David Beren

When an organization or group is looking to roll out a Lean Six Sigma program, it’s a good reminder to consider that this combines two very powerful process improvement methodologies. No matter the industry, Lean will play its role as it looks to reduce overall waste, while Six Sigma focuses heavily on reducing variation.  Combining […]

One of the most popular approaches to strategic planning, Hoshin Kanri has been helping companies like Toyota achieve their most important goals for decades. Focusing heavily on continuous improvement, the Hoshin Kanri methodology is pretty straightforward, but this doesn’t mean it’s always launched perfectly.  Launching Hoshin Kanri can be relatively problematic in many ways and […]

Originating from the Japanese term “Gembutsu,” “Gemba Walk” is essentially a lean management practice that has an organization’s leadership visiting the “actual place” where work is done. This might be a factory or an office, but the goal is to give company leadership an inside view of how things are going, as well as enabling […]

One of the world’s most common and best-known quality improvement methodologies, Six Sigma, is seemingly everywhere. Developed in the mid-1980s, it reduces the likelihood of defects and ensures that organizations or businesses use quality management techniques that directly lead to bottom-line profit improvements.  As a result, there is always a question about how directly an […]

No matter what total quality management or quality management system you want to implement, one truth is that leadership will be required for success. No matter why an organization wants to adopt a new process or methodology, if leadership isn’t fully on board, any attempts to change are dead on arrival.  This is no less […]

When you examine the various management philosophies that exist today, there truly is something for everyone. From Six Sigma to Lean to Kanban, there are numerous options for businesses to choose from. Among the choices is the Theory of Constraints, a system introduced in the 1980s by Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt.  In this case, the […]

When most people stop and think about what the Lean methodology is doing in the real world, it’s often viewed as a step-by-step approach to a problem. This means that a company is taking incremental steps toward a fix that is usually the result of identifying a wasteful aspect of its business operations or manufacturing. […]

In the world of Lean Six Sigma, no term may be as familiar and associated with this process methodology as that of a “black belt.” Anyone who is even remotely aware of what Lean Six Sigma is knows that individuals who achieve “black belt” status are change agents and problem solvers who can look at […]

Any instance in which Lean and Six Sigma are matched, like in areas like healthcare, you know there is going to be some major changes taking place. With the Six Sigma methodology already capable of making sweeping changes across different industries like healthcare, it was only a matter of time before Lean Six Sigma began […]

When you think about Business Process Reengineering, you might be thinking about a strategy to organize a business or organization’s workflows better. The goal is that if you are able to reengineer business processes, you are going to find a clearer path toward eliminating waste, which in turn leads to increased profits. Rest assured that […]

In the world of business methodologies and project management, Lean has quickly become one of the most focused and popular. Based on the history of Japanese manufacturing techniques, Lean thinking is a concept that can be applied to various industries worldwide with outstanding success. The best part is that Lean thinking is a proven system […]

The world of Hoshin planning, also known as Hoshin Kanri or more simply as policy deployment, is often considered one of the world’s foremost frameworks for tying together the short-term actions of an organization and its long-term goals. If this sounds pretty simple, it’s because it’s all pretty clear how it should work, but making […]

It won’t come as any surprise to learn that your organization, like hundreds of thousands of others, has the primary goal of making a profit. Whether it’s your business and your goal, or that of individuals who are several levels above you on the hierarchy ladder, generating profits is what’s going to help a company […]

In today’s fast-paced environment, it doesn’t matter if you are the head of an IT desk or someone who works in customer support. Incidents can and will happen. Whether it’s a system crash that impacts inventory management or an angry customer call over a refund or return, these things can snowball and escalate if they […]

In today’s fast-paced business world, there is no shortcut for effective project management, and to say that it’s crucial for success would be an understatement. It’s for this reason that there are multiple business methodologies on the market that organizations, large and small, are turning to to shore up business practices and increase profits. One […]

As the end of the year approaches, it won’t come as any surprise to learn that businesses all over the world are donating lots of time to strategic planning for the next year. These plans are part of critical efforts, especially in a volatile economy, to look at how to break through any ceilings that […]

Have you wondered how some of the best-known startups have scaled up so efficiently? There is a pretty good answer to this question, and it’s generally through Lean Methodology. Companies that have embraced this methodology worldwide have given rise to a whole new way for entrepreneurs to scale their businesses early in their development. Whether […]

It should go without saying that in the grand scheme of corporate life, whether your business is big or small, innovation can be your lifeblood. Whether it’s standing out from the competition or continuing to innovate on a product customers already love, there is so much to be said about consistently coming up […]

One of the most popular tools in corporate arsenals for looking at how everything is working is Value Stream Mapping. Basically, a way to diagram every step that is involved in bringing something to market, it has quickly become fundamental in helping organizations, large and small, identify and eliminate all kinds of waste. […]

No matter what type of business you run and who your customers are, anything you can do to increase overall customer satisfaction is going to work in your favor. Whether it’s delivering faster, offering increased product reliability, or simply providing customer service, all of these can lead to increased loyalty and, in return, […]

The best news you can scream about if you are in business is when you have a clear vision of where you want the company to go and how you want to get there. The problem is that even the clearest vision might fail if you don’t have the right amount of planning […]

In the world of Six Sigma, you have a strategy and methodology that have helped countless businesses grow and achieve more success than they ever thought possible. As one of the best-known quality improvement methodologies, Six Sigma is arguably one of the most common terms in the world of process management. Of course, […]

One of the most important lessons anyone can pick up in the business world is that having an efficient warehouse and inventory management system is a strong sign of success. On the flip side, if your inventory system is running inefficiently, it likely means you are leaving money on the table and have […]

When considering the various business methodologies available today, you have the option to implement Lean, Lean Six Sigma, Six Sigma, Value Stream Mapping, Kaizen, and Hoshin Kanri. The latter is quickly becoming one of the most popular, having originated in Japan during the 1960s and 1970s. It’s quickly become a popular choice over […]