7 Habits of Highly Effective Lean Practitioners
- Leadership, Lean Management
- May 20, 2026

The best leaders understand the present is nothing more than a platform for the envisioning of, and positioning for, the future. If you want to lead more effectively, shorten the distance between the future and present. Inspiring innovation and leading change call for more than process– they require the adoption of a cultural mindset. Implementing
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Whether a company has just switched to Lean production or is still using a traditional manufacturing approach, if it does not establish an official improvement time policy, very little improvement will ever happen there. We have seen this everywhere, even in companies which loudly proclaim their commitment to continuous improvement. Little or no actual time
READ MOREA long time reader, Dave, recently asked me for advice on leadership commitment for Lean implementation: Can Lean be successful if you don’t have top down commitment? I currently work for a midsize manufacturer that only like to say they are Lean, when in reality they only have one division attempting. Any advice? In my experience I
READ MORECompanies with poor management practices typically have employees who are disengaged. While a disengaged workforce is a symptom of substandard leadership, just what constitutes bad management? Here are a few problematic practices and signs I believe should be axed: 1. Bad Communication Few things cause employees to tune out faster than a management team that
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I believe when Lean principles are properly understood and applied, the upside for productivity improvements is nearly infinite. I have personally witnessed numerous Lean thinking initiatives that have improved productivity by large amounts (like 40-60%) in short periods of time with minimal expenditures. The Lean track record is well documented by numerous authors. Despite the
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Respect for People is one of the least well known and often under practiced principles of Lean thinking. As a voice in the Lean community I feel a sense of responsibility to try to change that. Showing respect in the workplace is one of the most important traits of a Lean environment. Some of the
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