Butt Ugly by Friday

Kaizen is messy. It should be so accessible that anyone can do it. So, I use a phrase that I was taught many years ago, to make it okay to try and fail and learn quickly. The phrase? Butt Ugly by Friday!

Creative Problem Solving Happens at any Age

Problems are everywhere. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and give up, thinking there are more problems than solutions. While it’s true we can’t solve everything—and some things are simply out of our control—my advice is to focus on the problems you can solve and be willing to experiment until you get the results you’re looking for.

Working Like a Business Owner

The hourly operator knew more about the science of board drying than anyone on the benchmarking team. This ownership correlated to the best running factory in our company.

The Birth and Quiet Death of Definitions

We created a beautiful, highly complicated product that no one bought. In the end, it led to many great innovations.

Never Tell Someone Their Baby's Ugly

Customer focus, Kaizen Success Stories, Lean, LearningAdam LawrenceMarch 15, 2025Process Improvement Partners LLCTeamwork, Kaizen, Alignment

My First VSM for a Non-manufacturing Process

Customer focus, Kaizen Success Stories, Lean, Learning, ServicesAdam LawrenceMarch 1, 2025Process Improvement Partners LLCCustomer Focus, voice of the customer, Value Stream Mapping

Experimenting in Europe

leadership, Learning, Customer focus, ServicesAdam LawrenceFebruary 8, 2025Process Improvement Partners LLCCustomer Focus, Problem Solving, Voice of the Customer

Aligned Area Owners are the Glue that Holds Things Together - Part 1

Customer focus, Kaizen Success Stories, leadership, LearningAdam LawrenceJanuary 18, 2025Process Improvement Partners LLCArea Owner, Alignment, Accountability, leadership commitment

You Can't Help People if you don't Build Trust

Customer focus, Kaizen Success Stories, leadership, Learning, ServicesAdam LawrenceJanuary 11, 2025Process Improvement Partners LLCTeamwork, Customer Focus, Alignment

My First True Gemba Walk

Customer focus, Innovation, Kaizen Success Stories, Lean, LearningAdam LawrenceDecember 19, 2024Process Improvement Partners LLCGemba walk, Leadership, Voice of the customer, Kaizen

Surviving a Brutal Work Environment

Lean, Learning, Operations, Kaizen Success StoriesAdam LawrenceDecember 5, 2024Process Improvement Partners LLCVoice of the customer, teamwork, Survival

When Someone Knows You Better than You Know Yourself

leadership, Kaizen Success Stories, Customer focus, Lean, Learning, ServicesAdam LawrenceNovember 7, 2024Process Improvement Partners LLCLeadership commitment, Voice of the customer

You're Not in Kansas Anymore

Customer focus, Kaizen Success Stories, Innovation, leadership, LearningAdam LawrenceOctober 24, 2024Process Improvement Partners LLCLeadership, wheel of sustainability, voice of the customer

Diving into the Deep End

Customer focus, Innovation, Kaizen Success Stories, leadership, Lean, Operations, LearningAdam LawrenceOctober 10, 2024Process Improvement Partners LLCInnovation, Safety, Customer Focus, Kaizen

Zigging and Zagging Along the Way

Customer focus, Kaizen Success Stories, leadership, Lean, Learning, ServicesAdam LawrenceSeptember 26, 2024Process Improvement Partners LLCFacilitation, Kaizen, Voice of the Customer

The Bottleneck

The COO loved my work, but couldn't afford to bring me down to his company every week. He challenged me to upskill his employees to take over the Kaizen event responsibilities. Challenge accepted!

Living in the Moment

My project manager liked to tour new places and I found out how much he liked Formula 1 racing. While in Belgium, we found one of the most famous tracks in the world, Nürburgring. We walked in like we owned the place and had a blast taking it all in.

Leadership Commitment in a Challenging Situation

When my team leader came down with COVID, I thought it would be wise to delay the Kaizen event. He wanted to push through and joined us virtually on the first day. Even without him physically in the room with the team, we didn't miss a beat and made some significant improvements.

Go with your Gut

I bought 200 ninja stress relievers to bring to a conference. My marketing mentor thought it was a bad idea. I decided to make the best of my "bad" investment.

Five Tips for Effective Meetings

Do you dread going to meetings? If so, follow these five tips and you'll have more effective meetings and your teammates will thank you.

Stories of leadership, lean, and learning - Process Improvement Partners