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 12/11/25 Adam Lawrence 12/11/25

Hope is a Precious Commodity

Once the workers in Mississippi saw how quickly the reliability techniques made their line safer and more efficient, they became unstoppable.

An egg, held in the palm of a left hand, in front of a wooden sign that says, "Raising Hope"

Adam Lawrence 8/4/25 Adam Lawrence 8/4/25

The Unexpected Benefit

A chalkboard drawing of a scale, with the right side lower than the left.

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 2/15/25 Adam Lawrence 2/15/25

Macon a Productivity Improvement

A push pin and a pen resting on a document

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 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 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 8/1/24 Adam Lawrence 8/1/24

Getting More than they Bargained for

We were conducting the first 5S Kaizen at the plant. With so much disorganization and clutter, it was affecting the team's changeover performance. When I introduced the concept of Spaghetti Diagrams, it opened their eyes to the possibilities and reduced the changeover time by more than 50%.

A pen is checking through an oval. Three other ovals are already checked.

Adam Lawrence 4/25/24 Adam Lawrence 4/25/24

Like a Pro

One of our team members was shy and reserved and didn't want to present during the report out. We were able to convince him and he was so passionate about our improvements, the audience was inspired.

The back of a male office worker, in a blue shirt and tie, speaking to a blurry room of people listening to him talk.

Adam Lawrence 3/19/24 Adam Lawrence 3/19/24

The Sexiest Man in Pensacola

At the end of every Kaizen event, we created a report out and practiced it before sharing it with the leadership team. Team members were having so much fun that I didn't know if I would still have a job when it was over!

Five coworkers smiling and laughing around a work station.

Adam Lawrence 3/6/24 Adam Lawrence 3/6/24

The First Area Owner at the Furniture Company

When we started the Kaizen event, one of our team members thought we wouldn't accomplish much. In the middle of the week, he stepped up and took charge of a critical improvement area.

A person holding on to a flag, with the sun shining behind him and the flag.

Adam Lawrence 2/28/24 Adam Lawrence 2/28/24

Charting the Course of Critical Information

We thought we had found all of the opportunities in our electronics lab 5S Kaizen. Until we realized that a critical communication was taking so long that the customer was waiting for their results unnecessarily.

A surface of a desk, with a calculator, notepad, computer keyboard, charts, and a pencil on it.

Adam Lawrence 2/21/24 Adam Lawrence 2/21/24

All Night Long

This was my first IT Kaizen event. Our Gemba walk was scheduled from 9 pm Sunday to 1:30 am on Monday. Would the team find breakthroughs and would I be able to say awake?