Toyota Leadership Lessons: Part 8 – “The A3 isn’t a magical tool”
When I was back in Japan last month for a visit – my second visit since moving back to the U.S. in June 2016 – I spent the day with my friend and Toyota mentor, […]
Lean Healthcare Transformation Summit 2017: Reflections and Insights
Two weeks ago I was in Palm Desert for the annual Lean Healthcare Transformation Summit co-hosted by Catalysis and the Lean Enterprise Institute. It was the first time in many years that I’d been able to […]
Interview with Paul DeChant: “Preventing Physician Burnout”
This week I’m attending the Lean Healthcare Transformation Summit in Palm Springs, co-hosted by two of the organizations for which I’m a faculty member of – Catalysis and the Lean Enterprise Institute. Given the focus […]
Highlights from a quick trip to Japan: conversations with Lean leaders, gemba visits, a daruma pilgrimage, and more
I just got back from a 9-day trip to Japan and it was everything I hoped it would be from both a personal and professional perspective. I wanted to share some of professional reflections here, with a […]
Returning to Japan – What questions do you have?
I’m at the San Francisco International Airport and about to board my flight back to Japan – the second time since we departed as residents 11 months ago. I’m super excited to be back to […]
Japan Gemba Visit: Lean Thinking in Government – Part 3 – Redesigning flow and customer service in General Services
In the first two posts in this series, I shared how the leaders of Nakano City, one of the 23 wards within the Tokyo metropolitan area, utilize kaizen (small continuous improvement) and kaikaku (large breakthrough improvements) as their […]
Japan Gemba Visit: Lean Thinking in Government – Part 2 – Kaizen and Kaikaku to improve service to elderly constituents
In the first post in this series, I shared how the leaders of Nakano City, one of the 23 wards within the Tokyo metropolitan area, describe how they see kaizen (small continuous improvement) and kaikaku (large breakthrough improvements) […]
Japan Gemba Visit: Lean Thinking in Government – Part 1 – Kaizen, Kaikaku & PDCA to improve customer service
Less than a month before my family wrapped up our time in Japan last June, Tim Wolput of Lean Japan Study Tours invited me to join him on a day-long gemba visit to two different […]
Lean Post Article – “Developing Better Habits Through A3 Thinking”
My latest article for the Lean Enterprise Institute’s Lean Post, “Developing Better Habits Through A3 Thinking”, was published today – check it out and let me know what you think. Personal improvement In the article, […]
Interview with David Veech: Reflections on his new book “Leadersights”, Lean, & his personal leadership journey
What does love have to do with it? Most of us are familiar with this refrain from Tina Turner’s famous song from the 1980s, but the concept of “love” is not one commonly used when […]