A Fresh Start: Lean Thinking for the New Year
- Goals
- January 1, 2026

In the northeastern part of the US we have received some record snow falls in the last few weeks. All this snow got me thinking on the way home that there are some lean lessons we can take away from these snowstorms. Forecasts are inaccurate. You can only count on actual demand. We have all
READ MOREOn 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
READ MOREMistake-proofing is the use of process design features to facilitate correct actions, prevent simple errors, or mitigate the negative impact of errors. Poka-yoke is Japanese slang for mistake-proofing, a term coined by Shigeo Shingo. Here is a good example of mistake proofing a process by Paul Aker at Fastcap. For more on Poka Yoke visit Mistake
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When I started my journey into Lean Thinking the likes of Taiichi Ohno and Shigeo Shingo, the founders of the Toyota Production System, were gone. I consider myself the next generation of Lean implementers, learning from those who learned from the best. My own sensei worked for Toyota for 30 years and often told stories
READ MOREGo to your bookshelf and pull out one of your old college textbooks. Is the information still current? Now think about your industry – has it changed since you began your career? Think of how quickly your most challenging competitors are moving. Are you keeping up? Clearly, learning is a must. Learning needs to become
READ MOREOn 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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