Gemba Tales Blog

Mapping, whether it's process mapping or value stream mapping can be powerful stuff. It should be a familiar and trusted weapon within your continuous improvement arsenal.

We've all heard the oversimplification that lean is about attacking waste, while six sigma is about reducing variation.

Many months ago, Norman Bodek sent  me a copy of the book,

Truthfully, the only times I have ever heard the term "plausible deniability," other than my own frivolous use, is in movies or TV shows about clandestine operations and the like. Wikipedia says, at least for now,

Plausible deniability refers to the denial of blame in loose and informal chains of command where upper rungs quarantine the blame to the lower rungs, and the lower rungs are often inaccessible, meaning confirming responsibility for the action is nearly impossible...

The lights went out the instant the squirrel died.

They engage in “magical thinking” she said.  They think something is true, or becomes true, just because they say so.  She was describing the leadership approach of her h

Fall colors, at least here in southern New England, are beginning to lose some of their brilliance. It's the normal course as we approach November.

Lean is deep. It's multi-faceted. Heck, even the "simple" stuff is profound.

Recently, I facilitated a very large kaizen team - 16 people. There were many credible warnings from folks in the weeks prior to the event.