LeanJourney

This article was originally published in March 2021.    I’ve been asked to help dozens of clients with their lean certification plans at some point in my engagement. How should we design our lean certification program? This is often the question presented to me. Before you get to design, you

Episode26: The accidental St. Patrick’s Day celebration, and exploring new CEO appointments Carol Tomé, Rosalind Brewer, and Jane Fraser   In Episode 26, we accidentally celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with some Irish whiskey, lightly mourn some NCAA March Madness losses, and Jamie Flinchbaugh and Mark Graban welcome guest co-host Adam

The business model canvas, and its sister format the lean canvas, has become cemented in the lexica of entrepreneurship, strategy, and innovation. While its form is familiar to many, its use is quite varied. The relative experience and skill with which it is wielded is a significant factor, but just

Episode 24: “Homemade whiskey cream and vaccination (not to be mixed up)” In Episode 24, Mark and Jamie return to a familiar format, just the two of them chatting over some whiskey. In this episode, they decide to make homemade whiskey cream (more popularly known as Irish cream or just

Episode 5 in the Series – As many people start their new year, they seek ways to lead a more purposeful and productive life. There are many big solutions out there – coaches, books, courses, and more. But through my own coaching, I find there are many nuggets, each of

There are many ways that lean thinkers look to signal that true problem solving has been pursued. These are a sort of litmus test for genuine versus fake lean efforts. Some of these are about artifacts, such as “show me your A3”, and some of these are about language, such

Episode 4 in the Series – As many people start their new year, they seek ways to lead a more purposeful and productive life. There are many big solutions out there – coaches, books, courses, and more. But through my own coaching, I find there are many nuggets, each of

Waste is insidious. No matter what plateau of performance we are able to reach, waste creeps back into our work in often imperceptible ways. It’s not just that waste hurts our productivity and our profits, but it squeezes out good work, whether value-adding work or other worthwhile endeavors such as

Episode 3 in the Series – As many people start their new year, they seek ways to lead a more purposeful and productive life. There are many big solutions out there – coaches, books, courses, and more. But through my own coaching, I find there are many nuggets, each of

Digital transformation is a popular phrase in business today. The pandemic has created a massive shift to work from home, remote work, online ordering, and other digital transformation efforts. It has been a frequent topic in strategy forums, webinars, C-suites, and more. There is no question that we are experiencing