Tim McMahon, Author at aleanjourney

Standardized Work Isn’t the Problem — Our Thinking About It Is 0
- Lean Basics, Quality Magazine
- March 2, 2026
Say “standardized work” in a room full of professionals and you’ll see it immediately: crossed arms, skeptical looks, maybe even a quiet eye roll. Too rigid. Too controlling. The enemy of creativity. At least, that’s the reputation. And yet—standardized work remains one of the most powerful foundations of Lean, quality, and continuous improvement. So
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Lean Quote: Building Bridges to Global Leadership 0
- Change Management, Lean Quote
- February 27, 2026
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
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Lean Roundup #201 – February 2026 0
- Lean Roundup
- February 25, 2026
A selection of highlighted blog posts from Lean bloggers from the month of February 2026. You can also view the previous monthly Lean Roundups here. Good Trouble – Bruce Hamilton describes how “good trouble” in a Lean context refers to employees who challenge the status quo of a Theory X management system—those so-called troublemakers
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Book Review: Go for Third – Leadership Lessons from the Softball Field to the Workplace by Derek Volk 0
- Book Review
- February 23, 2026
In Go for Third, Derek Volk brings together two worlds that might at first seem unrelated—girls’ softball and running a successful manufacturing business—to offer leadership insights that are both accessible and actionable. According to the book’s description, the lessons Volk learned coaching softball and leading his company, Volk Packaging Corporation, translate into something much
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