Novayama LLC

A Lean Leadership Pocket Card

I was going through some old files and came across a pocket card we handed out back in 2003 or so. It was used in conjunction with our “how to walk the gemba” coaching sessions that we did with the lean staff, and then taught them to do with leaders. There is a pretty long …

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The Perils of Weekly Toyota Kata Coaching

Outside of the actual operation, the default meeting schedule for most organizations is weekly. This is OK when everyone understands what is expected and the default thinking and behavior is working for you. With Toyota Kata, though, the intent is to practice a routine that is not default thinking or behavior. Yet many organizations fall …

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More About Mistake-Proofing

After yesterday’s post about trucks crashing into the famous 11foot8 bridge and mistake proofing, I got the feeling I should drive home my key point that the problem isn’t with the driver, it is with the environment. As of this writing, Jürgen has recorded 154 crashes of overheight vehicles into the bridge. And I’ll put …

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Mistake Proofing – Getting People’s Attention

Besides being a great source of schadenfreude, Jürgen Henn’s website, 11foot8.com offers some great insight in the difficulty of effective mistake-proofing. Background The clearance between the road and the railroad bridge at 201 Gregson Street in Durham, North Carolina is officially 11 feet 8 inches (3.55 meters). A typical rental box truck is about 12 feet …

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Meta-Patterns: Thoughts for Discussion

I’ll be sending out the Zoom meeting link this (Wednesday) afternoon (May 6, 2020) for the Thursday (11 am Pacific) open discussion on the Meta-Patterns of Innovation. For those who only got email on the original post, this is a direct link to the video I was referencing: https://videopress.com/v/geNgzN4e There are still lots of spots …

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