Leadership Archives

Invisible Waste – Removing Friction from the Lean System

Posted by Lawrence M. Miller | Jun 24, 2013 | Corporate Culture, Leadership, Lean Culture, Lean Health Care, Lean Management, Lean Manufacturing, Organization Design and Process Improvement, Organizational Behavior Management, Toyota Production System, Whole-System Architecture | 0

There are two words that are keys to eliminating invisible waste in organizations. These are adaptation and alignment. The failure of organizations to adapt to the dynamics of the external landscape and the failure to align internal systems and behavior both result in wasted energy. They both cause friction, friction between the organization and the environment and friction between members of the organization. Whether it is in a mechanical system or in a human system, friction is wasted energy. Too many leaders and change agents fail to address this form of waste.

Creative Destruction and Transformational Change

Posted by Lawrence M. Miller | Apr 25, 2013 | Corporate Culture, Leadership, Lean Culture, Lean Management, Organization Design and Process Improvement, Toyota Production System | 5

This is about lean management and organizational change. It is about adaptation to disruptive technology and markets. The ability to adapt your organization’s capabilities to changing technology and markets is, in itself, a core competence required of every organization today. And, continuous improvement will not get you there. Disruptive technologies and markets require transformational change, revolutionary rather than evolutionary, not simple problem solving or continuous improvement.

The lean management process or Toyota Production System is founded on continuous improvement. But that continuous improvement is built on top of a stable platform that is aligned with a relatively stable market. Cars still have four wheels, for the most part still have an internal combustion engine; but, they don’t fly and they don’t travel over the Internet. But, what if technology completely disrupted the business model. And, how do you transform to adapt to disruptions?

Fast Cycle Lean and the Rebirth of American Manufacturing at GE’s Appliance Park

Posted by Lawrence M. Miller | Jan 23, 2013 | Corporate Culture, Human Capital, Leadership, Lean Culture, Lean Management, Lean Manufacturing, Organization Design and Process Improvement | 5

The return of jobs by GE to its Louisville Appliance Park is the best evidence yet of a new trend and it is important that every company engaged in manufacturing consider the key elements that make this a sound business decision. It is an example of “macro-lean”, the creation of processes that unite major functions in the organization.

Lean and Meta Principles: The Unity Principle

Posted by Lawrence M. Miller | Dec 6, 2012 | Corporate Culture, Leadership, Lean Culture, Lean Management, Lean Manufacturing, Managing Change, Organization Design and Process Improvement, Organizational Behavior Management | 3

Some companies have engaged in what they think are “lean implementations” by reducing lean to component parts and experimenting with one component over there, another over here, and a third somewhere else. That is guaranteed to fail. The very idea of reducing lean to its component parts fails to “get it.” I believe that the first principle of meta-lean is what I called in a previous book, The Unity Principle. Honda took this principle to heart and sought to apply it in their U.S. operations.

Lean Lessons from the Hawthorne Studies

Posted by Lawrence M. Miller | Nov 2, 2012 | Corporate Culture, Leadership, Lean Culture, Lean Health Care, Lean Management, Lean Manufacturing, Organization Design and Process Improvement, Organizational Behavior Management, Team Development | 4

The Hawthorne studies have been a frequent source of misinterpretation over the years. It happens that they also have significant implications for the implementation of lean practices in organizations.

Understanding the research can help one develop a system that is sustainable and not merely a short term boost in performance. The power of feedback, reinforcement and teamwork are the real lessons of Hawthorne.

Category: Leadership

Invisible Waste – Removing Friction from the Lean System

Creative Destruction and Transformational Change

Fast Cycle Lean and the Rebirth of American Manufacturing at GE’s Appliance Park

Lean and Meta Principles: The Unity Principle

Lean Lessons from the Hawthorne Studies

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The Power of Principles

Team Leadership Curriculum & Certificaton

Essential Skills for the New Manager

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