Lean Blog Audio

http://leanblog.org/audio81 Lean is not about banning bananas from people's desks or banning sweaters hanging on chairs.We should be solving problems that matter, for customers and employees, through Lean. We should be engaging people rather than throwing silly top-down mandates at them. I tend to get on a soapbox and rant about the "bad office 5S" examples... but I got an email this week that made me smile, because it helped an organization avoid the L.A.M.E. office 5S trap. The email, shared with permission:

http://leanblog.org/audio80 Here's the Key to Visual Management:To me, the core of visual management is captured in this statement from Fujio Cho, now the honorary chairman of Toyota: "Know normal from abnormal... right now!" If the "visual" isn't helping accomplish that goal, it's probably not visual management. Visual management has two parts - the visual(something you see) and the management (the action you take based on the visual). Why do we have to manage the visual abnormality? To get better results.

http://leanblog.org/audio79 I love the Texas-based grocery store chain "Central Market." It's like a local version of a Whole Foods, basically.One of their features is a sushi area that's run by a third-party company, Yummi Sushi. Posted prominently is a letter that outlines their stated approach to quality and safety. Click the photo for a larger view. Below, I'm going to basically transcribe the letter, but as if it were the policy of a hospital or health system.

Here is my latest article for the LinkedIn“Influencers” series, written for a general audience that might not be as familiar with Lean: How These Credit Card Websites Illustrate Lean Mistake Proofing I hope you enjoy the article, even as a Lean thinker.

http://leanblog.org/audio77 I did a similar post in 2012, but here's a post where I share some recent NPR stories that I've heard recently (through the NPR One app, which I absolutely love).This is similar to my "A Lean Guy Reads..." series, my "Cleaning Out the Backlog" series, and the "Stuff I'm Reading" posts. Not All NICU Babies Should Get the Same Treatments Shrinking and Cutting Isn't the Only Path for Hospitals More Expensive Cancer Drugs Aren't Always Better Getting Patients Involved in Choosing Better Care

http://leanblog.org/audio76 The Kaizen approach to continuous improvement is important to me, of course. The Japanese hospitals we've visited have a strong tradition of practicing Total Quality Management. Some are now embracing Kaizen as "daily continuous improvement" in addition to their six month long TQM projects.We're again organizing a Lean Healthcare Study Trip to Japan, which will take place September 13 to 19 in Nagoya and Tokyo. Learn more via http://www.japanleantrip.com.

There's another approach that goes underappreciated, I think -- the "model line" or "model cell" approach. It has nothing to do with fashion models. I don't like the term "cell" because it might make people think of a prison or a gulag. Then again, the word "line" might make people think of "assembly line medicine" in a negative way. Maybe "model area" is a better term? I'll think about that as I work on the updated 3rd edition of my book Lean Hospitals.

http://leanblog.org/audio74 In this post, I'll be presenting a parody video of Keith Olbermann's "worst persons in the sports world" videos.I don't know how much overlap there is in people who read my blog and people who are fans of Olbermann. I've always been a big fan of Olbermann the sports guy... Olbermann the political commentator not so much. But, "the worst persons in the world" is a bit that he's done on MSNBC and ESPN. In this video, I'm playing a character... a parody you might call Keith Olber-Lean. I'll be taking some shots at people... naming names as the tongue-in-cheek "worst persons in the Lean world." This video might seem mean spirited. I'm not normally this mean spirited on my blog, although I've made comments about these issues and people before (worse, worser, and worst). Olbermann often seems mean spirited. But, he's entertaining and usually makes a serious point through humor. I'll try to do the same here. The serious points I'm making are: Lean leaders and consultants should be humble... that'sthe Toyota style Lean office initiatives should solve real problems that matter for customers and employees (not create situations like this) It's factually untrue to say that Lean is only about speed and that Six Sigma is the only method for Quality. Lean is about both quality and flow (read more)

I'm sure anybody who has done any work with Lean has heard these words said in one form or another, often prefaced with a "You don't understand..."We're different.

What did I learn about learning to eat sushi and incremental Kaizen (change for the better) during my 2014 Lean Healthcare Study Trip to Japan? Listen to find out... and learn more about our upcoming Japan trip at http://www.japanleantrip.com.