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.

 

Setting Clear Expectation for Employees

Unclear or misunderstood expectations can lead to a drop in performance, along with conflict between a manager and a team member. Although no one likes a micromanager, most employees appreciate knowing they are on the right track. Setting expectations and communicating employee responsibilities to each new hire can have a long-lasting effect on your business. However, a study by Gallup shows that nearly half of all U.S. employees don’t know what’s expected of them at work.

Here are some tips for setting expectations and finding meaning at work for new and existing employees:

1. Connect Individuals to the Big Picture

Numerous research studies indicate that employees are more likely to find meaning at work if their job helps them achieve some longer-term goals. Typically, this involves a leader understanding the far-reaching goals an employee wants to achieve and helping them see how their work is contributing to that.

It is important to articulate a common goal, not just to harness the collective energy but also to help people build a connection between their work and the organization’s highest aims. People need to know how their work connects to the organization’s vision and what’s in it for them.

This requires reconstructing day-to-day work to the organization’s objective, helping employees understand how a series of low level tasks are related to the bigger picture.

2. Identify Meaningful Progress

We need regular feedback to inform us how we are tracking to motivate us to stay the course. Many of us need to feel that we are making progress and that our work is contributing to something important. Measurement and feedback provide an important sense of momentum which is, critical to increasing performance and motivation.

At work, a lot of measurements can be meaningless for individuals. Help your employees measure what matters to them. Work with them to uncover what makes them feel successful at the end of the day or week. Communicate regularly to employees how far they are expected to go and keep them informed of progress along the way.

Research shows that when people know exactly how they were progressing they have the best performance and least stress.

3. Connect Your Team to the External Customer

Ultimately, organizations have to solve customer problems to stay in business. The reality is you can’t make good customer decisions if you are siloed. Yet, the customer can often get forgotten about as an organization becomes larger. It is important to help your people understand how their work benefits customers.

The best method to do that is for employees to hear firsthand from customers how the organization’s product or service improves their life.

It’s important to help your employees think about who would be worse off if they didn’t do their job.  Reframing for who your work matters can be a powerful motivator to improve our results.

Employees feel most appreciated when you help them feel connected: to purpose, accomplishment, and one another. Communicate their exact role in your organization’s greater purpose—how they make a difference and contribute. And how they fit into their teams and the broader organization. When employees connect to organizational purpose, great work, and their teammates, they feel a higher sense of belonging at work. Successful companies show employees how their efforts play a part in something much bigger than themselves, so they feel more valued by their leaders and by their organization.

Lean Quote: Don't Watch the Clock; Do What it Does. Keep Going

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.

"Don't watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going."   —  Sam Levenson   

Time is the one thing that everybody on this planet has in common. This quote offers a powerful reminder: stop stressing about the passage of time, and focus on steady, consistent progress. Just like the clock ticks forward without pause, we too can keep moving, even when things feel slow or challenging. If you are struggling, keep going, if things are great, keep going, the clock will never stop and neither should you.

Determine one thing that you have put off because you told yourself you don’t have time and get going on it right away.  Sleep a little less, be more efficient, say no to something else, but stop using time as an excuse.  We all have the same amount of it, the only variable is your ability to master it.

When faced with adversity, it is easy to become disheartened and lose sight of our goals. But by staying committed, resilient, and dedicated to our aspirations, we can overcome any obstacle that stands in our path.

Consistency is key in any endeavor we undertake. It is the act of repeatedly showing up and putting in the effort, even when the results may not be immediate or apparent. Just as the clock continues ticking, we too must persistently work towards our goals, regardless of external circumstances or setbacks. Consistency builds discipline, strengthens our resolve, and ultimately propels us towards success.

"Don't watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going," serves as a poignant reminder of the importance of persistence and perseverance in achieving success. By shifting our focus away from the passing time and aligning our actions with the clock's constant movement, we can harness its energy to propel us forward. Embracing patience, consistency, and resilience we can overcome challenges, stay committed to our goals, and ultimately achieve the success we desire. So, let us heed Levenson's wise words and continue to move forward, unwavering in our pursuit of greatness.

Not All Judgement is Bad

The instinct to judge; it's a common reflex we all possess. We're hardwired to evaluate and assess the people and situations around us.

Judgement is a hard-wired mechanism for survival, a natural instinct, and a defense mechanism. Most of us partake in constant judgment of people’s clothing, judgement of people’s words, judgment of people’s actions. However, more often than not it consumes so much of our mental energy unnecessarily.

Judgement seems to be inherent to us humans… Judgement is not always bad, judging people can be a gift when it prompts self-reflection and growth. Constructive judgment can highlight areas for improvement, inspire empathy, and foster deeper understanding of ourselves and others. It serves as a tool for personal development and building healthier relationships, ultimately leading to greater self-awareness and fulfillment.

Here are some of the benefits that can come from our judgments of others…

Self Awareness

Our judgments offer valuable insights, revealing areas in ourselves where we can nurture love, acceptance, and reconciliation. They illuminate opportunities for personal growth, expansion, and release, paving the way for forgiveness and authentic confidence.

Constructive Feedback

When we are busy judging others and we don’t have to deal with ourselves. Feedback is a powerful tool for growth, both personally and as a leader. Invite others to share their thoughts and observations with you. Once you begin listening to learn about another, wonder focuses your attention, and you feel appreciation for another’s experience. You experience empathy; a state of understanding and respect. Put yourself in the shoes of those you lead and imagine how they might be experiencing the challenges they face. Instead of feeling defensive, let empathy stimulate how you respond and act. Remember, feedback is a precious gift that will propel you forward when you open and receive it fully.

Expanded Compassion

When we’re being judgmental, it can remind us about the importance of compassion – for ourselves and others. The things we judge in others (which are always things we judge in ourselves consciously or unconsciously) are simply things we don’t have much compassion for. We can use our judgments as opportunities to expand our capacity for compassion, one of the most powerful emotions we can express and experience in life.

There’s nothing wrong with us being judgmental, it’s a normal aspect of being human. And, while judgments can and do cause a great deal of difficulty and pain in our lives and relationships, especially if we stay unconscious about them, we can use our own judgmental tendency to actually create the kind of life and the kinds of relationships we truly want. There are advantages in our judgments, if we’re willing to do the work necessary and confront them and ourselves with ruthless compassion and vulnerable truth.

Why Being Respectful to Your Coworkers is Good for Business

In “Why being respectful to your coworkers is good for business,” leadership researcher Christine Porath shows how small acts of respect can boost your professional success. Her informative TED Talk explains how rudeness can have a very real, measurable effect on your team’s listening, productivity and motivation. She shares some insights on the performance of different leadership styles, and some tips on how to become a leader who is able to lift others up and provide them with the respect they need to succeed.

“Who do you want to be? It's a simple question, and whether you know it or not, you're answering it every day through your actions. This one question will define your professional success more than any other, because how you show up and treat people means everything. Either you lift people up by respecting them, making them feel valued, appreciated and heard, or you hold people down by making them feel small, insulted, disregarded or excluded. And who you choose to be means everything.”

Incivility affects your business's bottom line. How? Because how you treat the people you work with and the customers you serve impacts how they interact with you. At the very least incivility demotivates the people around you, makes it hard for them to buy into why they should be working with you and, at worst it turns people way. Incivility could literally be the single biggest driver that is sinking your business. In this TED Talk you’ll see that it literally pays to be kind in your business.

My favorite part of the video is there’s empirical data that supports that nice guys (and gals) don’t finish last. It’s the leaders and business owners that demonstrate civility consistently who prove to be the most impactful leaders in their organizations. I absolutely love this! It’s not about how well your sales funnel works, the colors you choose, or any other tactic; it’s about how you treat people that matters most when it comes to finding success.

Lean Quote: Acknowledge The Importance of Other People

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.

"The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated."   —  William James - American Philosopher & Psychologist   

If you want your employees to be happy and productive, you need to give them recognition for a job well done and let them know their work is appreciated and important. In a workplace committed to creating an attitude of gratitude and employee recognition on a daily basis all employees are engaged.

Research has shown that recognition and appreciation is the top driver of employee engagement. Perhaps it seems elementary, but if you want employees who are fully engaged, you need to ensure they are recognized when they do great work and that they know you appreciate their contributions to the organization. Motivated employees do a better job of serving customers well. Happy customers buy more products and are committed to using your services. More customers buying more products and services increases your company's profitability and success.

Showing appreciation to employees begins with simple acts. The impact of recognition magnifies when it carries a personal touch. Personalized recognition speaks directly to the individual, acknowledging their unique contributions and qualities. This customization can transform a generic gesture into a powerful message of appreciation, making the recipient feel singularly valued. The goal is that employees realize the thanks and appreciation are genuine and know that their employers are paying attention to their individual work and efforts. This also serves as a positive reinforcement of the employees’ specific work behaviors.

Other ways for employers to show appreciation to employees are: recognizing an employee’s good work in a meeting; planning periodic social activities (e.g., ordering in lunch, a holiday party); and providing training/progression/promotion opportunities. Employers may also consider implementing formal reward and recognition programs to facilitate sustained employee appreciation. Thoughtfully designed awards that incorporate elements that reflect the recipient’s achievements and personality resonate on a deeper level. They become not just tokens of appreciation but cherished symbols of a moment in time when their efforts were recognized and celebrated.

There are numerous other ways for employers to demonstrate their appreciation to employees, ranging from low-cost actions (i.e., formal employee recognition letters) to those actions and programs that have a more significant financial impact on the organizations (i.e., annual bonus programs).

Regardless of the method used to show appreciation, employers should remember that to positively impact employee engagement, motivation, productivity and retention, the “thanks-giving” should be regular, timely, sincere, applied equally and consistently throughout the organization, and tied to employee performance.

Lean Tips Edition #318 (#3796 - #3810)

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 #3796 – Focus on Gradual Small Changes Instead of Major Shifts

The first advice is to focus on small gradual changes rather than large changes. Small changes can be made quickly, on a daily-basis, and are typically inexpensive. By focusing on small changes, you can remove barriers from just starting a continuous improvement process. This focus will allow your team to reap the benefits of their “small wins” right away. As more and more small changes are applied, your team will see an accumulation of benefits from them. This will give them more confidence to suggest more ideas.

Lean Tip #3797 – Prioritize Ideas that are Inexpensive

By going after the ideas that do not require a large amount of investment, you can remove the financial barriers of your continuous improvement efforts. This process can empower the line worker to suggest and implement ideas that can improve their working process because they know that their changes do not need upper management approval. Some ideas such as reducing waste, eliminating unnecessary steps, and re-organizing in the work processes fall into this category. 

Lean Tip #3798 – Gather Ideas from the People doing the Work

In a Lean and continuous improvement organization employees are your greatest asset and should also be the source of generating new ideas for improvement. No one knows the work better than the person who performs it everyday. No one has more “skin in the game” about the working process than that person. As a result, the best person to suggest ideas for improvement and to implement them is the line worker.

Lean Tip #3799 – Empower Employees for Improvement

Although employees play a vital part in the continuous improvement process, it is management’s role to train and empower them. Most workers are unaware of Lean principles and practices such as 5S, the 8 wastes, value stream mapping, visual management, Kaizen, etc. As a result, they may not realize that many of the processes that they perform everyday and the frustration that they feel at work are due to unnecessary waste. Additionally some workers are modest and reluctant to share ideas. It is management’s role to educate their staff on Lean tools and techniques that can be applied to the continuous improvement process and to help their employees overcome any personal or psychological barrier that prevents them from trying out new ideas.

Lean Tip #3800 – Use Regular Feedback for Improvement 

An effective continuous improvement program needs continuous measurement and feedback. Before you can start, you need to understand the baselines of your organization’s performance. Only by understanding and establishing a baseline can you evaluate new ideas for improving upon it. One effective way of gathering feedback on your continuous improvement efforts is to apply the Plan-Do-Check-Check (PDCA) cycle. The PDCA cycle allows you to scientifically test your experiments. The cycle ensures continuous improvement by measuring the performance difference between the baseline and target condition. This gives immediate feedback on the effectiveness of the change. If the idea was effective, the next cycle of improvement will start with the new baseline and your goal is to move towards a new target condition.

Lean Tip #3801 – Shift Belief to Data Rather than Opinions

All too often, decisions are made based on the opinions of those who management deems the “smartest” on the team.  When they say, “I think...,” this causes executives to base their decisions on the esteem with which they hold that individual, rather than the value and integrity of the suggestion itself.

Instead management executive should seek information that begins with, “The data show…,” which allows any team member to make meaningful contributions to improvement while making fact-based operational decisions.

Lean Tip #3802 – Ensure Buy-In Beyond the Initial Launch 

At the outset of the project, everyone is excited and participates, particularly because management of the manufacturing organization shows keen interest. However the lean journey is a marathon and not a sprint. It is key that management continues to assess, evaluate and promote the lean journey with middle management and operational staff.

Make it clear from the outset that progress will be monitored throughout the journey and that the lean champions within the organization clearly play an important role. 

Lean Tip #3803 – Set Clear Rules of Engagement at the Outset

It has been said many times that we should “begin with the end in mind”.  When the senior executives in the business operations decide they want to undertake a lean journey, it is important that they build the fence and allow the staff to build the house. This can only happen if goals, objectives, expectations, roles, responsibilities and authority are properly assigned and delegated.        

Lean Tip #3804 – Set Up for Success

Help the staff achieve success by pre-identifying some “quick wins” as well as provide opportunities for acceptable failure. With this in place, staff can feel wins and not fear losses or mistakes.

It is certain that there will be missteps along the lean journey, so it is important that the staff knows early on how to handle them when they occur and does not feel the need to bury them in order to avoid persecution by management.

Lean Tip #3805 – Train, Train, Train

There is nothing worse than entering a new responsibility without adequate training and development under your belt. Instead, management can allow for basic training at the outset of the lean journey so that all staff understand the goals and ideals behind lean manufacturing. Then, provision of additional, advanced training to key leaders and project participants allows the team to enhance their abilities and to properly evaluate situations beyond just their past experiences.

Identification of either superior trainers within the operation -- such as a sister company or different location -- or procurement of an external resource to provide this training, is ideal. The training should be widely shared within the organization and not provided to just one individual. The more staff who are trained, the better the results will be.

Lean Tip #3806 – Cultivate a Lean Mindset

The first step on the Lean journey is fostering a Lean mindset across your team. Lean isn’t just about tools and processes; it’s a way of thinking that prioritizes value, efficiency, and continuous improvement. Encourage your team to view every task through the lens of adding value to the customer and eliminating waste. This shift in perspective is essential for building a culture where Lean principles can thrive.

Lean Tip #3807 – Identify and Map Value Streams 

Value stream mapping is a fundamental Lean tool that helps visualize the flow of materials and information through your processes. By mapping out current workflows, your team can identify bottlenecks, redundancies, and wasteful steps that don’t add value. Collaboratively develop a future-state map that reflects streamlined, efficient processes. This exercise not only uncovers inefficiencies but also sets a clear path for improvement.

Lean Tip #3808 – Prioritize and Eliminate Waste 

Lean identifies seven types of waste (transportation, inventory, motion, waiting, overproduction, overprocessing, and defects) that can hinder productivity. Once you’ve mapped your value streams, work with your team to prioritize which wastes to tackle first. Start with the low-hanging fruit—those areas where simple changes can have an immediate impact. As you eliminate waste, you’ll notice improvements in efficiency, quality, and morale.

Lean Tip #3809 – Implement Standard Work Practices

Standard work practices are the foundation of a Lean organization. They ensure consistency, reduce variability, and make it easier to identify problems. Work with your team to develop clear, standardized procedures for critical tasks. Document these processes and ensure everyone follows them. By establishing a baseline of performance, you create a stable environment for continuous improvement. 

Lean Tip #3810 – Encourage Continuous Improvement (Kaizen)

Kaizen, or continuous improvement, is at the heart of Lean. It’s about making small, incremental changes that collectively lead to significant improvements over time. Foster a culture where every team member feels empowered to suggest and implement improvements. Regularly hold Kaizen events to brainstorm and test new ideas. Remember, the goal is to create an environment where improvement is a constant, ongoing process.