Lean 911

Why do Lean transformations fail—and what separates genuine transformation from “Lean theatre”? In this episode of Lean 911 , Mark DeLuzio is joined by Mark Forkun , author of Genba Ikigai – Leading to Serve , for a practical discussion about Lean leadership, leadership habits, problem-solving, culture change, and sustainable business performance . The conversation explores the 16 leadership habit...

Why have so many organizations copied Toyota's tools, yet so few have replicated Toyota's success? In this episode of Lean911, we revisit Steven Spear and H. Kent Bowen's landmark article, Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System, and explore a fundamental lesson: TPS isn't primarily a collection of tools - it's a system for developing scientific problem-solvers. We examine the four rules...

What can Lean leaders learn from a NASCAR pit crew, where three-tenths of a second can mean five car lengths and elite performance depends on five people executing as one? In this episode, we take the lessons from NASCAR’s pit road and translate them directly into Lean Operational Excellence . The surprising lesson is that world-class speed doesn’t come from telling people to work faster. Speed is...

What if the Lean lessons that helped shape one of the world’s most respected business systems could be made available to everyone in your organization—anytime, anywhere, and in virtually any language? In this episode of Lean911, we introduce Lean Horizons Academy, a new approach to building practical Lean capability across the enterprise. Lean Horizons Academy is inspired by the original teachings...

When you build something that stands the test of time, it's tempting to believe you'd do it the same way all over again. But experience has a way of changing your perspective. In this episode, I look back at the creation of the Danaher Business System and share 12 things I would do differently if I were building it today. From placing greater emphasis on management systems over individual tools, t...

What if the biggest transformation in your life begins with a simple shift in perspective—not from believing life is happening to you, but realizing it is happening through you? In this episode, we explore Be The Magic: 4 Phases to Transform Your Life by Manish Chauhan, a practical and deeply reflective guide that blends timeless spiritual wisdom with modern psychology, neuroscience, and real-life...

As Lean Horizons celebrates its 25th anniversary, founder Mark DeLuzio reflects on a quarter century of transformation work across six continents and dozens of industries. In this special episode, Mark examines the evolution—and in some cases, the dilution—of Lean thinking since the early days of the Toyota Production System's global expansion. How did a management system built on scientific think...

A CNC machine crashed on the shop floor. Nathan Corliss walked out as a young supervisor, angry and ready to blame the operator. What happened next became one of the most important leadership lessons of his career. Mark DeLuzio and Nathan talk about the moment that forced Nathan to confront his own behavior as a leader, and how the scars on his knuckles became a permanent reminder to pause, reflec...

This is an unedited replay of a previous Lean 911 episode, originally published on January 13, 2023. We're bringing it back because the issue still causes Lean transformations to stall, drift, or flatline. One of the most misunderstood parts of Lean, Standard Work, is often dismissed as unnecessary. So many companies contend that they are "doing" Lean, but leave Standard Work by the wayside. In th...

In this episode, we dive into the rise, dominance, and controversy surrounding Six Sigma — the corporate improvement system that promised near-perfect quality and became a management obsession across America. From Motorola's statistical revolution to Jack Welch's aggressive rollout at General Electric, Six Sigma evolved from a useful quality tool into what some critics call a full-blown corporate...

Manufacturing Engineers pride themselves on precision, but what if the biggest waste is hiding in plain sight—inside the equipment itself? In this episode, we challenge the status quo: excess feeds, slow speeds, and bloated cycle times that no one questions. Even worse, capital equipment is often purchased without alignment to Lean principles—locking in inefficiency for years. Learn how to look at...

In this powerful episode of Lean 911, Mark DeLuzio sits down with former Air Force fighter pilot and Danaher sales leader Randy Fitzhugh to unpack the real science behind value selling and why most organizations get it wrong. Drawing from his elite military background and executive experience, Randy reveals how sales is a disciplined, repeatable process. Together, they break down the four pillars...

Lean management teaches that standards are the foundation of safety, quality, and improvement . In aviation, those standards take the form of checklists, redundancies, procedures, and strict cockpit protocols designed to prevent human error. In this episode, we examine the tragic aircraft accident that claimed the life of Greg Biffle and his family , and what it reveals about the danger of ignorin...

Mark DeLuzio, the Father of Lean Accounting, tells his experience and observations on how traditional cost accounting will derail a Lean Transformation. In many organizations, Lean transformations don't fail on the shop floor—they fail in the finance office. In this episode, "The CFO vs. Lean: The Fight That Gets Lean Leaders Fired," we examine a pattern that plays out in companies across industri...

In this episode, you'll be able to take away why many "logical" workplace measures and incentives can drive behavior that conflicts with Lean principles, and why comparing work decisions to everyday home-life decisions can make Lean concepts easier to understand and teach. You will hear about various examples, including grocery shopping and volume discounts, which highlight purchase price variance...

A shop floor comment stops everyone in their tracks: the work finally matches what the customer actually needs. That is the spark behind Accidentally Aligned , and it opens a bigger issue most leaders dodge: alignment does not come from posters, audits, or a new playbook. It comes from how leaders behave when the process is broken, and the numbers are ugly. Mark and today's guest, Jason Neal, get...

Most Lean efforts do not stall because people hate improvement. They stall because the system was never built to support it. This episode gives you a fast, practical lens for evaluating whether your organization is built to sustain improvement. You will learn how to recognize common traps that keep Lean efforts stuck, why certain measurement habits create the wrong behavior, and how to distinguish...

Mark DeLuzio discusses how the 2-Bin Kanban is meant to ensure the operator does not run out of parts.  Find out why it should not be used to structure your primary Kanban system.

Mark DeLuzio discusses the confusion that exists in the Lean Community, and the Lean Consulting industry and academia are primarily to blame. Returning to Lean Basics and ignoring distractions like Kata, Gemba Walks, Lean certifications, and other consulting “innovations,” which are designed to sell books and consulting services.

Mark DeLuzio discusses the absence of engineers from the Gemba in both manufacturing and design. He also discusses the sin of engineering, which he calls "Catalogue Engineers."  

Mark DeLuzio discusses how the TPS House is not a set of tools, but a way of thinking, and that the tools of Lean support these principles. Starting with the tools before understanding the principles has proven to be the downfall of many companies starting a Lean transformation.

Mark DeLuzio discusses the dangers of cost-based pricing as well as the various issues encountered when doing so. He introduces the merits of market-based pricing instead.

Mark DeLuzio discusses the dangers of focusing on the lagging indicator of productivity and suggests we turn our attention towards improving our processes, which will, in turn, drive improved productivity.

Mark DeLuzio discusses the institutionalized waste of Mura and Muri, and if left unchallenged, it will derail a Lean transformation.

Mark DeLuzio discusses the errors made when architecting the Danaher Business System and the things he would do differently today.