Archive for October 2022
Living Lean
Lean is probably one of the most misunderstood leadership concepts in business, and many people would even question why I would refer to it as a leadership concept. Surely it’s a manufacturing methodology, hence why it’s often referred to as Lean Manufacturing and is the descendent of the Toyota Production System (TPS)? Somehow, and despite…
Read MoreHow E.ON is Dealing with a Volatile Energy Market
INTERVIEW – Ahead of his presentation at the Lean Global Connection, the interviewee shares his thoughts on the current energy crisis and discusses how lean is helping E.ON to navigate it. Interviewee: Huibert-Jan den Hartog, Vice-President and Transformational Leader, E.ON Roberto Priolo: Energy is on everybody’s lips these days, with consumers facing soaring costs. What…
Read MoreThe Adaptive Entrepreneurial Method
Effective entrepreneurs recognize and, indeed, embrace continuous change: customer preferences change, competitors’ actions change, markets change, technology changes, prices change, business methods change. New knowledge is continuously created and accumulated. Effective entrepreneurs equally recognize that their businesses must change in response: capital combinations change, supplier and customer relationships change, organization structure changes, business portfolios and…
Read MoreAdvancing Learning in a Lean Organization
FEATURE – Our disposition towards learning changes depending on the amount of things we don’t know. The author explores this topic and the role of the sensei in enabling learning. Words: Dan Prock Ph.D, lean author One lean coach – I’ll call him Sam – was surprised when he first learned about Lean Thinking, saying,…
Read MoreThe 4 Keys to Achieving Excellence
Like many of you, I’ve had a lifelong quest for learning and for trying to improve my own personal performance and drive excellence in my companies. Excellence is defined as “the quality of being outstanding or extremely good.” Synonyms for excellent and excellence are distinction, first rate, superb, blue chip, choice, first class, five-star, top…
Read MoreThe Lean Answer to Uncertainty
FEATURE – In the face of uncertainty, when it’s hard to see the road ahead, we can still make things better day after day by embracing kaizen – until we are out of the woods. Words: Michael Ballé, lean author, executive coach, and co-founder of Institut Lean France To few of us, uncertainty is a…
Read MoreTime to Rethink Just-In-Time
Just-In-Time (JIT) inventory and manufacturing systems are management strategies that bases replenishment orders of raw materials and assemblies on production schedules, which themselves are based on real customer orders that are due at specific dates (even times). The objective is to increase efficiency and effectiveness by decreasing the waste associated with carrying more inventory than…
Read MoreWith Kata, Simple Is the Key
FEATURE – A former plant manager reflects on his experience supporting a team with the implementation of Kata in the daily management system and explains why, when it comes to Kata questions, simple is best. Words: Quim Prats, lean practitioner When I became manager of a manufacturing plant in Catalonia, I inherited a rather difficult…
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