Continuous improvement Archives

07Dec 2020 by Steve Musica No Comments

Setting Objectives: Measure What Matters

Learn how to write SMART goals and the Objectives and Key Results (OKR) method of setting objectives from the book Measure What Matters. As we approach the end of the year, it is a great time to review best practices for setting new objectives. This post will cover: how to write SMART goals, the Objectives and Key Results (OKR) method of management, tips from the book Measure What Matters, how OKRs and KPIs are related, and setting objectives for personal kaizen. We also have a special BONUS OFFER at the end of the post. Connect with us to learn Google's 5 OKR traps to avoid. SMART Goals We always recommend individuals and organizations set SMART goals. SMART is an acronym that stands for: S = Specific. Be precise in the…

23Nov 2020 by Steve Musica 1 Comment

Theory of Constraints

Summary

This is a summary of the story and key lessons from the 1984 classic The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eli Goldratt that introduced the world to the Theory of Constraints. Goldratt has published multiple editions of the original book, and also adapted the TOC concept to project management theory with his book Critical Chain, published in 1997. The Theory of Constraints (TOC) is an operations management method that views any system as being limited in achieving its goals by a small number of constraints. Every system has at least one constraint – TOC uses a focusing process to identify and eliminate the constraint, therefore raising the output of the entire system. “No Chain is Stronger Than Its Weakest Link” The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement…

27Oct 2020 by Steve Musica 1 Comment

Personal Kaizen: Habits

Lesson

The Lean East team uses proven principles and tools of continuous improvement to support organizational change. The Toyota Motor Corporation developed many of these Lean continuous improvement principles, and one of the core principles of their Toyota Production System (TPS) is “Kaizen.” Kaizen Kaizen is a Japanese word that translates to "change for the good.” Kaizen results from making many tiny improvements to a system or process. The accumulated improvements eventually lead to significant results. Kaizen applies to individuals in the same way it applies to organizations. Many small, repeated gains add up to a significant change; this is the “compound effect” at work. Most of us are too busy to take four weeks off from work to learn a language but we could easily make time for one 5-minute…

14Sep 2020 by Steve Musica No Comments

Solve Problems Before They Happen

Summary

This is a summary of the 2020 Dan Heath book, Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen. Dan and his brother Chip have previously written several bestsellers we have summarized, Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard and Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work. Upstream covers a key Lean continuous Improvement topic: problem solving to root cause. Often the most effective (and least expensive) way to fix a problem is by preventing it from ever occurring. “So often we find ourselves reacting to problems, putting out fires, dealing with emergencies. We should shift our attention to preventing them.” 3 Barriers to Overcome Heath begins by sharing some common thinking barriers we need to overcome as we move upstream. Problem Blindness:…

10Jul 2020 by Steve Musica 2 Comments

7 Habits for Highly Effective People

Summary

The current (July, 2020) racial tension in the United States has led me to recall one of my favorite productivity lessons: “seek first to understand, then to be understood.” This is Habit 5 from Stephen R. Covey’s bestseller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Since Covey’s book is now 30 years old, I wonder how many millennials have never read the book or learned its timeless lessons? Here is a brief summary of the key lessons from the 7 Habits. Stephen R. Covey – R.I.P. Habit 1: Be Proactive Whenever something impacts you, YOU are in control of the response. Effective people choose to take the initiative and act back. The key lesson in Habit 1 is understanding whether you control, influence, or only have concern about an…

12Jun 2020 by Steve Musica No Comments

TRIZ Inventive Problem Solving

Lesson

Is your company interested in improving its products, services, and systems but not sure where to start? It is very likely that a solution to your problem has already been discovered by another industry somewhere in the world. Many of the most innovative companies in the world apply TRIZ inventive problem-solving methods to innovate their products and processes. TRIZ (pronounced “(/ˈtriːz/”) is a Russian acronym that translates to "theory of the resolution of invention-related tasks" and is "a problem-solving, analysis and forecasting tool derived from the study of patterns of invention in the global patent literature." TRIZ history TRIZ was first developed over 50 years ago by Russian inventor Genrich Altshuller and his colleagues. The team studied hundreds of thousands of published patents to discover patterns in the solutions…

28Apr 2020 by Steve Musica No Comments

The Business Case for Lean

Lesson

Five Lean East case studies that show the benefits of Lean Thinking The Lean East team is focused on teaching and applying proven Lean Six Sigma principles and tools to develop high performing organizations. We focus specifically on organizations that provide customers with a service (i.e. healthcare, government, financial, insurance, education, construction, repairs, etc.) rather than a product. Lean Six Sigma has a long track record of success in manufacturing, but only recently became embraced by service-based industries. Some of our clients use Lean thinking as a strategic differentiator – far surpassing their previous results (and their competition). Some of our clients select us because of our expertise in Lean Six Sigma methodology. Other clients have “no idea what this Lean stuff is about.” Our goal in this post is…

23Feb 2020 by Steve Musica 3 Comments

The Difference Between Push and Pull

Lesson

This post focuses on the difference between push and pull in Lean. The goal of Lean is for every process to “flow value at the pull of the customer.” The key terms in this statement are defined below: [caption id="attachment_3048" align="alignright" width="150"] This symbol represents "pull" in Lean value stream mapping[/caption] The ultimate Customer is the end-user – who the product or service is providing value for. The other customer is the next step in the process. What does the next step need, and when do they need it? Flow refers to how value is created in a process. In a “perfect process,” value is created during every step, without any waste (or delay) in the process. Value is defined by the customer (end-user or next step). Every step…

25Dec 2019 by Steve Musica No Comments

Develop Scientific Thinking with Lean Kata

Lesson

This month we are happy to share a simple yet powerful tool that will benefit any organization. It is the Lean Kata approach for developing a culture of scientific thinking at all levels of any organization. What does the word “kata” mean? Kata is the Japanese word for “form” and refers to a detailed, choreographed pattern of movements practiced alone or in groups. Anyone who has ever practiced the martial arts has performed katas in front of a sensei to advance and earn additional belts. The kata allows the trainee to memorize and perfect the movements being executed so they can easily make the movements later using muscle memory. The Lean Kata was developed by Toyota and has been well described in the Mike Rother book, Toyota Kata:…

27Oct 2019 by Steve Musica No Comments

Maximize the benefits of a huddle meeting

Lesson

Workers often complain that meetings waste too much of their day. Work time spent in meetings has increased over the past 20 years, and a Harvard Business Review survey found over 70% of senior leaders believe meetings keep them from completing their work. We at Lean East believe that one meeting is more important than others for a team – the team huddle. Our team has worked with many organizations over the years and supported implementing and improving huddles. A well-run huddle is likely the single most effective meeting a leader will have with a team. We will answer eight common questions about huddles to help leaders and teams maximize the benefits. What is the difference between a huddle and a scrum meeting? Let’s begin by clarifying the difference…