Lean Blog Audio

The blog postNearly 30 years ago, I had my first real encounter with what not to do as a leader. I was working in a General Motors factory where the culture was one of daily disrespect. Leaders--if you could call them that--were quick to belittle, yell, scream (with spittle flying) at employees on the floor. The lesson I learned wasn't the one they thought they were teaching.This behavior wasn't "tough love" or "just how things are done in manufacturing." It was toxic. And it didn't lead to improved results. It didn't drive engagement. It didn't foster continuous improvement. It certainly didn't build trust. At best, that type of leadership creates short-term compliance. At worst, it drives costly mistakes, disengagement, and deep cultural scars.It was management by intimidation--and it failed. Repeatedly.Fast forward to today, and the evidence is no longer just anecdotal. Organizational psychologist Adam Grant recently wrote in The New York Times:"The evidence

The blog postBefore I departed for my recent workshop tour of Australia and New Zealand, I knew that I would learn things in the process of teaching and facilitating on my favorite topics. I didn't expect to learn about flying koalas, though!I did expect to learn something when I had the opportunity to meet up for lunch with a friend, former Toyota Australia leader Barry McCarthy. Barry's also the chair of this year's AME International Conference in St. Louis. I first met Barry back in 2018 when I went on a Japan Study trip with Barry and the Honsha Consulting team, and I learned a lot from him on that trip (check out my podcast with him about these topics).Toyota and Psychological Safety–A New BookIn recent years, I've come to believe that Psychological Safety is the oft-unheralded foundation of the Toyota Production System and Lean Management. Former Toyota Kentucky leader Mike Hoseus agrees, as we discussed in this Lean Blog Interviews episode — and as mentioned in the book Toyota Culture, that Mike co-aut

Blog postI'm very excited to announce that my latest book, The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation, has been officially selected as a recipient of the Shingo Publication Award by the Shingo Institute (the home of the Shingo Prize for organizations).

The blog post I'm excited to be presenting this webinar on February 12th at 1 pm ET as part of the KaiNexus Continuous Improvement webinar series: The webinar description: “Are you looking for practical ways to eliminate errors and enhance efficiency in your organization? Join us for “Mistake-Proofing in Action: Real-World Examples Across Industries,” an insightful webinar showcasing how organizations across healthcare, manufacturing, and service sectors have successfully implemented mistake-proofing techniques. Discover innovative solutions that prevent errors before they occur, improve safety and quality, and save valuable time and resources. Through inspiring case studies and actionable takeaways, you'll learn how to adapt these proven approaches to your unique challenges. Don't miss this chance to gain practical tools and insights to drive continuous improvement and operational excellence. Register today and see mistake-proofing in action!” You can also register to win a signed copy of my book

The blog post Last Sunday, in Frankfurt, Germany, I took part in a guided walking tour of the city. Our group included a young professional from Australia in his early 20s. He has taken leave from work to travel, backpacking across Europe. We had an opportunity to chat over lunch and a local “apfelwein” (hard cider). He lamented his frustrations at work. He said, “My boss thinks he is giving clear direction to us. Then we do the work our best way… only to be criticized for not understanding the direction.”

Episode page At its core, Lean is about people–respecting them, empowering them, and ensuring their well-being while driving continuous improvement. Recently, GE Aerospace's Lynn, MA, facility provided an inspiring example of what it means to put these principles into action, even under challenging circumstances. Read more about this and/or watch a video at this link: Keep the Line Moving: GE Aerospace's Lynn Facility Is Using FLIGHT DECK to Put Safety First

Episode blog post A sad but true leadership tale: “Unlike most CEOs who rely on their executive team to keep them informed, [redacted] relies on his team to keep him feeling good about himself. And so whenever somebody would tell him something that he didn't know and make it very clear that he wasn't the smartest person in the room on each and every topic, he generally fired them.”

Read the blog post During Katie Anderson‘s #JapanStudyTrip this past November, a participant shared an observation with me that resonated deeply: “The biggest challenge is our blame culture. It's easier for people to do nothing because they don't get in trouble. But if they make a mistake, they get punished. And our company is successful enough that there's not a compelling reason for top leaders to change the culture.” This isn't a story from the U.S., but the feeling is universal. A workplace culture where individuals are punished for mistakes–especially when those mistakes have systemic causes–is a significant barrier to progress. It's a global challenge, and addressing it requires rethinking how we approach leadership and learning.

Read the blog post: https://www.leanblog.org/2024/11/lost-iphone-japan-taxi-tokyo-kindness-culture/ I'm thrilled to be back in Japan for the first time in five years. Today is the start of Katie Anderson's Japan Study Trip (learn more about joining her in May 2025). It's great to be here for another week of learning and great experiences. Little did I know, I'd kick off the trip by nearly losing my iPhone on the streets of Tokyo–a mistake that ended up teaching me a valuable lesson about Japan's culture of trust. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lean-blog-audio/support

The blog post Just over a week ago, I got back from Katie Anderson's Japan Study Trip. It was amazing! I have so much to write about and share. But first, Facebook reminded me of something from exactly ten years ago–the second time I visited Japan with the Kaizen Institute. I asked 2024 ChatGPT to translate this 2014 news story that's pictured below (with me sitting there and taking notes in the front row of the meeting room). See the English text below the image: --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lean-blog-audio/support

The blog post: https://www.leanblog.org/2024/11/surveying-the-lean-global-connection-audience-on-barriers-to-speaking-up/ At yesterday's Lean Global Connection event, I posed a straightforward yet revealing question to the audience: “What keeps you from speaking up at work?” The responses illustrated two of the common barriers. I posed the survey options based on the research of Prof. Ethan Burris, from the University of Texas at Austin, who has found that fear and futility are the top two reasons why people choose to stay quiet. For some, fear stood in the way–the fear of reprisal, being judged, or being seen as a troublemaker. For others, the obstacle wasn't fear but futility–the belief that speaking up wouldn't make a difference. Four people, sadly, said BOTH were barriers. And yet, amidst these challenges, eight people shared that they felt no barriers at all, a testament to the environments they work in. That is the ideal we should all strive for. The survey results line up with the Burris research that

Blog post My whole career, I have worked with the Lean methodology (aka the Toyota Production System). I've just really never done much with Six Sigma. I've read about Six Sigma. I took a Green Belt course when I worked at Dell in the late 90s. I've studied and used statistical methods (especially what I learned in my Industrial Engineering studies and at MIT), but I've never done anything I would call Six Sigma in my career. I have respect for Six Sigma as a discipline, just as if I were a chef, I would have respect for pastry chefs. They can co-exist in the kitchen. You might both use whisks, but you have slightly different training to do different things. These roles aren't interchangeable, and neither are Lean and Six Sigma. That's one reason I get riled up about so-called “Lean Sigma” or “Lean Six Sigma.” Most of the “L.A.M.E.” (Lean As Mistakenly Explained) examples that I see on the interwebs come from “Lean Sigma” discussions, especially on LinkedIn. What are the fallacies that are thrown around? They

How Often Does This Happen? Read the blog post It's a story I've heard too many times. An organization spends years, even decades, entrenched in a top-down, command-and-control culture. In this environment, employees are micromanaged, decision-making is reserved for those at the top, and when things go wrong, the finger-pointing begins. “Blame and shame” becomes the norm. Then, someone decides, “We're going to get Lean.” On the surface, this should be great news. Lean offers proven strategies to improve safety, quality, and employee engagement. But here's the catch: the organization doesn't change how it leads. It still clings to the same top-down mentality that has suffocated the workforce for years. What follows might be described as a superficial Lean transformation. It's probably more of a “Lean effort” (or “Lean hope”) than any sort of transformation. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lean-blog-audio/support

I've played around with ChatGPT before (including in a few blog posts), but the advancements in A.I. technologies are pretty breathtaking. Check out the blog post I recently tried out the new “Notebook LM” tool from Google. I uploaded a PDF of my latest book, The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation, and it was able to generate a realistic-sounding podcast episode about the book. It's like an NPR podcast in tone and style. There's a male A.I. host and a female A.I. host bantering about the book as they recap some of the key points and themes. It's not perfect — they pronounce my name wrong in a few different ways — but it's a fascinating experiment in how to take a really long document and summarize it in a consumable way. They definitely didn't say everything exactly the way I would have stated it. However, the podcast seems to perfectly simulate the discussion that two people might have after both reading and enjoying the book. --- Support this podcast: https://podcaste

Read the blog post When discussing mistakes, it's common to hear terms like “stupid mistake” or “dumb mistake” thrown around, especially when reflecting on our own errors. However, labeling mistakes in this way is unproductive. In The Mistakes That Make Us, one of the key ideas is that we shouldn't label mistakes as “stupid” or “dumb.” Mistakes are a natural part of the human experience, and even the smartest, most capable people make them. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lean-blog-audio/support

Read the blog post “I am never, ever wrong.” That's a statement that should disqualify an applicant from ANY leadership position.True leadership isn't about projecting infallibility–it's about fostering a culture where mistakes are seen as opportunities for learning and growth.Leaders who claim they're never wrong create an environment where fear of failure stifles innovation, and team members are less likely to speak up or challenge ideas. This is the opposite of what effective leadership requires. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lean-blog-audio/support

The blog post Today, I want to share a section from my book, The Mistakes That Make Us. I'm sharing an excerpt here in this post, and I'm also making it available as a podcast episode using an excerpt from the audiobook version. In this book, I explore how mistakes can actually be one of the best ways we learn and grow—whether it’s in business or life in general. The excerpt I’m about to share is from Chapter Three, where I talk about the importance of kindness. Often, we think that being "nice" is enough, but real kindness goes deeper. It’s not just about being pleasant or avoiding conflict; it’s about helping others—and ourselves—grow and improve through constructive action. In this chapter, I also touch on self-kindness, especially after making mistakes. We tend to be our own harshest critics, but kindness towards ourselves is crucial if we want to learn and move forward. If you find this excerpt helpful, I encourage you to check out the rest of the book, The Mistakes That Make Us (including this free sam

I've blogged about this before, but I'm going back to the problems at Starbucks again with today's post. Starbucks has a new CEO who is talking about how the coffee shop experience is broken. Many aspects of the Starbucks mobile ordering process are broken. Well, the ordering process is fine... it's the fulfillment process that needs improving. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lean-blog-audio/support

Read the blog post In many organizations, moving away from a culture of punishment when mistakes are made is a significant leap forward. It signals a shift toward understanding, systems thinking, and improvement. But once you've made that change, what's next? Do we need to replace punitive approaches with something better? If so, what? How do you ensure that your new approach leads to meaningful learning and continuous improvement? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lean-blog-audio/support

Read the blog post A friend of mine–with a long history of Lean and Toyota Production System knowledge practice–recently shared a troubling story about a relative who works at a manufacturing plant. I'll call this factory team member “Guy.” Call me cynical, if you must, but I totally believe this story, so I'm sharing it here. And my friend has zero reason to make this up. Guy's factory has a bonus system in place that's supposed to reward employees for hitting key performance targets each month. That might sound like a good idea on the surface, but here's where it gets dysfunctional: If there are any reported injuries, the entire bonus goes unpaid for the month. I've shared this story verbally with a few people, and they always start smirking or chuckling. They know the answer to this question: What could possibly go wrong? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lean-blog-audio/support