Meet-up: Lean Six Sigma Academy's Ron Pereira

Today's Meet-up guest is Ron Pereira, blogger at Lean Six Sigma Academy and Managing Partner of Gemba Academy. I have never physically met Ron but we have chatted online for years. Ron's face is probably familiar from all videos you may have seen on YouTube or Gemba Academy.  Over the last couple of years their online content has grown substantially. Ron will share how he got started and his thoughts on lean.



Who are you and what do you do?
I'm married with 5 kids under the age of 9. That alone keeps me busy! I'm also the managing partner of Gemba Academy, who provides online and DVD based Lean & Six Sigma training to companies and individuals around the world. When I'm not in front of a video camera you can usually find me on a soccer field here in North Texas coaching or cheering my kids on. I'm also a huge Ohio State and Texas Rangers fan. Yes, I know, one strike away. Two times. Oh, the pain.

How and when did you learn Lean?
I was first introduced to lean while working at Nokia many moons ago by Jon Miller who, as it turns out, is now my good friend and business partner! Crazy how things turn out. I first cut my continuous improvement teeth with six sigma and learned lean later and have found having a solid understanding of both methodologies to be extremely helpful.

How and why did you start blogging or writing about Lean?
I have always followed Jon Miller's blog and decided to start my own blog several years ago. I had no earthly idea what I was doing but just started to write. A few days after starting it someone left a comment and I was like, whoa, someone besides my mom read this! That started an amazing journey that ultimately lead me to start Gemba Academy.

What does Lean mean to you?
Hmm... this isn't easy to answer. From a technical perspective of course lean is all about improving personal and company performance through the correct deployment of strategy and operational excellence... but, more importantly, lean is about respecting people while constantly seeking a better way.

What is the biggest myth or misconception of Lean?
That it's about attacking waste while six sigma is about attacking variation. When I hear consultants ramble on about this I want to scream! You see lean is MUCH more than waste reduction just like six sigma is MUCH more than variation reduction. Attempting to place any sort of continuous improvement methodology inside narrowly defined boxes is very dangerous.

What is your current Lean passion, project, or initiative?
Bringing the good news of continuous improvement to as many people across this amazing world through the power of words and web video.

Daily Lean Tips Edition #34

For my Facebook fans you already know about this great feature. But for those of you that are not connected to A Lean Journey on Facebook or Twitter I post daily a feature I call Lean Tips.  It is meant to be advice, things I learned from experience, and some knowledge tidbits about Lean to help you along your journey.  Another great reason to like A Lean Journey on Facebook.

Click this link for A Lean Journey's Facebook Page Notes Feed.

Here is the next addition of tips from the Facebook page:

Lean Tip #496 – Process-mapping is just a tool to get you somewhere.

Unlike a real map, it often only shows some of the roads on a landscape. You and those reviewing the map will determine the right roads to add to the map to show the destination.

Lean Tip #497 - Keep your process-maps simple.

Feel free to make lots of process maps and string them together rather than one massive, interconnected, complex beast. Everyone wants to capture everything on single flipchart sheet. You can’t. But that’s OK.

Lean Tip #498 – Write your process maps for the unfamiliar to avoid assumptions.

Try your best to imagine you’re writing it for someone who knows nothing about your processes. This will force you to think through your assumptions, the process, ask the right questions and get to the right level of detail. This way your process-mapping will have vigour.

Lean Tip #499 – Map your process for change not just for the sake of it.

Start with mapping out your existing processes and then use the map to highlight the gaps, process improvements and get some consensus built about what you do. Feel free to go further and map out your future processes. Medium to longer-term, it almost always will save time, money and help build consensus.

Lean Tip #500 – Process mapping is all about the journey not the destination

A process-map is just a snapshot in time. Processes change, so keep you process-maps simple and flexible. Just because you wrote it down won’t stop the real thing from changing. When you start, start anywhere. It won’t matter. Write it down, step by step, including your assumptions. The process of making a map is to define the landscape. You’ll quickly see the roads you’ve missed. And if you won’t, others will. Remember those unfamiliar who are going to see it.

Lean Tip #501 – Show Respect for People: Listen harder.

Obviously there are times when you're busy for extended discussions. But you need to set aside times when you can listen carefully to employee's problems, reactions, concerns, and suggestions.

Lean Tip #502 – Show Respect for People: Look at people when they talk.

Good listening means being willing to stop working computer, close a door, stop reading your email, or only answer emergency calls. Give the speaker your full attention, and let them know they are getting your full attention.

Lean Tip #503 – Show Respect for People: Keep your promise.

By keeping your word to someone, you not only establish yourself as a person of integrity, but make the other person feel as though you value them.

Lean Tip #504 – Show Respect for People: Be on time.

Another way to demonstrate that you value someone, is by treating their time as though it is valuable. Nothing says this better than being punctual. Don't waste others time.

Lean Tip #505 – Show Respect for People: Encourage.

Sometimes when we hear a silly idea, it's easy to shoot down someone's hopes and dreams, or otherwise make them feel unimportant. Genuinely encouraging someone could be very empowering and liberating.

Lean Tip #506 – Show Respect for People: Take Care of Your Work Environment.

Your co-workers can see your work space, especially if you are in a cubicle paradise. If you keep your work space and the common areas clean, everyone will be calmer when they are around you.

Lean Tip #507 – Show Respect for People: Let the Buck Stop With You.

This means take responsibility for your own faults and your successes. Don't claim other people's work as your own, and don't push your failures onto a co-worker.

Lean Tip #508 – Show Respect for People: Create a Learning Environment.

Developing your people shows respect for them. Building explicit (book) and tacit (hands on) knowledge and distributing it is equally important.

Lean Tip #509 – Show Respect for People: Allow Mistakes.

The real source of power of Lean lies in its ability to learn from mistakes, and to continuously improve. Mistakes are seen as opportunities to improve and not as something that needs to be monitored and punished.

Lean Tip #510 – Show Respect for People: Go to the Gemba.

You can't genuinely listen if you aren't there. Go to where the action is happening and seek the facts. Lean implementation takes place on the floor, not in the office.

GBMP's WIP It Video

My friends at GBMP sent me a great video yesterday. Bruce Hamilton (a.k.a. Mr. Toast) and the GBMP team sing a little jingle to Devo on WIP.  Excess inventory, be it raw material, work-in-process (WIP) or finished goods just results in waste, stagnation, quality risks, excess lead-time, increased costs, etc. etc. In fact "excess inventory is the shadow of muda". Hope you enjoy this video as much as I did.

Lean Quote: Mistakes are the Portals of Discovery

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.

"Mistakes are the portals of discovery." — James Joyce (1882-1914), Irish novelist and poet

One of the premises of Lean is to make it right the first time. The truth is people make mistakes.

In Lean organizations, mistakes are seen as opportunities to improve. There is no blame game if something goes wrong. People are not rewarded for how few mistakes they make, but on how well they improve the process when mistakes have occurred. Management bears the responsibility for creating effective systems that prevent mistakes.

Learning from mistakes clearly needs some analysis of the mistake itself to gain value from it. Here are a few steps to use to analyze a mistake quickly and efficiently:

1. Accept that it happened and can’t be changed.
2. Know there is always something to learn from it.
3. Look to understand it and the factors that caused it.
4. How could you have recognized the mistake earlier?
5. How can you avoid the mistake next time?
6. Are there similar things that might have a related mistake to avoid?
7. What has changed now to ensure that mistake doesn’t reoccur?
8. Who else should know about this and learn from it?

When you focus on the improvements and lessons learned from a mistake you reinforce the ability to make mistakes part of the process and something that is accepted as long as it improves things. There is no value in worrying about the mistake or dwelling on it after it is done. So, move on!

Meet-up: Gotta Go Lean's Jeff Hajek

Today's guest on the Meet-up is my good friend Jeff Hajek. Many reader's of this blog know Jeff from the Webinars we have done together over the last couple of years.  I have been fortunate to collaborate with Jeff because I have learned so much from him. We share a passion of continuous improvement, learning, and helping others do the same.



Who are you and what do you do?
I am Jeff Hajek, the owner and founder of Velaction Continuous Improvement, a company dedicated to making great Lean training more accessible to everyone. The backbone of the site is The Continuous Improvement Companion, a free online guide, complete with hundreds of pages of downloadable terms, and dozens of forms and tools.

We also sell an a la carte premium Lean Training System that allows you to choose any combination of modules (topics) and components (PPT, Student Guides, Exercises, DVDs, etc.).

How and when did you learn Lean?
I left the army and went to work as a manufacturing engineer, where I immediately became involved in a Lean transition. The company had fully committed to Lean, and I was quickly part of a series of kaizen events. I was hooked. About 18 months after joining the company, I transferred to the “Lean Promotion Office” and was in and out of Lean roles until I started Velaction.

In truth, though, most of the Lean principles I learned in the civilian world were present in the military. Specifically, tracking KPIs, strategic planning, personnel development plans, standardization, TPM, and 5S were all already ingrained in me from my military days. The transition to Lean was an easy one.

How and why did you start blogging or writing about Lean?
I left the workforce for a while for personal, family reasons, but never got Lean out of my blood. I started writing a Lean encyclopedia so I would not forget all the lessons I learned. Very soon, the book was over 500 pages with 700 terms in it, and I realized it was not something that could easily be published. I switched to writing a smaller, more focused book, which became Whaddaya Mean I Gotta Be Lean?, something of a Lean survival guide.

I didn’t want to let the other writing go to waste, so it became The Continuous Improvement Companion I mentioned earlier. It was a natural transition to start adding articles to the online reference guide, so now I publish the Gotta Go Lean blog as well.

What does Lean mean to you?
I tend to prefer the term continuous improvement to Lean. It has a lot more staying power. The meaning of Lean has really evolved over the last 20 years or so, and it is far different than it was in its early days. The biggest change was the shift to the office, which required a substantial modification in some of the tools, though not the key driver behind Lean or any other CI effort, for that matter.

It all comes down to problem solving. All of the Lean tools solve a problem. Policy deployment solves communication problems and alignment problems. Kanban solves the problem of stockouts.5S solves the problem of workspaces working against workers. So, I guess that’s the specific answer to the question. Lean is problem solving.

As far as the actual term “Lean”, though, I have nothing against it I just think it will fall out of use in the next 10 or 20 years. The principles behind it will stick around, but we’ll all be calling them something different. As long as it is popular, an is the term people are looking for in search engines, I’ll continue to use it. But the problem solving mentality is far more meaningful to me.

What is the biggest myth or misconception of Lean?
I think the biggest misunderstanding about Lean is that it is often pitched to employees as a way to make jobs easier. The truth is that people in a Lean company work just as hard, if not harder, than those in other companies. The difference is that the time is much more productive, and much less frustrating. Further, Lean tends to eliminate some of the worst aspects of jobs, which, in turn, takes away some of the conflicts between managers and their teams.

So, the energy expended for both a Lean employee and a non-Lean employee might be the same, but the Lean employee would tend to have a higher sense of job satisfaction.

What is your current Lean passion, project, or initiative?
I am in the midst of a multi-year project to build up the most comprehensive set of Lean training materials available in the world. Right now, I’m fleshing out the modules that are currently posted on Velaction with more student guides and DVDs. After that I’ll be adding additional modules.

My Tribute to Stephen Covey

The well-known author, Stephen R. Covey, who impacted the world with his books and self-help products died on Monday, July 16, 2012. Covey died in Idaho Falls, Idaho in the hospital with his wife and all of his 9 children at his side. His death was due to complications from a fall, having lost control of his bicycle on a steep road the previous April.

In order to pay tribute to the contribution Covey has made in my life and career I thought I would highlight several posts that commemorate his thinking:

A Formula for Success explains a simple priority planning model that everyone can use for success based on Covey’s Urgent/Important Priority Matrix.

Visual Task Board Part 1 expands on Covey's urgent and important prioritization matrix to establish a visual task board.

Lean Quote: Empowerment Leads to Success looks at 10 ways to create conditions for more empowerment.

Lean Quote: Applying Active Listening to Engage Others is about active listening tips you can use to understand situations.

Stephen Covey will always be remembered for improving the lives of millions in business, professional and personal ways. How did he influence your life and career? Share your story in memory of Stephen Covey.

Lean, Quality, and Social Responsibility

This month on ASQ's blog Paul poses an important question about making the case for quality and social responsibility.

When executives understand they can save money, reduce risk, and enhance their reputation by being socially responsible–they will. Who better than the quality community to provide the needed education?

In Lean we talk of two main components: Continuous Improvement and Respect for People. In Toyota, Respect for People extends past the staff of the company to the community. Toyota strives to assist the communities where we live and work by supporting local organizations focused on the areas of environment, education and safety. They believe this is there social responsibility and part of their long term (50 years or more) thinking.

Some organizations have misinterpreted social responsibility to be more environmentally conscientious, hence, the recent boom on the “Lean and Green” movement. However, there is much more to social responsibility than a focus on the reduction of environmental waste.

The phrase social responsibility represents a wide-ranging group of concerns that includes environmental impact, corporate citizenship, ethics, stakeholder accountability, community relations, and more. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in Geneva, Switzerland, developed an international standard to help organizations in all industries and sectors understand and address social responsibility issues.

ISO 26000: Guidance on Social Responsibility was launched in 2010.  It defines social responsibility as the “responsibility of an organization for the impacts of its decisions and activities on society and the environment, through transparent and ethical behavior that:
• contributes to sustainable development, including health and the welfare of society;
• takes into account the expectations of stakeholders;
• is in compliance with applicable law and consistent with international norms of behavior; and
• is integrated throughout the organization and practiced in its relationships.”

A basic Lean principle is to create a focus on the customer. We must re-define the ‘customer’ to include society, local communities, and employees’ quality of life of outside the organization. Organizations must deal with the social responsibility factor in all its operations, processes, and partnerships. As Lean exposes additional resources within an organization, explore social responsibility possibilities with those resources.

ISO 26000 also identifies seven subjects that are core to social responsibility: organizational governance, human rights, labor practices, the environment, fair operating practices, consumer issues, and community involvement and development. Lean and quality improvement gives organizations a way to unify their previously discrete efforts to address these issues.

Social Responsibility, like Lean or Quality, is a choice. We must strive to be self-sustaining without impact to society and provide for society.


I’m part of the ASQ Influential Voices program. While I receive an honorarium from ASQ for my commitment, the thoughts and opinions expressed on my blog are my own.