More and more companies today are on the Lean bandwagon. There are plenty of Gemba Boards, fancy posters, Lean polo shirts, and don’t forget the yellow tape. But when asked about their Kaizen activity, the response is lethargic, at best. Learn how a rigorous and disciplined Kaizen approach is essential to any Lean transformation.

The Production Preparation Process (3P) was invented by Chihiro Nakao, who is known as the Father of Moonshine (FOM). Nakao, one of the original disciples of Taiichi Ohno, (Father of the Toyota Production System) taught us at Danaher and GE how to develop processes that will drive your company to industry-wide competitive advantage. Learn from Jon Boucher, a star pupil and disciple of Nakao, how 3P and Moonshine are that part of Lean that few will ever learn, and why your company should adopt this practice.

All good humor has some truth to it. Please see Mark’s parody on how to get rid of GAN (Japanese for Cancer) from your organization with our new product GAN-AWAY! Just one spray and GAN is removed forever! GAN comes in many forms, including new consulting inventions that pull your attention away from the basics of Lean. Therefore, the title, “Basic” Lean Humor. Enjoy!

Joe Rutz, Managing Director of Lean Horizons Consulting, was instrumental in the development of the Danaher Business System (DBS). Joe brought his experience in information technologies and administration to bring DBS to the next level. Learn from Joe his principles and guidelines as to when to apply information technology to an administrative process and when to not!  Better yet, learn that IT solutions need to work for you, rather than the other way around!

Learn what it takes to be able to call your process a “process.” These 10 Rules of a Process outline the basic framework of a process and, when followed, greatly increase the probability of sustaining and subsequently improving your results. If you focus on the process, the results will follow!

An industry has been created where self-anointed, higher-power “Lean” organizations have convinced companies that their mark of approval is a necessary credential for Lean success. In our opinion, these organizations are shams whose real intent is to generate profits from consulting services, conferences, and publications. Learn why we feel the only mark of approval that matters is from your key stakeholders: Employees, Customers, and Shareholders.

How many times have you attempted to solve a problem and were told you “CAN’T” do something because of customer requirements, specifications, government regulations, supplier guidelines, industry standards, etc.? The list goes on and on. In this episode, learn that these so-called regulations need to be challenged and, many times, are no longer in effect. Your problem-solving efforts will be substandard if you do not challenge the status quo. As Ronald Reagan once said, “Trust but verify!”

Problems can be categorized into three main types. It is helpful to understand whether you have a Type 0, Type 1, or Type 2 problem, since different courses of action may be required for each. Learn the three types of problems and why it is useful to understand the nature of the problem you are trying to solve before embarking on your problem-solving journey.

Most businesses today focus on lagging indicators, while important, are not conducive to proper problem-solving. Learn the difference between leading and lagging indicators and why it is essential to identify and improve the leading indicators if true improvement is to occur.

Poor problem-solving usually begins with a poorly defined problem. When this happens, there are usually many solutions looking for a problem. Listen to Mark DeLuzio describe the basics of creating a meaningful problem statement as well as the pitfalls surrounding problem definition.