(See below for how I plan to improve my blog posts.)

What is an “Improvement?”

An improvement is a CHANGE that makes our work easier, safer, faster, or better quality. One way to improve is by changing the steps we follow to do our work. This is called a “process” change. Another way to improve is by re-organizing work areas so our current process steps take less time or are easier to perform. Still another way to improve is to modify the design of our product so that quality is better, cost is less, or production is less difficult. There are other ways to improve, but these are three of the most common ones.

In a regular business, improvements are made mostly by leaders or specialists. In the Lean Business Culture, we believe EVERYONE has the mental and creative ability to make improvements. The Lean approach is to train and involve the entire team in making our work better.

Improving My Blog I began this daily “blog” aiming it at business leaders and owners who are interested in Lean. But I’ve noticed that several of you use these “Juicy Quotes Plus” emails in your regular employee team meetings. Some of my quotes are from books written by highly-educated authors who use big words and long, college-level sentences. This can make it hard for regular people to understand. The issue isn’t brain-power; it’s the kind of reading people are used to.

I’ve decided to write these posts so you can use them in daily team meetings. If I DO select a challenging quote, I’ll follow it with an explanation. I hope this will be an improvement. The content should still be inspirational and informative for leaders and owners. But I will attempt to make it easier for an entire team to understand.

If you have any feedback, please let me know.