Former Toyota Leader Chris Harris Discussing Lean Workforces

Episode page

LeanBlog Podcast #34 is a discussion with Chris Harris, from Harris Lean Systems, and co-author of the book Developing a Lean Workforce: A Guide for Human Resources, Plant Managers and Lean Coordinators.

If you enjoy this podcast, I hope you'll check out the rest of the series by visiting the LeanBlog podcast main page. Now that my book manuscript is done, I'm going to get back into regular podcasting, with episodes in the coming weeks featuring Norman Bodek, David Meier, and Jeffrey Liker. Let me know if you have questions for Dr. Liker, using the contact info at the bottom of this post.

Keywords and Main Points, Episode #34

• Chris started working the assembly line at Toyota, then became a production supervisor at both Toyota and a different Tier 1 auto supplier.
• Focusing on the people is key, assuming most people want to do a good job.
• What's the proper role of a “Lean Coordinator”?
• What's the right role for a supervisor or a team leader? How do you make that transition?
• “The same reason Lean succeeds is the same reason it fails…. leadership.”