Leadership Archives - aleanjourney

Labor Day Reminder: People Are More Than Resources 0
- Leadership, Respect For People
- September 2, 2026
As Labor Day approaches, many organizations will pause to recognize the contributions of their employees. There will be appreciation lunches, thank-you messages, and reminders about the importance of hard work. While those gestures are meaningful, Labor Day also offers leaders an opportunity to reflect more deeply on the people who make organizations successful every day.
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5 Things AI Can’t Fix (and Why Lean Thinking Matters More Than Ever)0
- AI, Leadership
- August 26, 2026
Artificial intelligence is changing how organizations work. From manufacturing to customer service, leaders are investing heavily in AI to improve productivity, reduce costs, and make better decisions. But AI has one significant limitation: it cannot fix a broken management system. Lean practitioners have understood this for decades. Whether implementing robotics, automation, or digital technologies, one
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Lean Quote: Feedback as Fuel – Using Criticism to Drive Continuous Improvement 0
- Leadership, Lean Quote
- August 21, 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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Stop Trying to Motivate Your Team — Fix the System Instead 0
- Leadership
- August 17, 2026
When performance dips after a disruption—whether it’s a holiday break, organizational change, or shifting priorities—many leaders instinctively reach for motivation. Pep talks, incentives, and renewed pressure often follow. But what if motivation isn’t the problem? As leadership expert Anne Grady suggests, high-performing teams don’t need to be “motivated” back into action. They need clarity, alignment,
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Lean Quote: Benchmarking for Excellence – Raising the Bar in Lean Manufacturing 0
- Leadership, Lean Quote
- August 14, 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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The Leader Who Asks Better Questions 0
- Leadership
- August 12, 2026
Today, let’s focus on one of the most underutilized leadership skills in Lean: questioning. To explore it, we’ll go back over 2,500 years to a man who never ran a company, never held a title, and never wrote a book—yet transformed how the world thinks. Socrates. What does an ancient philosopher have to do with
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