for sure, all of this will … [Read more...] about Lean and COVID-19
Lean Got a Bad Start
When the public first became aware of Lean production in 1988, and Toyota's production system in the early 1970s, a small army of people leaped into action to do two things: 1) study TPS and Lean and 2) convince business leaders they should adopt Lean. That sounds like a reasonable plan. It was the … [Read more...] about Lean Got a Bad Start
Creating a Lean Culture
Everyone recognizes that creating a Lean culture is the responsibility of the top leaders of an organization, and that creating a Lean culture is difficult. Much has been written by me and others about the need for business leaders to do this hard work if they wish to succeed with Lean management. … [Read more...] about Creating a Lean Culture
Winning With Lean
The goal of any athlete competing in a race is to win. How much do they want to win by isn't something athletes usually think about. They are content if the smallest margin of measurement results in a win. For example, a runner wins if they finish 0.001 seconds ahead of their nearest competitor. … [Read more...] about Winning With Lean
Psychological Safety and Lean
Psychological safety has recently become a subject of interest in the Lean community (see here, here, and here). In her book The Fearless Organization, Professor Amy Edmondson defines psychological safety as: "...the belief that the work environment is safe for interpersonal risk taking. The concept … [Read more...] about Psychological Safety and Lean
Understanding the Institution of Leadership
When organizations struggle or fail to produce a Lean transformation (the "effect"), the causes commonly cited include: Lack of management support Leaders not personally engaged Fear of change or failure Poor communication No sense of urgency No training or poor training Middle … [Read more...] about Understanding the Institution of Leadership