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Online version of our book, "Whaddaya Mean I Gotta Be Lean?", a survival guide for frontline employees. Contains over 100 strategies for dealing with common problems with continuous improvement activities.

About this book

Whaddaya Mean I Gotta Be Lean? OVERVIEW

This book isn’t just about Lean. It’s really about all forms of continuous improvement; Lean is just the most widely used method...

Foreward

Your future is bright. You may find that hard to believe right now, especially if you are in the middle of a major change. Transitions can be hard and can dampen your spirit. However, you will soon see...

Introduction

If Lean doesn't add something to you personally, it will be hard to get behind it. So, how does it help you?

What's In It For You?

Why is Being Satisfied at Work So Important?

So, What is Job Satisfaction?

How does being satisfied help you?

Most employees are not satisfied

What influences job satisfaction?

Who’s responsible for making you satisfied?

Everyone is Different

How can job satisfaction change?

Managing your Satisfaction Contraption

CHAPTER 1: WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU?

While things that work for employees are nice to have, if something doesn't work for the company, its leaders are unlikely to try it.

What’s in it for your company?

How does job satisfaction increase profit?

How does job satisfaction help managers?

Does job satisfaction increase individual productivity?

What about team productivity?

Why doesn’t your company focus more on job satisfaction?

Is your job satisfied with you?

You are all in it together

CHAPTER 2: WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOUR COMPANY?

Understanding the reason for something always seems to make it easier.

What’s happening in the world?

How can a company respond?

The decision to be Lean

How does the Lean ball get rolling?

So, what’s Lean supposed to do?

Where’s the proof?

CHAPTER 3: WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE LEAN?

In this chapter, we talk about the underlying concept in the book: What Lean is.

Who should read this chapter?

A brief history

The big picture

Say what?

Learning Lean

Waste Not, Want Not

How Does Less Mean More?

Get Organized

What You See Is What You Get

No Pushing!

Can I Take Your Order?

Having High Standards

How Do You Measure Up?

Managing the Metrics

Bigger Is Not Better

Changeover

Even Steven

Don't Touch That

Go With the Flow

The Opposite of Lean

Putting It Into Practice

CHAPTER 4: WHAT IS LEAN?

The Hard Truths About Lean

You, the Consumer, Caused Lean

Lean is Good for You

Resistance is Futile

Lean Can Create Internal Conflict

The Good Old Days Weren’t That Good

Without Lean, Something Else Would Take Its Place

Not Everything Is Lean’s Fault

Lean Success Just Increases Competition

You Work On a Barter System

You Sell to the Company

Everyone Wants More

New Hires Don’t See Things the Same Way You Do

Employees and Managers Shoot at Different Targets

Lean, Like Life, Is Not Always Fair

The Pie Won’t Get Split Up Evenly

Your Pay Is Based On Scarcity, Not Value

Managers Are People, Too

Perceptions Matter More Than Reality

Moving Forward

CHAPTER 5: THE HARD TRUTHS ABOUT LEAN

Whaddaya Mean I Gotta Be Lean?

The Take and Give

Have Hope

Travelling from EVENTS to RESULTS

What’s Happening?

How Do You INTERPRET the World Around You?

Yes, We Have To Discuss Your EMOTIONS

Decisions, Decisions

A Call to Action

Get the Results You Want

Connecting the Chain to Lean

The Next Step

CHAPTER 6: WHADDAYA MEAN I GOTTA BE LEAN?

Mastery

Change the Process

Modify the Events

Adjust your INTERPRETATION

Alter Your EMOTIONS

Make Better DECISIONS

Moving From Thoughts to ACTIONS

Get the RESULTS You Want

Starting the Journey (Note: This is Important!)

Strategy Preview

CHAPTER 7: STRATEGIES FOR SATISFACTION

Thriving in a Continuous Improvement Culture

CHAPTER 8: THRIVING IN A CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT CULTURE

Problem: You don’t know where the company is headed.

Problem: You don’t know why you have to do a particular task. 

Problem: Continuous improvement, by definition, is never finished.

Problem: Leaders abandon Lean when the road gets bumpy.

Problem: A part of your job is harder than it should be.

Problem: Your coworkers are reluctant to help you out when you need support.

Problem: You worry that the bar is set too high.

Problem: You don’t participate in problem solving be-cause you don’t like conflict.

Problem: Quality problems and production issues from other areas show up in your workstation.

Problem: Your ideas don’t seem to get used by your leaders.

CHAPTER 8.1: TRANSITIONING TO CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT VALUES (STRATEGIES) 

Problem: Your eyes glaze over when leaders start throwing around new terms and Japanese words.

Problem: You see problems that need fixing, but your boss just thinks you like complaining.

Problem: You don’t think a problem is getting the resources it needs to fix it.

Problem: You find it hard to get your boss to come to the same conclusions as you do.

Problem: One of the bigwigs asks how things are going, and you’re not sure how, or if, you should respond.

Problem: You need to air grievances with your manager.

Problem: You hear something different from what your boss has said.

Problem: Your boss doesn’t always follow up on promises.

Problem: You have no say in your company.

Problem: You don’t know what to expect with all this Lean stuff.

Problem: You can’t get your manager to understand how much a broken machine, dilapidated computer, or miss-ing tool is costing the company.

Problem: You just don’t believe what your boss tells you about Lean’s capabilities.

CHAPTER 8.2: COMMUNICATING MORE EFFECTIVELY (STRATEGIES)

Problem: You see and hear (and maybe even make) lots of complaints.

CHAPTER 8.3: IMPROVING RELATIONSHIPS WITH PEERS (STRATEGIES)

Problem: Your manager doesn’t seem to really under-stand the Lean tools, and your team is not getting good outcomes.

Problem: Demand picked way up, but staffing isn’t going to be adjusted.

Problem: You don’t like getting checked up on.

Problem: You aren’t sure what to do when a problem halts production.

Problem: You think you have an answer, but other people discover evidence that contradicts your theory.

Problem: You don’t think a Lean tool will work in your area.

Problem: You see a repetitive problem. 

CHAPTER 8.4: USING THE TOOLS (STRATEGIES)

Problem: Your mission each day at work is to survive until quitting time.

Problem: You don’t know how you are going to be evaluated now that you are Lean.

Problem: You worry that Lean reduces your job security.

Problem: You don’t know how to be Lean.

Problem: You can’t seem to remember what you learn in Lean classes.

Problem: You suspect you have started to get a bad reputation with your boss.

Problem: You constantly think about what is going on at work, even when you’re not there.

CHAPTER 8.5: UPGRADING YOUR PERSONAL PERFORMANCE (STRATEGIES)

Set the Standard in Standardization

CHAPTER 9: SET THE STANDARD IN STANDARDIZATION

Problem: Standard Work requires you to share your tricks and secrets.

Problem: Stopwatches are everywhere.

Problem: Your team can’t agree on who should be timed when developing Standard Work.

Problem: You keep running into problems while trying to time for Standard Work.

Problem: You unintentionally perform faster than usual when being timed.

Problem: When you fall behind in your work, coworkers have no way to help you out.

Problem: You and your boss don’t agree on what you do, or how much you do, making it difficult to set a standard. 

Problem: Demand varies widely in the office, making staffing difficult.

Problem: You don’t think Standard Work is effective in the office.

Problem: Standard Work is not sticking.

CHAPTER 9.1: ESTABLISHING STANDARD WORK (STRATEGIES)

Problem: You need help finding ideas for improvements.

Problem: You don’t want to have to change how you do your process.

Problem: You are having trouble getting improvements to stick—whatever you change gets changed back by someone else.

Problem: You don’t know how to go about making changes to Standard Work.

Problem: Doing the same job the same way every day bores you.

Problem: Your boss just took away all of your personal space.

Problem: You don’t want anyone coming in and telling you how to arrange your workspace.

CHAPTER 9.2: KEEPING AUTONOMY AND VARIETY (STRATEGIES)

Problem: Your boss is asking you to produce more than Standard Work says you should be able to do.

Problem: You have the urge to work ahead to prevent problems.

Problem: You have “workaround” processes that cover for problems. 

Problem: You work slower than the rest of your team. 

Problem: A coworker hides the gains that he makes.

Problem: You don’t have time to keep your equipment in tip-top shape.

Problem: Your boss is constantly asking you to do tasks outside of Standard Work.

Problem: Your boss can’t easily get you help during temporary peak periods.

Problem: A Lean office makes you more sedentary.

CHAPTER 9.3: USING STANDARD WORK (STRATEGIES)

What's With All Those Stopwatches?

Under the Microscope

CHAPTER 10: MEASURE UP IN MEASUREMENTS

Problem: You don’t know why something needs to be measured.

Problem: A measurement hasn’t budged in ages.

Problem: Your boss has piles of spreadsheets that he has asked you to take a look at.

Problem: You have identified a problem that should be evaluated.

Problem: The metrics in your area seem to drive the wrong behavior. 

CHAPTER 10.1: SETTING UP METRICS (STRATEGIES)

Problem: Leaders are always stopping by to check on your production board, but you don’t even know what is on it.

Problem: The information your boss (or a project team) needs in order to make a decision about a problem is not available.

Whaddaya Mean I Gotta Be Lean?

Jeffrey Hajek

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