Art Smalley, Author at Art of Lean

Lean Thinking

Posted on June 24, 2016 by Art Smalley

Part of improvement is indeed related to how you think and interact with others in order to obtain better results. However most organizations struggle to develop this mindset and behaviors in leaders or employees. One of our ten leadership shaping principles in fact is called "thinking patterns". This involves how you personally think, make decisions, act, and communicate with...

Leadership Development

Posted on June 24, 2016September 22, 2016 by Art Smalley

The number one area most organizations struggle with is leadership development. Toyota was lucky to have highly skilled leaders such as Eiji Toyoda, Taiichi Ohno, Fujio Cho, and too many others to name here. These great improvement leaders however were not born with their skill sets. Instead they developed them carefully over time with great practice, effort, and self awareness...

Welcome to Art of Lean

Posted on June 24, 2016June 24, 2016 by Art Smalley

Leadership Development, Lean Thinking, and Continuous Improvement.

Is it Genba or Gemba?

Posted on March 25, 2016September 23, 2016 by Art Smalley

I get quite a few e-mails every year pointing out errors I have made in spelling and punctuation in various speeches or blog posts. And for the record I sincerely appreciate the feedback so I can correct the oversight or error in question. The most common e-mail (by far and away) every year is the suggestion that I have misspelled the lean phrase "Gemba" because I have instead ...

LEI 2016 Transformation Summit

Posted on March 25, 2016June 24, 2016 by Art Smalley

I was asked to give a talk at the recent LEI Transformation Summit in Las Vegas on the topic of "4 Types of Problems" and ways to address each type. The content will be published in a book by LEI later this year. In the mean time for those who asked here is a pdf version of the presentation. Thanks to all who attended and the positive feedback. The link below should enable yo...

Lean Leadership and Special Forces 2

Posted on October 16, 2015October 16, 2015 by Art Smalley

I was honored to receive a request to visit United States Special Operations Command and deliver a talk on Toyota Style Shop Floor Leadership Practices at Camp Mackall outside of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The talk was filmed and a couple of short excerpts were made available for viewing at the following Special Operations Command Website (click for link).

Lean Leadership and Special Forces 1

Posted on October 16, 2015October 16, 2015 by Art Smalley

Lean Conference Brazil 2015

Posted on August 24, 2015June 24, 2016 by Art Smalley

I'll be one of the key note speakers in Brazil this month at a major lean conference in Sao Paulo. The conference theme deals with improving during slow economic times. There will be a mix of attendees from various industries and service sectors. During my 90 minute presentation I will talk about the importance of leadership thinking and "shaping" routines required to drive res...

Lean Coaching Summit: 4 Types of Problems

Posted on August 24, 2015October 16, 2015 by Art Smalley

I gave a presentation at the 2015 Lean Coaching Summit in Seattle Washington earlier this summer. The contents deal with establishing a logical frame work for various types of problems and coaching routines overall. The contents are part of a workbook I am collaborating on with John Shook and the Lean Enterprise Institute. We hope to have it ready to publish by the end of this ...

Improving TWI Part 10

Posted on May 21, 2014September 8, 2014 by Art Smalley

Note: This article is part ten of a ten part series written by Art Smalley in conjunction with the 2014 TWI Summit hosted by Lean Frontiers. Art helped facilitate a meeting of TWI thought leaders that is held each year during the Summit. Following this meeting, Smalley composed his thoughts and opinions in a series of papers aimed to support the TWI community’s body of knowledg...