Lean culture is largely defined by, or at least manifested in, engaged and empowered employees practicing voluntary kaizen.

“What makes a personal kanban any better than a to-do list?” asked Julie, crossing out a completed task on her “ta da!” list with exaggerated strokes.

Our fascination with rewards systems that attempt to get people to comply with the demands of work and short-term good behavior starts early in school.

I have long admired and respected Toyota. I have been to its factories, published and written books and articles about its revolutionary production system, known many of its brilliant people, and taught its methods to thousands of students.

Leadership would be easy if it weren’t for those we lead. As any leader or manager knows, getting people to actually want to do the tasks you need them to do can be a challenge.

Jack Welch, the famous and former CEO of General Electric (GE), once said that the markets in which GE competed were “brutally Darwinian.” The expression is apt because competitive markets always enforce a natural selection where only the fittest firms survive.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory requirements (i.e., 21 CFR 211.25 and 820.25) and the quality management standards from the International Organization for Standardization (i.e., ISO 9001) mandate companies to execute and document employee training.

Almost all companies have a sign on a wall stating something similar to “Our employees are our most important asset.” The wording may be slightly altered, and “asset”’ may be replaced with “resource,” but usually there is such a sign posted somewhere on the premises

With so much focus on customers, we often lose sight of our employees and the critical roles they play in our organizations.

The 5 Whys is a well-known root cause analysis technique that originated at Toyota and has been adopted by many other organizations that have implemented lean manufacturing principles.