Lean Everyday Innovation A3 - “The Colorado SOLVE Guide is the State of Colorado’s method for Lean problem solving that helps Colorado employees streamline work processes that have become inefficient, freeing up time and resources to perform tasks that really matter to our customers” (State of Colorado OSPB website, 2019). Purpose/Description: The Lean Everyday Innovation (LEI) A3 is intended to guide you … Continue reading Lean Everyday Innovation A3
New Year, New You. - The New Year is just around the corner, which means most are taking a little time to reflect. It's a time filled with renewed energy and drive for change, with many making resolutions and planning strategies for an even more successful 2018. While creating mission statements are traditionally a Lean/Hoshin tool, it also fits well for those who perpetually set New Years Resolutions that don't result in change. 
ADKAR: Cultivating a PI Culture with Change Management - Changing the way people think about innovation is tough, and figuring out where change fails is even harder. ADKAR just might have some of the answers.
The problem with problems. - How do you stop people from painting themselves into a corner, by stating a solution, as a problem...? We explore one simple technique to break-away and start thinking about problems, instead of their symptoms. 
Tired of meetings? Try Lean Coffee Hour - This was a screenshot of my calendar last week. Fairly typical of most professionals I’d say; meetings peppered throughout my day, some a simple 30 minutes where various inputs were needed, others half day problem solving sessions I was either hosting or involved with. It also seems fairly common that this doesn’t describe the whole … Continue reading Tired of meetings? Try Lean Coffee Hour
Process Mapping with Toast - Tom Wujec is famous for traveling around the world in order to fix complex business problems while relating those problems to the process of making toast. Corey Niemeyer and myself thought that this activity would mesh well with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich simulation that we developed. It seems that this simulation has gone … Continue reading Process Mapping with Toast
Denver Zoo Peak Academy - Do you ever wonder how the Denver Zoo uses process improvement to innovate? Watch this short clip. Thanks for sharing Sophia Ernst.
Multitasking Destroys Productivity - The title says it all. Take 3 minutes to see how well you can multitask.
Root Cause Analysis - Getting to the root cause of a problem is the first step taken to understand how to fix the problem. After all, if you do not know what is causing the problem, how are you going to fix it? Ask Why 30 Times Certified Reliability Engineer Mark Galley takes this methodology one step further. Expanding … Continue reading Root Cause Analysis
Lean 101: Kaizen = Continuous Improvement - There is no better video to explain the roots of Kaizen and the Toyota Production System than this one. When delivering food to those affected by Superstorm Sandy in 2012, efficiency was of paramount importance. Watch how Toyota helped streamline one relief effort in order to deliver more food, faster. 
Standard Work: Draw a Pig Exercise - If you are wondering why individuals often deliver varied results when given the same instructions