Mike Micklewright

Lean trainer and facilitator

Mike Micklewright has been teaching and facilitating quality and lean principles worldwide for more than 25 years. He specializes in creating lean and continuous improvement cultures, and has implemented continuous improvement systems and facilitated kaizen/Six Sigma events in hundreds of organizations in the aerospace, automotive, entertainment, manufacturing, food, healthcare, and warehousing industries. Micklewright is the U.S. director and senior consultant for Kaizen Institute. He has an engineering degree from the University of Illinois, and he is ASQ-certified as a Six Sigma Black Belt, quality auditor, quality engineer, manager of quality/operational excellence, and supply chain analyst.

Micklewright hosts a video training series by Kaizen Institute on integrating lean and quality management systems in order to reduce waste.

Tue, 05/28/2019 - 12:02
5S Is More Than Just a Tool Quality pros should promote lean principles over lean techniques
Wed, 02/15/2012 - 12:58
My monthly newsletter’s theme is “Integrating Lean and Quality.” I call it this because there seems to be somewhat of a common understanding and acceptance that lean and quality have no relationship to each other. 5S is an example of a process that…
Top 10 Signs Your CEO Doesn’t Get Lean Implementation: present but unaccounted for
Wed, 12/14/2011 - 13:53
Lean training and programs are more popular than ever. Implementing lean strategies is all the rage, but has your CEO really seen the lean light? Use these 10 signs as a gauge to find out. 10. He initiated a brand new lean department.
His…
Principles First, Tools Last? If your company is unique, why copy others’ best practices?
Mon, 10/10/2011 - 13:01
Igor Centric, CEO of Dysfuncompany of America Inc., is lolling behind his desk with his legs crossed on top of it. He is staring up at the ceiling with his hands clasped behind his head. ADVERTISEMENT…
Should We Document How to Use the Washroom? How training within industry can help reduce documentation
Mon, 10/03/2011 - 14:33
Those who are cynical toward an ISO 9001-based quality system often ask sarcastic questions similar to, but often more vulgar than, the one in the title of this article. These rude anti-ISOs just don’t understand us quality folks. The issue of…
The Rule of 150 Continuous improvement and innovation work best in small groups
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 10:07
In a 2009 book review for Bukisa.com, a blogger named Khead quoted from Malcolm Gladwell’s book, The Tipping Point (Little, Brown and Co., 2000): “‘In order to create one contagious movement, you often have to create many small movements.’ This is…
Why Trump Is Bad for U.S. Business An inconsistent egotist at the helm of a TV show is a deplorable role model
Tue, 05/10/2011 - 13:02
Editor’s note: This column first ran May 10, 2011, more than five years before Donald Trump was elected president of the United States. We think it's worth reading now not so much for political reasons but rather to emphasize the enduring usefulness…
When ‘Croc of the Month’ Leads to ‘Employee of the Month’ Rewards programs often do more harm than good
Thu, 03/10/2011 - 11:57
Our fascination with rewards systems that attempt to get people to comply with the demands of work and short-term good behavior starts early in school. These systems operate without imparting an understanding of good solid principles for the…
We Gotta Make Quality Cool Again Random thoughts on the quality movement
Tue, 01/25/2011 - 04:30
A few years ago, I mentioned to Clare Crawford-Mason that we need to make quality cool again. Crawford-Mason is the lady who helped bring Deming into public consciousness with her production of the 1979 NBC White Paper “If Japan Can, Why Can’t We…
At the Heart of Steroids is “ROI” Short-term gains, long-term damage
Tue, 11/16/2010 - 05:00
Just imagine for a moment that you are a major league baseball player in 1990. If you wish, you can even choose your name and position. Perhaps you would like to be a pitcher, let’s say, Dodger Lemens, or a hitter, perhaps Marcus McWired or Al…
Is Centralization Anti-Lean? The disperse facets of lean
Wed, 08/25/2010 - 05:30
“To effect the economies, to bring in the power, to cut out the waste, and thus to fully realize the wage motive, we must have big business – which does not, however, necessarily mean centralized business. We are decentralizing.” --Henry Ford “…