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Eliminating Waste

Office workers cheerfully feeding gold bars and watches into an industrial shredder at MAX SPEED, under a banner reading

2 min read

Chatbots: Are We Automating What Should be Eliminated?

Craig Szelestowski: May 26, 2026

A team in HR builds a chatbot to walk hiring managers through a 14-field hiring request form. It takes three months and a meaningful chunk of their...

Lean Yellow Belt Lean Green Belt AI & Automation Better Forms & Web Tools Eliminating Waste Chatbots Streamline Before You Digitize Practical AI

Photograph of a woman in business attire spraying a fire extinguisher at a small fire on a folder on her desk, while two more small fires burn unattended on stacks of paper on desks behind her, in a cluttered vintage office. A whiteboard on the wall tallies four categories:

2 min read

Failure Demand: The Work That Should Never Exist

Craig Szelestowski: February 4, 2026

If you asked most managers where their team's capacity is going, they'd tell you: answering emails, processing requests, attending meetings,...

Lean White Belt Lean Yellow Belt Lean Green Belt Time Management Eliminating Waste Preventable Work (Failure Demand) Capacity & Demand

Overhead view of a cluttered desk, seen through a pair of glasses. Outside the lenses, the papers and files look ordinary; through them, red dots flag hidden waste on an unread report and an overflowing file holder. A note reads 'Warning: once you see it, you can't unsee it.'

3 min read

The 8 Wastes of Lean - Learning to See What's Hidden

Craig Szelestowski: October 21, 2025

Here's a startling fact: studies suggest that only 5-10% of process time adds value1 from the customer's perspective. The other 90-95%? Pure waste.

Lean White Belt Lean Yellow Belt Lean Green Belt Lean Fundamentals Eliminating Waste Productivity 8 Wastes

Security trays overflowing with shoes, belts, a laptop, phone, and keys pile up at an airport checkpoint while the X-ray scanner behind them sits idle with a 'no bags in queue' message. A sign reads 'New scanner. Same line.'

3 min read

Value Stream Mapping - Seeing the Whole Picture

Craig Szelestowski: October 20, 2025

Now that we've learned to define problems clearly and understand what customers truly value (Voice of the Customer), here comes the game changer:...

Lean Yellow Belt Lean Green Belt Lean Fundamentals Eliminating Waste Problem Solving Value Stream Mapping

A squeegee and bucket rest unused on a windowsill beside a spotless window overlooking a city skyline at golden hour. A sign propped nearby reads 'Nothing to clean.'

3 min read

Voice of the Customer - What Does Value Really Mean?

Craig Szelestowski: October 16, 2025

In the previous article we explored how to craft a strong problem statement. But here's another critical question: how do you know which problems are...

Lean White Belt Lean Yellow Belt Lean Green Belt Service Design & Client Experience Lean Fundamentals Eliminating Waste Voice of the Customer