Category: My Journey

People Do If They Can

In my work I often come across frustration from coworkers that people are not doing what they are told or what they are expected to do. This can affect the whole team and often lead to others having to pick up the slack. When this happens it is often costly for the team as a whole when relations break down and motivation suffers. From a managerial standpoint the productivity will suffer along with the team breaking down. The cost is not always apparent at the time but slowly but surely it will come. A classic outcome is when you reach the stalemate argument “I’m not going to do that since no one else is doing it.”

A new perspective

Recently I came across the book “Lost at School” by Ross W. Green on a recommendation. It focuses on how children do what is expected of them if they are able to and the book contains a framework called Collaborative Proactive Solutions (CPS) with the purpose of identifying and working to overcome challenges when the child is not living up to expectations. Immediately I saw the parallel to my own situation and work and found it very enlightening. Now, it is not to say we are all children but similarities in behaviors are quite apparent and we are all human after all.

Are we so different?

I started to look differently into every situation where people were not doing the tasks they were expected to do. Now in the workplace the signs for detecting this is a bit different from the school environment but the general idea is the same. In most cases I realized that what was asked was outside their skill set and outside their comfort zone.

Where children may lack the means to express their inability the adults seem to connect their inability to shame and thus not wanting to showcase this. Rather than ask for help and coaching they try to avoid the task and give various reasons why it has not been done. This is not true for everyone but from my observations not uncommon either.

What can we do to help?

If you notice that a task is not being done when there, in your perspective, has been a good opportunity to do so. Rather than scold or get frustrated. Try to find out what the problem is through empathy and unbiased questions. If the conclusion is that there is a lack of a skill or the right conditions look to how you can achieve this together through training, coaching or other methods. Thus removing the problem as soon as possible. This will not solve all similar situations but may be a good starting point.

Good luck!




A new year and a new theme!

It’s quite embarresing to have your new years post show up in the same shortlist of recent posts as the last new years post. The short of it is that this year did not turn our the way anyone expected. Sure there has been time to study and write but the stress of what is happening in the world has not let me find peace to do so.

Beside this aweful pandemic I have had to adapt to a life without my father. I have welcomed my niece to this up-side-down world. I have worked my ass of at work and still barely keept my head above the waterline.

I am so ready to for a new year and a new start. I will not make promises on how many posts I will make or anything like that. What I will promise is a year that is focused on me, both my mental and physical health. I have danced to close the cliff once more and I don’t like it.

To mark a new begining I have also added a new theme to the website. It feels a little more cosy than the last one and hopefully it will be more enjoyable to write and read here now.

So, to all… a Happy New Year! I hope you have a wonderful year in good health and that you excel in what ever you take on this year.




Why do I feel like the only one?

Lately I have been thining alot about engagement. In a discussion at work it became obvious that I was one of the few who really cared at all about the company vision and goals. Why is that?

Now to set the stage. I am fortunate to work as a teamleader for what I would describe as a above average team. They are excellent at the core tasks and they do what is required of them when it comes to communication and documentation. They always try to set the best conditions for the next shift and the customer is always in focus. What more can one ask?

Well, from my perspective I have every reason to be proud and coming to work is always enjoyable. On the other hand, one thing that inspires me is knowing I work for one of the best companies in our field. A company with lofty environmental goals and a strive to push research and development. When I see our products on the streets or on TV it always put a smile on my face. Why do I feel like the only one?

I try, I really do, to share my view and try to make others see our company with my eyes but I don’t always succeed. I would wish for them to find the same inspiration as I do in what we do. Maybe they are getting there but I just have a head start. It’s hard to know for sure.

It got me thinking, am I being disrespectful to them? Is it really my place to push my view on others even if it is done with the best of intentions? Should I just let it be and keep on with work as usual? It is really hard, when you have found something good you want to share it with others. I will need to think some more on this…




A new year!

After a hiatus of focused university studies combined with full time work. I am back to working on my own development in the area of lean and thus this site.

Today I have added a few phrases connected to measuring throughput in an operation. There is of course more to come and I hope to write a few articles in the coming weeks to dig deeper into some juicy subject.

Hope you are all doing well, see you around!




A milestone on our journey

To my great surprise I realised that the terminology section has grown to 75 words and phrases. That is quite a few and more are coming. I have also updated many of them but I don’t keep track of the number of modifications.

On the journey of learning more about Lean many of the words and phrases have been new to me and it has been my pleasure sharing them with you.

Thank you for stopping by!




Gemba Walks by James P. Womack

Today I have added a book to the book section that I highly recommend!

One of the greatest challenges when it comes to Lean is to adapt the thinking of the iterative continuous improvement was to problem solving. In my opinion this is aided by examples from the real world. It is important though not to see them as guides of how to do but rather ideas on how to approach a problem, how to think in the face of challenges.

Of all the books I have read so far this is one of my favourites. We get to come along with James P. Womack on his journey of going to the Gemba and seeing for himself. A valuable insight in to one of the more known students of Lean.




The journey is hard

Sometimes the journey of learning any new skill is hard. But in my opinion it’s worth it. The hardships and challenges is part of the process and is what ultimately helps you attain new knowledge and wisdom. This is expressed very good in these two quotes.

“If this Lean stuff seems easy you’re probably not doing it.”

James P. Womack

“If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you.”

Zig Ziglar




Always do YOUR best

When talking to people about work and improvements they often comment that they don’t know this or they don’t know that.

In the spirit of Kaizen it is important to remember that you improve yourself in increments just as you improve the process or the product. Strive to better yourself by challenging yourself and always try do to your best. Over time your knowledge and capacity will increase step by step.

Maya Angelou expressed this idea beautifully and as you know by now I am real sucker for good quotations.

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

Maya Angelou



Remember the basics

From the energizer bunny of Lean, Mr. Paul Akers, this gem is reminding us about the absolute basics of Lean.

“Lean is learning to see waste. The moment you begin to see waste, everything else will take care of itself. Until you don’t see waste in everything. You don’t understand lean.”

Akers, Paul



A new section has been added

I want to share a passion of mine, reading. Over time I will be adding more books that I recommend for other students of Lean.

First out is the classics, The Toyota Way and Lean Thinking. These are the books that really got me going and woke my thirst for more.

If you have any recommendations for me you are free to post below.