Lean Insights & Proven Strategies for Manufacturers

“We have the same safety issues as twenty years ago. Depressing.” That’s what the COO of a large healthcare system told me after we reviewed the most recent patient and employee safety incidents. It...

Most leaders step into a new role with high expectations for themselves. They have been promoted because they excelled in their previous position, delivered results, and demonstrated the ability to...

It’s Groundhog Day… again. Only this time, it’s not Punxsutawney Phil repeating the same day. It’s you. Same walk. Same questions. Same template. Same results. Every morning, you gear up to lead....

Some leaders I meet still believe that Lean is outdated. They assume it was a passing trend. Others believe Lean doesn’t apply to their industry or current challenges. But in my experience, those...

Years ago, I invited my sensei, Tom, to walk the floor with me. We were visiting the frontline teams together, observing the system and looking for nuggets of insight. I had always appreciated Tom’s...

The Allure of Automation Early in my career, I was captivated by automation. I admired the clean precision of motorized conveyors, their rhythmic movement, and the apparent efficiency they offered....

Introduction: Why Most Strategy Deployment Efforts Are Misdefined In recent months, several senior executives have asked me how to strengthen their approach to strategy deployment. Some were...

“𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.” – Frank Gilbreth In the early days of my career as an industrial engineer, I spent a lot of time chasing decimals. Stopwatch in hand, I...

The Real Problem Isn’t 5S — It’s Ownership If you’ve been around Lean transformations for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard a familiar complaint. A leader walks into a workspace and sighs,...

It wasn’t a school project. It was a Louis XV dresser. Marquetry. Hand-cut dovetails. Gold leaf. Glue made from fish bones. That is what my three-year cabinet-making training looked like. It was an...

“Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one’s self-esteem.” — Dr. Thomas Szasz Most Lean transformations don’t stall because of a lack of strategy, technical...

In over three decades of leading operations across industries, I have come to realize something both simple and profound. When it comes to operational excellence in manufacturing, most leaders are...