Lean Roundup #194 – July 2025

A selection of highlighted blog posts from Lean bloggers from the month of July 2025.  You can also view the previous monthly Lean Roundups here.  

 

Kakorrhaphiophobia: How Fear of Failure Sabotages Continuous Improvement and Innovation – Mark Graban talks about working together to build a culture of continuous improvement and psychological safety.

 

Two Big Takeaways from Three Lean Transformations - Josh Howell highlights why a complete lean management system, grounded in hoshin kanri, daily management, and problem solving, is essential for lasting transformation—and how Toyota brings that system to life on the shop floor.

 

Empowering People, The Overlooked Key to Successful Change Management – Alen Ganic talks about how empowering people isn’t optional in Lean environments as it’s one of the most powerful ways to build high-performing teams.

 

How CI and OpEx Leaders Use Hoshin Kanri to Drive Organizational Alignment – Greg Jacobson unpacks what Hoshin Kanri really is, why it matters for Continuous Improvement and Operational Excellence leaders, and how to put it into action across your organization.

How Do I Get Executive Buy-In for Improvement Initiatives? – Matt Banna breaks down how to earn executive buy-in that translates into cultural and operational impact.

Smart Growth - the Hustler – Pascal Dennis discusses the qualities that make hustlers effective in Smart Growth.

When to Use the Eight Disciplines Problem Solving (8D) – Christoph Roser talks in detail about what the Eight Disciplines Problem Solving is actually for, when to use it, and when not.

When a Form Reset Reveals a Deeper Problem – Kevin Meyer says in lifting, as in leadership, the most important gains come not from pushing harder, but from moving better, and the most sustainable success emerges not from resets, but from the quiet, daily discipline of form.

Finally, a Lean Transformation for the Entire Enterprise - Josh Howell reflects on Legal Sea Foods’ leader-led lean transformation with support from LEI and the use of hoshin kanri and the Lean Transformation Framework, the company built a sustainable system for strategy execution and continuous improvement.

Show Respect by Exploring Problems with Your Workers - Jim Womack shares why true respect for people means engaging in shared, rigorous problem-solving.

Why “Red Isn’t Bad” Is the Wrong Mindset for Performance Metrics – Mark Graban talks about moving beyond red and green to embrace problem instead of hiding from them.