Mike Thelen

With the right metrics, SQDCM (safety, quality, delivery, cost, morale) boards can – and should – be used on the floor to enhance strategic development and the power of your Gemba walks.

The Marshmallow Challenge can be used as more than a basic team-building exercise. Multiple rounds with changing rules increase the continuous improvement learnings.

There is a right way to do standard work. Ensure that your organization knows what it is, how to implement it and how to measure its success. Your company’s future may depend on it!

I was recently asked if I was aware of any research on the advantages of hiring people with a “Lean mindset” vs. those with specific industry experience. My response was, regretfully, that I did not know of any documented research. I was then asked, would I prefer that my company hire people with a “Lean […]

Isn’t it amazing how there’s “the next big thing” everyday? Headlines from blogs, sales websites, newspapers, even Twitter and LinkedIn, carry this headline continuously. How many of these “things” really are new? Years ago when I started my continuous improvement journey, I read about Deming and Juran. Quality Circles and SPC were big. Then Total […]

During both prosperous and difficult times, successful businesses naturally look for new ways to improve performance. However, in recent years, as the world economy suffered through one of the worst recessions in history, many companies turned in droves to Lean and other variations of continuous improvement programs to rescue their sagging businesses. But, did they […]