Adam Lawrence 1/22/26 Adam Lawrence 1/22/26

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!

An ugly looking bug, with four arms and two legs

Adam Lawrence 1/8/26 Adam Lawrence 1/8/26

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.

A child, building a tower with long blocks

Adam Lawrence 11/13/25 Adam Lawrence 11/13/25

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.

A smiling man, holding a sign that says, "OPEN" in his hands, in front of his wedding cake store

Adam Lawrence 10/16/25 Adam Lawrence 10/16/25

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.

Adam Lawrence 3/15/25 Adam Lawrence 3/15/25

Never Tell Someone Their Baby's Ugly

Photo of a small girl, with a frown on her face

Adam Lawrence 3/1/25 Adam Lawrence 3/1/25

My First VSM for a Non-manufacturing Process

The back of a man's head, looking at a board filled with papers and information

Adam Lawrence 2/8/25 Adam Lawrence 2/8/25

Experimenting in Europe

A map of Europe, with a toy airplane resting between Portugal, France, and Spain

Adam Lawrence 1/18/25 Adam Lawrence 1/18/25

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

A woman, from the waist up, who has her arms folded and looks unhappy

Adam Lawrence 1/11/25 Adam Lawrence 1/11/25

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

A team of four people helping each other reach the top of a mountain. Birds flying above them on a bright, cloudy day

Adam Lawrence 12/19/24 Adam Lawrence 12/19/24

My First True Gemba Walk

A factory, with clean floors and equipment. The aisles are clearly marked for pedestrians and mobile equipment

Adam Lawrence 12/5/24 Adam Lawrence 12/5/24

Surviving a Brutal Work Environment

A factory worker, wearing safety glasses and high visibility vest, wiping sweat off of his forehead.

Adam Lawrence 11/7/24 Adam Lawrence 11/7/24

When Someone Knows You Better than You Know Yourself

Two office workers shaking hands in formal office wear.

Adam Lawrence 10/24/24 Adam Lawrence 10/24/24

You're Not in Kansas Anymore

A beer and a pizza sitting on a picnic table, waiting to be eaten and drunk.

Adam Lawrence 10/10/24 Adam Lawrence 10/10/24

Diving into the Deep End

A man diving off of a high dive, into a pool, outdoors.

Adam Lawrence 9/26/24 Adam Lawrence 9/26/24

Zigging and Zagging Along the Way

An outdoor stairwell, positioned on the wall of a metal-sided building.

Adam Lawrence 9/12/24 Adam Lawrence 9/12/24

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!

The necks of three bottles, one orange, one green, and one brown, against a white background.

Adam Lawrence 9/5/24 Adam Lawrence 9/5/24

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.

A series of Formula 1 race cars racing around a track.

Adam Lawrence 8/29/24 Adam Lawrence 8/29/24

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.

A female office worker, sitting in front of her computer, which is displaying a male office worker. They're meeting about something important.

Adam Lawrence 8/15/24 Adam Lawrence 8/15/24

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.

A picture of a Ninja stress reliever that I hand out to all of my team members. It's on a brown desk surface.

Adam Lawrence 7/18/24 Adam Lawrence 7/18/24

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.

Four office workers, two male and two female smiling and discussing something around their laptop computers.

Based in Lancaster Pennsylvania. Serving businesses worldwide.