Tag: Lean thinking

  • Steelers & Plaid: The Weight We Never Measured

    Steelers & Plaid: The Weight We Never Measured

    Navigating the hidden work systems quietly transfer to us can be a daunting task. In my experience, changing primary care providers took nearly 200 hours, revealing a deeper issue than just administrative complexity. It was about capacity and the value we create or simply keep the system moving. By observing these patterns, we can apply…

  • Your Efficiency Program Didn’t Eliminate Work. It Moved It.

    Your Efficiency Program Didn’t Eliminate Work. It Moved It.

    Technology was supposed to eliminate friction and free us for higher-value work. Instead, much of the work still exists—it has simply been transferred. From healthcare and customer service to authentication systems and self-checkout lanes, we increasingly perform labor that once belonged to organizations. The question leaders should ask isn’t whether work was eliminated. It’s whether…

  • Steel Toes & Plaid: Visibility

    Steel Toes & Plaid: Visibility

    Most organizations don’t have a talent shortage. They have a visibility problem. When leaders stop seeing the people closest to the work, ideas stop moving, trust erodes, and improvement stalls.

  • A Mug, A Dog, and a Sentence About the Mind: Civilization, Distilled

    A Mug, A Dog, and a Sentence About the Mind: Civilization, Distilled

    A mug, a sleeping dog, and a sentence about the mind reveal what leadership often forgets: safety, agency, and humane systems are built in ordinary moments, not grand gestures.