Learning Center

Organizations that have developed true Lean cultures share similar beginings Characteristics they all have in common...   Gaining Cultural Traction

& ... Read more

It’s an all too common problem, executives launch a Lean initiative and then watch it run into obstacles right out of the gate.  This well documented fact is even more alarmi ... Read more

The management of a traditional operation issues a directive to make a transition to “Lean”.  The assigned “Lean Team”, a group of professionals with relevant experience, finds itself in a tough spot.  Top management sees them as Lean experts.  And they are experts, just not < ... Read more

Many organizations struggle in their pursuit of Lean and never ach ... Read more

Lean leaders know that resistance to change is a major obstacle they must overcome. But they may not know something that has been kept virtually a secr ... Read more

Center Stage Management is a simple approach that practically guarantees your team’s best performance. Leaders are responsible for motivating their teams to give their best performance. Some leaders prefer to push, prod, and cajole. Others rely on more subtle methods. They prefer to set ... Read more

How to discover untapped potential in your organization… Natural leaders crave the opportunity to take on more responsibility. You do not have to look for natural leaders, they make themselves known. Sounds like a reasonable statement, right? Though it sounds reasonable, it is not always true. Yo ... Read more

The boss is relying on you to make some major improvements. So you do the usual. You come up with a plan and put a team together to get it done. You are a good leader and you know how to inspire the team to action. Everyone is full of energy and commitment at the beginning; success seems just a m ... Read more

1. Interruptions
2. Searching for Information
3. Inadequate Buy-In
4. Obstacle Avoidance
5. Insufficient Planning
6. Too Many Choices (too many projects open at the same time)
7. Lack of Cooperation
8. Changing Priorities

It is ve ... Read more

In the most recent waves of information about how best to implement Lean, an old piece of wisdom is surfacing once again.  Employee involvement is essential and you cannot maximize employee involvement without a blame-free culture.   At first glance, a blame free culture seems to b ... Read more

Implementing a significant business process change is difficult. Choose a strong facilitator to lead and monitor the transition. A strong facilitator will have a passion for improvement and the skills to guide your transition from start to finish. The facilitator should be enthusiastic, determine ... Read more

Do not convince yourself that you need software in order to fix a broken business process. You will waste time, money and risk failure. Instead:

1. Put the resources in place to fix the broken process.
2. Involve the people that work the process.
3. Require th ... Read more