Lean Roundup #89 – October, 2016

A selection of highlighted blog posts from Lean bloggers from the month of October, 2016.  You can also view the previous monthly Lean Roundups here.

Toyota Kata: Reflection on Coaching Struggling Learners – Mark Rosenthal says Improvement Kata is a proven, effective mechanism for helping a learner gain understanding, but it isn’t the only way.

Understanding Data is Often Challenging – John Hunter says using data well (with an understanding of variation) will greatly enhance improvement efforts but it is a challenge and requires thoughtful consideration.

Lean/TPS in the Public Service, Part 3 – Obstacles & Countermeasures? – Pascal Dennis notes three major obstacles to Lean/TPS in government and the possible countermeasures.

Where’s your lean team? [Lessons from the Road] – Jamie Flinchbaugh discusses where Lean resources should reside within the organization and what that means in terms of messaging for your cause.

Kaizen: A Comprehensive Business Strategy – Bob Emiliani explains why Kaizen is simple yet effective improvement practice to transform many aspects of your business.

Daily PDCA is a Meditation – Pascal Dennis says Lean methods are meant to jolt us out of our slumber and the most basic mediation of all is daily Plan-Do-Check-Adjust.

Managers & Leaders - Glenn Whitfield discusses the difference between manager and leader characteristics.

Coach Them and You Will Learn - Blair Nickle explains how coaching employees is servant leadership at its best.

Real Productivity Improvement vs. Pressuring Workers; Easier vs. Suboptimizing – Mark Graban explains that telling people to work harder without properly supporting them can lead to all sorts of problems.

Designing a Lean Home – Kevin Meyer explains Lean concepts that could be applied to designing a home.

For Continuous Improvement, Think Like a Child – Jon Miller shares the traits and behaviors of a child that can be applied to continuous improvement.

Kaizen: A Comprehensive Business Strategy – Bob Emiliani explains how kaizen is a comprehensive business strategy.

Lean Strategy – Bob Emiliani asks whether Lean is a strategy or not and why.

Ask Art: How is lean the opposite of everything people have been trained to do? – Art Byrne discusses Lean management and traditional management of business.