Category Archives: Expert

The Language of Metrics: Lean Muppets Series Post 4

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Jim Benson

It’s like a really heavy iPhone. Silly aliens! In business, we mistake inanimate objects for our customers, our employees, our teams, and everyone else. Our inanimate objects are metrics. Just like the telephone, they are things we make to convey … Continue reading →

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Mozart’s Record Store: Personal Kanban Anti-Pattern 2: Only One Value Stream

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Jim Benson

  I will not be accused of burying the lead here and say right up front: Your Value Stream Is Wrong And it always will be. This is a good thing, as we work from day to day the steps … Continue reading →

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Planning is Indispensible. Personal Kanban Anti-patterns Series 1

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Jim Benson

In the early 2000s, people discovered how great pomegranate juice is. It’s filled with antioxidants that help us avoid colds and other maladies. Well, no one likes to be sick, so people started buying the juice by the case. Sure … Continue reading →

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The Diffusion of Responsibility

Posted on March 9, 2011 by Jim and Tonianne

When I was an urban planning student at Michigan State University, I was part of a team involved in a large group project. We were writing a downtown redevelopment plan for Albion, a small city in southern Michigan which, like … Continue reading →

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Lean Meetings 2: Semper Gumby!

Posted on February 22, 2011 by Jim and Tonianne

Point of Order! I make a motion to rescind Roberts Rules of Order in their entirety and free us from the inflexible, outmoded, ungainly, and utterly dehumanizing parliamentary procedure! Conversations are contextual. They meander, move in unintended directions, and give … Continue reading →

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Democratize Meetings with Personal Kanban

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Jim and Tonianne

Agendas are so 20th Century. Los Angeles’ Hollywood Hills are known for their exclusive neighborhoods, sprawling estates, and the people who inhabit them. They aren’t (but should be) known for their perilous and serpentine roadways. Among the most treacherous is … Continue reading →

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How I Cook

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Jim Benson

I frustrate people when I give cooking classes. They want measures. They want me to tell them what to do. Cooking isn’t like that. Cooking is about flavor, it’s about texture, it’s about the experience. It’s not about tablespoons or … Continue reading →

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Motivation Through Visualization: Seeing What is Really Important

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Jim Benson

When we wake up in the morning, we have a pretty good idea what we want to get done that day. To make those daily goals explicit, we created the Today (link) column for Personal Kanban. Our Personal Kanban serves … Continue reading →

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The Psychology of Kanban (Video)

Posted on January 25, 2011 by Jim Benson

In November, 2010, Jim Benson spoke at the Oredev conference in Malmo, Sweden on Energizing the Individual Coder and the Psychology of Kanban. Clarity Means Completion: The Psychology of Kanban – Jim Benson from Øredev on Vimeo. .

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How We Interact with Kanban (Video)

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Jim Benson

In November, 2010, Jim Benson spoke at the Oredev conference in Malmo, Sweden on Energizing the Individual Coder and the Psychology of Kanban. Personal Kanban: Optimizing the Individual Coder – Jim Benson from Øredev on Vimeo.

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