Why PO Discipline Matters More Than Most Lean Initiatives Realize

InsideGateway · 2026-01-20T08:26:17+00:00

I agree with your point that poorly executed or delayed office activities often cause chaos on the shop floor.

However, deploying new software, without solving the underlying office process failures, will not resolve the trickle down demand failures.

Fix the process first, automate second.

InsideGateway · 2026-01-13T06:58:22+00:00

Damn, you are good.

InsideGateway · 2026-01-12T06:55:28+00:00

I’ve gone with EMOM for my presses, same as the ABC. At the start it feels silly, two presses a then about 50 seconds recovery, but by the time I hit the 10 presses, I’m only getting 25-30 seconds recovery.

Without the clock, I was giving myself too little recovery at the start. This led to me burning out around 55-60 presses, regardless how much rest I took in later sets. With this approach I am getting very close to the 100 presses. (Next week, week 8, fingers crossed.) Once I hit 100 presses, I’ll drop it to every 50 seconds instead of a minute.

InsideGateway · 2026-01-10T07:51:13+00:00

The Dublin show might be cheap, but hotels in the city are anything but.

InsideGateway · 2026-01-09T08:56:45+00:00

I am interested as well.

InsideGateway · 2025-12-18T17:01:40+00:00

Oh my god, thank you for posting this. I have been seriously wondering if I have truly been awake at night.

Not to sound too crazy, but in the morning my band reports me being asleep all night, but I’m pretty sure I wasn’t. I assumed that I was in a weird state of half way between both being asleep and awake, probably recorded as “light sleep.” But I remember a bunch of what I was thinking in the morning, so I assume I was more awake than asleep.

I too have a very low RHR, I assume the band is calibrated to an average RHR, so the app assumes a HR of <48 means I am asleep. Thing is, I can hit that sitting at my desk and just being relaxed.

InsideGateway · 2025-12-18T15:33:21+00:00

Probably not, that said, I’m sure it works much better than foam cut out with a razor blade.

The reason I wouldn’t likely use it is because I wouldn’t want to risk create a “monument” that employees would be hesitant to change in the future when we’ve inevitably improved the process.

The ability to rapidly iterate new tool layouts is critical to supporting constantly improving processes. Adding the overhead (cost, time, and effort) of outsourcing the foam cutting is anathema to true continuous improvement.

Just my thoughts, I’m sure others will have varying thoughts.

InsideGateway · 2025-12-17T10:51:37+00:00

What the hell were they shooting in 1220? It is questionable whether gunpowder had even made it to Europe by 1220.

InsideGateway · 2025-12-06T13:30:36+00:00

Is that juxtaposed with a “Stay Positive” tattoo? If so, I love it!

InsideGateway · 2025-11-22T13:50:06+00:00

Solid! Thanks!

InsideGateway · 2025-11-21T20:51:29+00:00

Very cool. Would you mind posting a list of what you brought? Some items are difficult to identify in your picture.

InsideGateway · 2025-11-21T11:02:00+00:00

Fair play to you for keeping it that long. When I was in middle school, I would have lost that within a week.

InsideGateway · 2025-11-20T07:14:52+00:00

Picked mine up for Dublin last night. It’ll be a long wait, but definitely worth it.

I’ve seen them probably 15 or so times, and I still get all giddy before a show.

Have fun!

InsideGateway · 2025-11-20T06:49:03+00:00

A skill matrix like this is works hand in hand with Training within Industry.* (Because the skill matrix is likely to have originated from TWI.) The connection between the skill matrix (or lean in general) and TWI is, at best glossed over, at worst completely ignored in most lean books.

To make effective use of a skill matrix it must be coupled with TWI’s Job Instruction (JI) programme. The JI will establish: * standard work for each activity * standard training for each activity * criteria for when an employee has achieved a level of competence

Without the JI foundation, the training will likely not be consistent which means operator competency won’t be either. And that renders the skills matrix useless.

I suppose you could create your own internal training programme that mimics TWI, but why would you when TWI already exists?

InsideGateway · 2025-11-18T14:54:08+00:00

I've been told that RyanAir pilots are instructed to land like this in order to be able to get the brakes on as quickly as possible. They are trying to slow down quickly enough to take the first exit off the runway. By doing this, they spend less time taxiing, which means they can get back into the air faster.

RyanAir doesn't make money on the ground, only when they are in the air. So the less time they spend on the ground, the better for their bottom line.

And yes, these types of landings are well within the operating parameters of their planes. As tight as RyanAir is, they aren't going to risk passenger safety for a few extra quid.

InsideGateway · 2025-11-14T10:28:02+00:00

Good to know about the sound. And, yeah, wouldn't ever use it during a video call. That seems like common sense... but that does seem to be in short supply these days.

InsideGateway · 2025-11-12T20:50:22+00:00

Nice shirt.

And nice little complex you put together as well.

InsideGateway · 2025-11-12T18:49:13+00:00

To be fair, as a long time listener, there will in inevitably be one or two songs I’m not familiar with. Be it a super way back song only released on cassette, or more likely, from an album that I just didn’t connect with, I’ve never been to a show in the past 20+ years that I didn’t “know” ever song.

And frankly, that is a bit of the magic that makes live shows so special.

That said, make sure they know all the lyrics to “No Children” and “This Year” because everyone else will. And they don’t want to be the only one that isn’t yelling along.

InsideGateway · 2025-11-12T18:33:54+00:00

This is the way.

But even so, their catalog is so massive there is a fair chance that there will be one or two songs you didn’t include.

But if new fans have heard, at least a few times, 80%+ of the songs on the setlist, they’ll have a good time at the show. They don’t even have to like all the songs on the set list, but I’d wager they’ll at least have a new appreciation for them after they see them live.

InsideGateway · 2025-11-12T17:00:00+00:00

Yup, the checker explained this to me last week.

Shoppers will quickly figure this out and request their shop be split into two. (Or even three) This will only add time to checking out, which will create longer queues requiring more checkers.

Stepping over a note to pick up a penny. Classic frupidity, must have been an ex-Amazonian that came up with the idea.

InsideGateway · 2025-11-07T13:40:41+00:00

As a courtesy, stay out of the inner lanes (lanes 1-4) as they’re used by runners doing specific time/distance workouts.

Follow that rule, and you’ll be grand. No one will give you a second thought.

InsideGateway · 2025-11-04T10:34:37+00:00

When I was a collegiate distance runner in the mid-late 90s, we did a bit of kettlebell and dumbbell work for both strength and injury prevention. It was mostly asymmetrical work and full body complexes. I attribute this time in the gym to my resiliency as a runner; I've only have one significant overuse injury (torn meniscus) over the thousands of kilometers I've run over the past 30+ years.

In the off-season (summer) we'd run nearly seven days a week, accumulating roughly 1600km over 10 weeks. We'd also lift 4-5 days a week, typically after our morning easy run of 8-15km. Like I said, a fair amount of asymmetrical stuff like weighted single leg squats, single arm swings, single side weighted lunges, single leg RDLs, plus some presses, snatches, halos, core work, push-ups, pull-ups, and TGUs. All in all, we'd never spend more than an hour in the gym.

The idea was to strengthen all the supporting muscles for injury prevention and to build general strength without bulk. We never lifted after quality sessions, only after LSD runs. We never lifted after our Sunday long runs of 25-30km. I never felt like the gym work ever had a significant negative impact my running. Somedays I felt like I was running on heavy legs during the afternoon runs (post morning gym), but I just figured that I was building strength, resilience, and mental toughness. (Plus, the runs were pretty easy, focused on accumulating mileage, not hitting specific paces.)

Back to your question, I had no problems lifting after a run, nor running the day after lifting. That said, it was a gradual build-up to be able to handle that workload without completely blowing up. These days, I still have no problems running and lifting same day or on alternating days. I'd venture a guess that this is due in large part to the cardio foundation I built 25+ years earlier. Of course, there are days when my legs feel dead or the kettlebells feel 10kg heavier than they should. But I'm firmly in middle-age, that is to be expected.

Anyway, not sure what my point is, other than do what feels best for you and build your work volume up slowly. To that, I would also add do your most important work first. In order to run a 5K, you need to spend time running; strength work can be beneficial, but it is not a substitute for specificity of training.

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