Flow is built by removing, not adding

Flow improves when delays, approvals, and unnecessary complexity are eliminated from the process.
Lean creates speed through simplification, not through adding more activity.

Great leaders create space, not pressure

Pressure may increase activity, but space creates clarity and better thinking.
Strong leaders remove fear and noise so people can focus, learn, and improve.

...acceptance

We love those who know the worst of us and don't turn their faces away. 

-Walker Percy, author (1916-1990)

Live in the Now....

Present...

T.H.I.N.K to Lead

...mirrors are forgotten

How simple life becomes when things like mirrors are forgotten. 

-Daphne du Maurier, novelist (1907-1989)

...false & true ones

The difference between false memories and true ones is the same as for jewels: it is always the false ones that look the most real, the most brilliant. 

-Salvador Dali, painter (1904-1989)

...only kindness can

Neither genius, fame, nor love show the greatness of the soul. Only kindness can do that. 

-Jean Baptiste Henri Lacordaire, preacher, journalist, and activist (1802-1861)

...you see more in yourself

When you re-read a classic, you do not see more in the book than you did before; you see more in yourself than there was before.
-Clifton Fadiman, editor and critic (1904-1999)

...wear your amateurism

‘Forget about being an expert or a professional, and wear your amateurism (your heart, your love) on your sleeve. Share what you love, and the people who love the same things will find you’. 
- Austin Kleon, Show Your Work (2014) 

...more surprising

Most creativity is a transition from one context into another where things are more surprising. There’s an element of surprise, and especially in science, there is often laughter that goes along with the ‘Aha’. Art also has this element. Our job is to remind us that there are more contexts than the one that we’re in -- the one that we think is reality.
-Alan Kay, computer scientist (b. 17 May 1940)

Patience & Persistence

Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence. 

-Hal Borland, author and journalist (1900-1978)

...waste is growing

“Lean moves. Waste waits.” 
- Lean creates continuous movement of value through the process. Whenever work, material, or decisions are waiting, waste is growing.

Happiness found in...

...from the desk

“You can’t see waste from a desk.” 
- Real problems become visible only where the work actually happens. Distance creates assumptions; observation creates understanding.

...blessed

"When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed."

~ Maya Angelo

...hear reason

Neither great poverty nor great riches will hear reason.
-Henry Fielding, author (1707-1754)

Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence. -Hal Borland, author and journalist (14 May 1900-1978)

Fear Vs. Reality

...renewed in the spending

One must not be mean with the affections; what is spent of the fund is renewed in the spending itself. 

-Sigmund Freud, neurologist, founder of psychoanalysis (1856-1939)

How we spend...

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
-Annie Dillard, author (b. 30 Apr 1945)

....victory for humanity

Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.
-Horace Mann, educational reformer (1796-1859)

Intelligence of a ruler

The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him. 

-Niccolo Machiavelli, political philosopher and author (1469-1527)

..will settle international differences?

Though I have been trained as a soldier, and participated in many battles, there never was a time when, in my opinion, some way could not be found to prevent the drawing of the sword. I look forward to an epoch when a court, recognized by all nations, will settle international differences. 

-Ulysses S. Grant, military commander, 18th US President (1822-1885)

...to improve together

“Exceptional teams don’t just happen—they’re forged through shared purpose, mutual respect, and a relentless drive to improve together.”
- Reflects Toyota’s emphasis on developing cohesive teams.

Decided to grow...

...solve problems at the source

“Great leaders don’t create followers; they inspire others to live the vision, solve problems at the source, and lead by example.”
- Echoes Toyota’s focus on growing leaders who embody the philosophy 

...no matter which side

The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on.
-Joseph Heller, novelist (1923-1999)

Try this...

have...enough

"Gratitude turns what we have into enough."

~ Aesop

war, finally...

War, at first, is the hope that one will be better off; next, the expectation that the other fellow will be worse off; then, the satisfaction that he isn't any better off; and, finally, the surprise at everyone's being worse off.
-Karl Kraus, writer (1874-1936)

...deadline

I don't need time. What I need is a deadline. 

-Duke Ellington, jazz pianist, composer, and conductor (1899-1974)