Lean Tier Meetings Part 1 – Gemba Walks

Welcome back, Impruvers! In this episode, host Calvin L. Williams kicks off a four-part series on Lean management meetings, starting with what we call “Tier 0”: Gemba Walks.

Have you ever sat in a leadership meeting trying to solve an issue that no one at the table has actually seen? This episode dives into why you must go to the “Gemba” (the place where the work happens) to see problems with your own eyes, rather than relying on assumptions or sanitized data.

In this episode, we cover:

• The true intent of Gemba Walks: They are not for checking up on people, pointing fingers, or finding out who to blame. Instead, they are for identifying what’s wrong with the system and asking how leaders can be of service to remove friction.
• Pulse vs. Response Walks: Understanding the difference between scheduled, daily health checks (Pulse walks) and triggered responses to major deviations (Response walks).
• Metrics that Matter: Why “squid metrics” (Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery, and Service) are crucial, and why you should avoid dangerous “vanity” or “watermelon” metrics that make performance look artificially perfect. Remember: red metrics aren’t a death sentence—they just highlight what needs to be improved next!
• Best Practices: Why Gemba walks should never be solo strolls, the necessity of cross-functional representation to avoid bias, and why every key functional area must be touched during the walk.
• Escalation Paths: How to handle problem-solving during a walk and when to escalate issues up through Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 meetings.

Plus, stick around until the end for an exciting announcement about the new Digital Management Boards feature launching on the Improver platform on July 1st, 2026, which will help digitize visual management boards and automatically roll up data across tiers!

Tune in, show respect to the people doing the hard work, and remember: let’s get better every day.