On Thursday May 23rd, the Peak Team hosted the first ever Peak Academy Awards, an event meant to highlight and celebrate over 250 innovators and process improvements across nine different categories from the City and County of Denver, and other agencies that have worked with Peak in the past year. Categories include: Best 6-S Best […]
by Zack Rosenburg When we (Liz McCartney and I) first realized that sustaining continuous improvement in our work required us to become an organization of problem solvers, we also discovered that we were not thrilled with the phrase continuous improvement, which felt a bit like a hamster on a wheel. And so, with the input of […]
Written by Brion
For every election, the Election Operations Center hires over 1,000 temporary employees to help with election functions. Both processes have a combined total of 30 steps that a new hire must complete, and this is all for a 1-3 days assignment. Meghan Taylor is a Senior Clerk at LA County’s Election Operations Center (EOC), and […]
Written by Brion
The 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, was getting underway when Liz McCartney, a teacher, and Zack Rosenburg, a lawyer, walked into the “hippie tent,” a meal center in Chalmette, LA, run by the unconventionally dressed members of the Rainbow Family. The couple from Washington D.C. had driven down to help victims of Hurricane Katrina […]
Written by Brion
An interview with Ann Mei Chang on her recent book Lean Impact: How to Innovate for Radically Greater Social Good shows how the scientific method and Lean Startup practices help mission-driven organizations scale up the social impact of their work, time, and money. She talked with LEI’s Chet Marchwinski after her keynote at the 2019 […]
Written by Brion
Since October 2015, Brevard County (Florida) Government has worked on institutionalizing Lean Six Sigma as a way to help create a better tomorrow. Leading the Lean Six Sigma initiatives out of the County Manager’s Office is Special Projects Coordinator Katherine Wall. Lean Six Sigma successes to date include: The Development Application Process: Successfully reduced site plan […]
Written by Brion
by Brion Hurley I wrote a book review about the work that Toyota’s TSSC group provided to a nonprofit home rebuilding organization. Their success stories were chronicled in the new book titled, “Getting Home” from the founders of St. Bernard Project Liz McCartney and Zack Rosenburg. Some of the improvements highlighted in the book include: […]
Written by Brion
A Dutch primary school discovered how lean principles could be used to tackle an overburdening (muri) of staff in 10 of its 55 schools. Linda van Driel and Eric Steenbakkers (lean coaches) brought A3 thinking to Zaan Primair, a problem-solving method that would help them to clarify where the overburdening came from. An initial analysis […]
Written by Brion
Kimberly Fleming works for the Retirement Team at King County in the state of Washington. The Position Eligibility Worksheet was a huge pain point for everyone involved in the Retirement Position Eligibility program. The team was tasked with creating value stream maps of processes within their department to identify waste. After reviewing the form with the 8 Wastes in mind, […]
Written by Brion
Metro Caring is Denver’s front-line anti-hunger organization through poverty reduction. Those in need can choose from an array of nutritious foods based on their dietary needs and preferences, and leave with a week’s supply of groceries, including fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, dairy, and lean protein. They agreed to collaborate with members from the […]
Written by Brion