May 112 min"Testing Testing" update - Using Using...(#57)Last year, as many of you know, we were busy creating and testing our new Lean Toolkit App SempaiGuide with 6 manufacturers and 20 Team...
Jan 213 minEntering Manufacturing Awards in 2022? - choose wisely (#56)It's all about the strings, not the puppet show Thinking about the year ahead, here are some good reasons to enter Manufacturing Awards...
Nov 8, 20213 minToyota's thinking around Digital Manufacturing (#55)It's all about your people and their skills As you walk the aisles of the Smart Expo and lean in to listen to the sessions during Digital...
Oct 26, 20212 minTesting testing...(#54)As many of you know we, at Sempai, have been busy testing our new Lean Toolkit App (SempaiGuide) with some amazing manufacturers. We all...
Russell WatkinsOct 7, 20212 minLean transformation: “Traveler, there is no road; you make your own path as you walk” (#53)The title of this blog is a line from a poem by the Spanish poet Antonio Machado. He died in 1939 so would have no idea that his poem...
Jan 29, 20214 min6 ways to build strong Industry 4.0 relationships between vendors & manufacturers (#47)"Bridging the gap between Industry 4.0 vendors & manufacturers" As an unintended consequence of my lean work I’ve spent the last 2 years...
Jan 29, 20212 minThe 12 most useful lean things I happened across on Social Media in 2020 (#52)A blog like this would usually be titled "Best of..." but I don't subscribe to the idea of "best" when it comes to knowledge transfer....
Jan 29, 20217 minPart 3 - Reminding a Lexus Dealer Network why Standardised Work matters (#51) Almost done now. If you missed Part 1 click here, Part 2 is here. If not, here's the final scuffle with the UK Director. 30 October I...
Jan 29, 202110 minPart 2 - Reminding a Lexus Dealer Network why Standardised Work matters (#50) If you missed Part 1 click here. If not, here's the continued wrangle with the Dealer Principal. 30 September I wrote to [Dealer...
Jan 29, 20216 minPart 1 - Reminding a Lexus Dealer Network why Standardised Work matters (#49)The downside of growing lean skill is the gnawing certainty that almost all systems are broken, creating varying degrees of pain for...
Jan 29, 20212 minThe most useful lean things I happened across on Social Media in 2019 (#48)A blog like this would usually be titled "Best of..." but I don't subscribe to the idea of "best" when it comes to knowledge transfer....
Jan 29, 20212 minEddie Jones & England Rugby “mate, we’re just trying to get better” (#46)Whatever happens on Saturday in Yokohama, we’re in for a deluge of articles & blogs about the magic of Eddie Jones and the England Rugby...
Jan 29, 20212 minLean, my daughter, International Development & the elusive nature of gems (#45)Along with death & taxes, I may have discovered another certainty in life: you never know what your kids are going to retain as useful...
Jan 29, 20213 minTesting the “Smalley Sieve” – 4 types of Problems & “The Martian” (#44)Problem Solving & Movies are two things I like. The former I’ve been coaching for 20 years; sometimes well, sometimes badly. The latter...
Jan 29, 20213 min"What Do you See?" a deceptive lean question (#43)…about sharpening your eyes but not in a random way. The tweet above was from a photo I took whilst waiting for an old mentee to join me...
Jan 29, 20212 minAristotle’s Kitchen & why none of us really understands lean (#41)This blog should bring a little comfort to lean thinkers, but first let me explain the re-enacted picture above. Having put down my...
Jan 29, 20212 min"Some lean & personal things I learned last year..."(#42)Inspired by Michael Balle's recent Obeya article sharing his mistakes, here are a few of mine from 2018. Less is more so, to keep it...
Jan 29, 20214 min"Physician Heal Thyself" - a thought for all lean thought leaders & bloggers (#40)In today's blog, I present no answers, only a question I have no answer for. In about 5 minutes you'll be contemplating the irony of this...
Jan 29, 20212 minA Lean Coaching Conundrum – squaring the unsquarable circle (#39)First blog of 2018 and I’m sure the suspense has been killing you. This post is about forcing deeper learning in a coaching exchange....
Jan 29, 20213 min“That’ll teach you - Part 2, Good learning starts with a question” (#38)Last week I recounted the story of Gary feeding back to Tony (#37) after his Team Brief. I hinted pretty heavily that neither a...