The Pearls and Turds of Continuous Improvement
Kevin Meyer Blog
by Kevin Meyer
2M ago
My wife and I watched the documentary Stutz for the third or fourth time last weekend. It’s a unique story that always provides something new each time we watch it. The movie features actor Jonah Hill interviewing his therapist Phil Stutz, aiming to expand the knowledge and use of his unique tools. As a mental health therapist, my wife was interested in how she could apply those tools in her own practice. Stutz’s passion and zest for life, even in old age and while dealing with health issues, is inspiring. There’s considerable humor in their discussions, such as when they wonder if they’re ly ..read more
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Leverage the Power of Safety to Drive Cultural Transformation
Kevin Meyer Blog
by Kevin Meyer
2M ago
Earlier this week our good friend Mark Graban at Lean Blog reminded me of an article on how former Alcoa CEO Paul O’Neill focused on improving workplace safety, which contributed to driving growth from $3 billion in 1987 to $27 billion in 1999. “Focusing on worker safety can transform an entire organization and dramatically improve culture, quality, productivity, communication, and ultimately profits.” – Paul O’Neill The article goes into detail on how his ideas caused initial consternation by the board of directors, how the initial improvements created real financial improvements in terms o ..read more
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Continuously Lubricating Processes
Kevin Meyer Blog
by Kevin Meyer
2M ago
As I push through my later 50s I’m finding that I value flexibility and balance far more than strength and endurance.  This is augmented in my case as I’ve always had very high calcium levels, and even after removing dairy and other sources I still deal with calcification of various tendons leading to one shoulder surgery already, and the early onset of some arthritis.  Thankfully no buildup in the arteries, and as a positive I’ve had no cavities. To stay limber and mitigate more calcific tendonitis I’ve been adding more yoga into my daily fitness routine.  Our company healthca ..read more
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The Value of Friction and Inefficiency
Kevin Meyer Blog
by Kevin Meyer
2M ago
Our professional lives are generally consumed by trying to make our processes more efficient to reduce waste and help increase the value we deliver to our customers.  Our personal lives are similarly consumed by trying to find time on our busy schedules to take care of chores, have meaningful time with the family, or to simply take a breath.  We are always in search of new tools and methods to make us more efficient, but the more time we find the more we find to fill it. In an essay in The Wall Street Journal a month ago, Oliver Burkeman describes how “Escaping the Efficiency Trap ..read more
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Reconstructing Degraded Processes and a Yearning for Darkness
Kevin Meyer Blog
by Kevin Meyer
2M ago
Yesterday I returned from almost two weeks in Iceland, which was tacked on to two weeks exploring Maine. Nearly a month away from the home and office, and our first international trip in well over a year. We had a fantastic time with great weather, experiences, and food. Too much food.  Travel takes me out of my comfort zone, exposes and challenges biases and perceptions, and I always return recentered, reinvigorated, and filled with new ideas. Degrading Processes I used to travel a lot, both domestically and internationally, and like many road warriors I had developed habits and process ..read more
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RIP Steve Player, Budget Destroyer
Kevin Meyer Blog
by Kevin Meyer
1y ago
We all know a couple people who have changed the direction of our lives and careers, even with very brief interactions.  Something they said created an a-ha moment that changed our perspective or provided the catalyst that helped draw the connection between thoughts we’ve been mulling for a long time. For me, one of those people was Norm Bodek, who passed away about two years ago.  Norm was instrumental in bringing lean thinking back to the western world, but his particular focus was on the respect for people pillar of lean. I don’t remember the name of the conference or the title o ..read more
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The Good Karma of Lean
Kevin Meyer Blog
by Kevin Meyer
1y ago
Our Gemba Academy team was at The Association for Manufacturing Excellence annual conference in Dallas last week, the largest lean conference in the world.  By all accounts it was a great success, with over a thousand people excited about finally being able to get together in person again to network, participate in workshops, and hear motivating keynotes.  Gemba Academy has exhibited at the conference for over a decade, and what we enjoy most is interacting with our customers and learning how we can further improve. What really excites us are the stories on how we’ve helped change o ..read more
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Thinking Beyond the Brain
Kevin Meyer Blog
by Kevin Meyer
2y ago
I recently finished one of the more remarkable books I’ve read in a long time: The Extended Mind – The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain, by Annie Murphy Paul.  This is a well-researched (over 250 journal citations) yet very approachable book that goes far beyond the usual self-help advice to improve blood flow and chemicals in the brain, instead focusing on how the brain actively uses the external environment as part of the thinking and learning process.  If I had any single complaint, it’s that she does a bit too much “brain function trivia” especially in the latter sections. Pa ..read more
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A Nearly Perfect Iceland Ring Road Itinerary
Kevin Meyer Blog
by Kevin Meyer
2y ago
Apologies to people who subscribe to this blog as this is not my traditional type of content! In June 2021 we visited Iceland for 11 days, driving the famous Ring Road and seeing a variety of sights.  I did considerable research on multiple websites and guide books, and with a couple exceptions it worked out very well.  I thought I’d give back by sharing our itinerary and some other comments.  I won’t include detailed descriptions of each sight, but will link to descriptions by others. General Comments Ring Road or Day Trips? If you have seven days or more, I’d recommend the Rin ..read more
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Humble Questions Before Setting Direction
Kevin Meyer Blog
by Kevin Meyer
3y ago
I’ve long been a fan of Ed Schein, and his book Humble Inquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling is one of my favorite leadership books.  I wrote about Schein several years ago and a colleague recently pointed me to a recent interview where he discusses the ramifications of humility on leadership and strategy.  He begins by contrasting traditional and humble leadership. So many CEOs don’t know how to ask their people what to do. They think they have to own it all. They have to be the big-shot hero, and the world expects them to be. In contrast, there are h ..read more
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