Welcome to my blog, an on-going reflection on Lean philosophy and practices with an emphasis on keeping good jobs close to home.  That’s the mission of my organization, GBMP, a  Boston-based not-for-profit organization with the parochial objective of shipping products overseas rather than jobs.

I am also frequently called “The Toast Guy” from Toast Kaizen DVD fame – a short video introduction to the principles of Continuous Improvement & Lean Manufacturing which I recorded in my kitchen twenty years ago – and which has gone on to sell more than 100,000 copies in 18 languages – much to my surprise. Thank you so much. I am so glad you like it.

The blog name, “Old Lean Dude”, reflects my advanced years, aptly noted in one of the funny parodies of that Toast Kaizen video.

I have been around the Lean scene for a few years – first as a practitioner beginning in 1985 (when it was still TPS) and later (1999) as a consultant, and I have been fortunate to rub elbows with some great early thinkers adn innovators in that time as well as latter day lean innovators. Everyday there is something new to learn and to share. What’s the most important thing I’ve learned about Lean in 25 years? That’s hard to say, but I think GBMP’s logo (look to the top of the page) is very important: Everybody, Everyday.

We learn by doing. Toyota calls it tacit learning. Sometimes the learning is directed by a more experienced person. And sometimes it’s an epiphany arising simply from personal immersion in a problem.

And the learning is for everybody. That’s my target market: everybody. So please stay tuned to Old Lean Dude, and join in when it suits you.