Recently, I was talking with someone with a considerable amount of background in continuous improvement about the challenges related to building coaching skills. Having known each other for some time, we felt comfortable admitting to each other that we occasionally...

Lean drives revenue. One of my early experiences with this was at Sweetheart Cup. We were supplying straws to a major fast food chain and there was a quality problem. When that problem showed up, the chain had a team of their people work with a team from operations to...

A company I used to work for, Sweetheart Cup, was going bankrupt. There were huge amounts of waste in every shape, size, and kind. They didn’t know it at the time, but they were struggling with an incredibly common barrier to a successful lean transformation. In this...

For most organizations I work with, lean culture remains elusive. When I ask, “What is the specific lean culture that you’re looking to build into your organization?” they can’t say. It’s not quite clear to them what they actually want, even while the desire is there....

In the last several months, we have all experienced enormous changes in how we’re living and working. We often consider managing change as something we apply to a new initiative, a major reorganization, or a change in ownership. However, change management practices...

Lean is most commonly utilized to improve operations or services in a relatively stable environment…but we can also apply these practices to the challenges and ongoing aftermath of the pandemic. What has made this application of lean especially difficult is that...

Have you considered developing a regular meditation practice? (As it turns out, there are a ton of work-related benefits to doing so.) After years of periodically experimenting with meditation, I’ve finally adapted a regular, sustainable practice. In the past, it had...

In the last few weeks, most of us have given some thought to the recently increased attention to systemic racism. In all honesty, I have found myself aware that this has seemed a problem for others to solve. The expansion of the protests and the amount of media...

While many things have been heartbreaking or difficult in these times, there have been others that have helped alleviate some of our angst. I find myself moved to tears over things I’m not sure would have really registered in easier times. I suppose the pain we’re...

Most every conversation I’m in, there is this growing awareness that there’s no telling how long significant changes may go on, much less their impact on the overall business landscape. This is leading to a range of concerns and corresponding responses related to work...

If any of you are in the same spot I am, all of a sudden you’re being faced with how to work with people virtually instead of in person. Specifically, I have a number of scheduled in-person trainings that are now being done virtually. Interestingly, when this all...

How many Zoom meetings have you attended in the past two weeks? If I had to guess, probably more than you ever have before. As we learn to work virtually, many people find it provides a new set of challenges. The most common problems are: 1) participants who...

Recently, I was working with a team on addressing the myriad challenges they were facing related to COVID-19. The same organization has over 15 years of experience with applying lean practices to various manufacturing situations. Many of this organization’s team...

In the last several weeks, we have all experienced enormous changes in how we’re living and working. We often consider change management as something we apply to a new initiative, an ERP implementation, or a change in ownership. However, change management practices...