The foundation of Lean is thinking people. Human beings have a set of mental skills that enable them to think thoughts, develop plans, trouble-shoot problems, and experiment with ideas to make things work better. These are the “image-of-God” abilities that we were all created with. Getting people to use their brains AND their hands is […]
What Kind of BRAIN do I Need?
My last few posts have focused on the role of “thinking” in Lean. I’ve said that the core of it is “THINKING People.” In the Lean Business Culture, we don’t just DO the work, we are always thinking about how we can take action to IMPROVE the work. This raises the questions, “What kind of […]
What is “Scientific Thinking?”
“For the purposes of this book we’ll define scientific thinking as a process of deliberately engaging reality with the intent of learning. At the core of scientific thinking is continuous curiosity about a world we will never fully understand, but we want to take the next step to understand a little better. It is a […]
The Root Idea of All Lean Thinking
“The root idea of all Lean thinking is kaizen: continuous, small step-by-step improvements done by the people who do the work themselves.” Toyota experts call this “Kaizen-mind.” It means that we are ALWAYS thinking about how to make our daily work system better. The goal in Lean is to develop “Kaizen-mind in everyone. The quote […]
TPS: “THINKING Production System”
If you’ve studied Lean for a while, you may have seen the abbreviation “TPS.” It usually means “Toyota Production System.” Toyota created the business culture we now call “Lean” in the 1950s and 60s. They simply named it the Toyota Production System. The label “Lean” was first used in the 1980s by American business researchers. […]