Personal Kanban: Mapping Work | Navigating Life

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way. ~ Johnny Nash

Doing the right work at the right time requires us to optimize for the situation, to always be adaptable. If productivity is called for, optimize for productivity. If efficiency or effectiveness are called for optimize accordingly.

Long before R.E. Olds and Henry Ford transformed mass production, Oliver Evans’ fully automated grist mill revolutionized the assembly line process. From its inception it featured continuous flow and respected the value of limiting work-in-process.

we progress towards actualization when we adopt a mindset that minimizes fear and embraces growth.

we go to work, we have little visibility into our co-workers’ actions while at the same time, we offer them little transparency into our own. We are told to do work, but seldom understand why. We crave and deserve context. Without context, being told what to do is a communication failure. We cannot make informed decisions or create a quality produc

Manufactured Emergencies: Routinely responding to emergencies begets more emergencies. Clarity leads to kaizen, which breaks the cycle of emergencies.

there was an individual in the organization who wielded so much control over the fate of a funding request that he was menacingly referred to as “the gatekeeper.” To protect the innocent, we’ll call this person Reginald. A notorious stickler for detail, Reginald tries so hard to control costs that in the end he actually creates waste.

Toyota was able to reap significant benefits by respecting the line workers they had historically undervalued.

Seemingly minor tweaks translate into major results.