Training, Coaching and Consulting
Lean Management
What happens when your company doesn’t understand “lean”? Since the introduction of lean manufacturing and related concepts like kaizen in the 1950’s, companies everywhere have tried to match the achievements of Toyota. No matter what department – from manufacturing to human resources – scores of managers have tried to emulate the best practices that Deming […]
Lean Six Sigma has proven itself to be an influential and effective strategy, one that improves processes by identifying and removing wasteful practices. This calls into question whether a specific type of leader is needed to drive a company towards lean management, or whether the program itself can be self-led. The most direct application of […]
Achieving Management Excellence Even When Employees Want To Quit It is a well-known fact that many employees who leave a company are not quitting their job, they are quitting their manager. In these cases, an individual has studied and worked hard to get into a position that contributes to his/her career path or life goals. […]
Can a country operate as a company? I don’t mean in a purely capitalist sense, focused solely on profits and market dominance, but instead, can it embrace principles of excellence and lean management even when it does not partake directly in free market economics? Every country depends on an extensive administrative system to keep its […]
As a company grows and moves along its lifeline from start-up into adolescence and then early middle age, it will be inevitable that Management will seek to review all of its processes to take stock of what is working well and what is not. This is the time when concepts such as lean production start […]
Is there a difference between solving a problem and problem-solving? It might seem like pure wordplay, but I will suggest otherwise. In my experience, I have noticed that the first activity, solving a problem, involves taking steps to resolve an issue. It’s a one-off action. Over time, it can become a series of one-time measures, […]
Lean Management approaches are management process that has attracted so much following in the world of business. It is the approach to running an organization supportive of the continuous improvement concept. It is a long-term management approach that systematically seeks achieving small but incremental changes in order to improve quality and efficiency. The objective of lean […]
The improvement of understanding is for two ends: first, our own increase of knowledge; secondly, to enable us to deliver that knowledge to others. – John Locke Lean management daily routines are crucial for success. To make the most out of lean management, the most effective managers know just which tools and habits to […]
A relentless barrage of “why’s” is the best way to prepare your mind to pierce the clouded veil of thinking caused by the status quo. Use it often. -Shigeo Shingo Sometimes everything does not go as you planned. Your best-laid plans may not work out, some tools might break, or wires might get crossed – […]
Amateurs work until they get it right. Professionals work until they can’t get it wrong. – Author Unknown Increasingly, companies are using lean management. Lean management is adopted and implemented by companies throughout the world, in order to solve a problem or take operations to a higher standard. In this article we will look […]
How did it get so late so soon? – Dr. Seuss A stand-up meeting is a quick, to the point meeting that is at the core of the lean management philosophy. Essentially, everyone is standing up throughout the entire meeting which lasts only about 5-10 minutes. When its their turn to speak, they say the […]
A New Word for a New Trend Lean Management originally refers to principles and methods that were developed in the private sector to target manufacturing processes and optimizing them by reducing wastes and improve efficiency. Recently, Lean methods have been applied to a wide range of government organizations too, ranging from our Belgian institutions, […]
What do Walt Disney and Lean thinking have in common? More than you might think. The father of Mickey, Minnie or Snow White was a consummate Lean Thinker long before the methodology became well know. Discover below 5 Lean principles the creator of Disney was following assiduously. 1) Lean Visual Management or How to Optimize […]
Why Does Lean Management fail? Lean Management, from the word “lean” which means something without fat, light and well-balanced, is a philosophy that was initially developed by Toyota for its manufacturing systems. It refers to a complex and sophisticated set of rules, tools and principles designed to pursue performance in productivity, quality, delays and waste […]
How Innovation and Lean Management Work at Harley-Davidson ? WE understand that sometimes, lean management and innovation can hardly coexist. How can you streamline and reduce costs and variation when you’re always developing something new? But we are also glad to let our readers know that it can actually be done; Harley-Davidson has proved to […]