--- title: Lean Tech & AI Journal | Art Smalley description: "Art Smalley is one of the first Americans to work inside Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan, where he learned structured problem-solving from mentors who trained directly under Taiichi Ohno -- a lineage that is genuinely rare. He spent the decades since translating that experience into frameworks practitioners could actually use, authoring Four Types of Problems and co-authoring Understanding A3 Thinking, works that earned him two Shingo Publication Awards and lifetime membership in the Shingo Prize Academy. He is now turning his attention to a different kind of reach: embedding those same frameworks into conversational AI, creating tools that put a structured problem-solving coach in the hands of anyone willing to practice. For Art, the goal isn't to automate the thinking -- it's to make the discipline of good thinking more accessible." --- [![LeanAI mark](https://tech.lean.org/hubfs/raw_assets/public/tech-lean-org/images/lean_AI_logo_wht.png) LeanAI](https://tech.lean.org/) Work With Us expand\_more [groups Lean AI for Teams Team problem solving, with AI in the method. For CI and ops leaders.](https://tech.lean.org/lean-ai-for-teams) [account\_tree Lean AI for Value Streams Your ideal value stream, reached one target condition at a time. For value-stream owners.](https://tech.lean.org/lean-ai-for-value-streams) [Start on your own smart\_toy Lean AI Dojo Free coaching tools arrow\_outward](https://tech.lean.org/dojo) [Technology leaders hub Not forward deployed. Forward developed. arrow\_forward](https://tech.lean.org/for-technology-leaders) [What is Lean AI?](https://tech.lean.org/lean-ai) [Journal](https://tech.lean.org/journal) [lean.org arrow\_outward](https://lean.org) [Book a Discovery Session](https://tech.lean.org/book) menu Work With Us expand\_more [groups Lean AI for Teams For CI and ops leaders](https://tech.lean.org/lean-ai-for-teams) [account\_tree Lean AI for Value Streams For value-stream owners](https://tech.lean.org/lean-ai-for-value-streams) [smart\_toy Lean AI Dojo Start on your own. Free.](https://tech.lean.org/dojo) [hub For technology leaders Not forward deployed. Forward developed.](https://tech.lean.org/for-technology-leaders) [What is Lean AI?](https://tech.lean.org/lean-ai) [Journal](https://tech.lean.org/journal) [lean.org](https://lean.org) [Book a Discovery Session](https://tech.lean.org/book) newspaper The Journal # Lean Tech & AI Journal. Lean thinking for the work AI is changing. Emerging standards for lean in technology and AI, from the companies and coaches testing the way forward. mail ## Get the Journal by email Join 30,000+ practitioners getting new articles as they publish. No spam. Editor's pick ## [![](https://tech.lean.org/hubfs/What%20the%20History%20of%20Lean%20Can%20Teach%20Us%20About%20AI%20Adoption-2-Linkedin%20banner.png) October 28, 2026 What the history of Lean can teach us about AI adoption AI model capabilities are advancing rapidly, but adoption inside established organizations is moving much more slowly. In hindsight, I don’t think that is much of a surprise. Read the article arrow\_forward](https://tech.lean.org/journal/what-the-history-of-lean-can-teach-us-about-ai-adoption) Recent ### [![](https://tech.lean.org/hubfs/Toyota%E2%80%99s%20Investment%20in%20AI%20Capability-1-LinkedIn.png) Toyota’s Investment in AI Capability August 6, 2026](https://tech.lean.org/journal/toyotas-investment-in-ai-capability) ### [![](https://tech.lean.org/hubfs/Prompting%20for%20Problem%20Solving-1-LinkedIn.png) Prompting for Problem Solving July 22, 2026](https://tech.lean.org/journal/prompting-for-problem-solving) ### [![](https://tech.lean.org/hubfs/lean%20tech%20gene%20art%20tyson%20podcast-1-LinkedIn.png) Past, Present, and Future of Lean and AI July 8, 2026](https://tech.lean.org/journal/past-present-and-future-of-lean-and-ai) Every article ## Browse the archive search search Search ### [![](https://tech.lean.org/hubfs/What%20the%20History%20of%20Lean%20Can%20Teach%20Us%20About%20AI%20Adoption-2-Linkedin%20banner.png) October 28, 2026 What the history of Lean can teach us about AI adoption AI model capabilities are advancing rapidly, but adoption inside established organizations is moving much more slowly. In hindsight, I don’t think that is much of a surprise. Read the article arrow\_right\_alt](https://tech.lean.org/journal/what-the-history-of-lean-can-teach-us-about-ai-adoption) ### [![](https://tech.lean.org/hubfs/Toyota%E2%80%99s%20Investment%20in%20AI%20Capability-1-LinkedIn.png) August 6, 2026 Toyota’s Investment in AI Capability Toyota's AI strategy isn't a platform purchase. It's a bet on its own people. Inside the training, certification, and shop-floor communities building capability. Read the article arrow\_right\_alt](https://tech.lean.org/journal/toyotas-investment-in-ai-capability) ### [![](https://tech.lean.org/hubfs/Prompting%20for%20Problem%20Solving-1-LinkedIn.png) July 22, 2026 Prompting for Problem Solving The PDCA loop that every lean person already knows also applies to working with a large language model (LLM), but with Prompt replacing Plan. The model does the Do. Check and Act stay mainly with you. Our previous ... Read the article arrow\_right\_alt](https://tech.lean.org/journal/prompting-for-problem-solving) ### [![](https://tech.lean.org/hubfs/lean%20tech%20gene%20art%20tyson%20podcast-1-LinkedIn.png) July 8, 2026 Past, Present, and Future of Lean and AI Gene Kim, DevOps leader and co-author of Wiring the Winning Organization, joins Tyson Heaton, LEI Executive Director of LeanTech/AI, and Art Smalley, Toyota veteran and LEI advisor, for a lively, enlightening, and ... Read the article arrow\_right\_alt](https://tech.lean.org/journal/past-present-and-future-of-lean-and-ai) ### [![](https://tech.lean.org/hubfs/Lean-tech-whos-thriving-1-LinkedIn-1.png) June 24, 2026 Who Thrives in the AI Workforce? Anthropic and OpenAI are following SpaceX and moving toward massive IPOs in the coming months. Meanwhile, college graduates are booing commencement speakers who even mention AI. At the University of Arizona this spring, ... Read the article arrow\_right\_alt](https://tech.lean.org/journal/who-thrives-in-the-ai-workforce) ### [![](https://tech.lean.org/hubfs/Lean-Tech-PDCA-1-LinkedIn.png) May 27, 2026 Prompt, Do, Check, Act: The New PDCA Every lean person knows PDCA. Plan, Do, Check, Act. It is one of the most familiar disciplines in our field. Read the article arrow\_right\_alt](https://tech.lean.org/journal/prompt-do-check-act-the-new-pdca) ### [![](https://tech.lean.org/hubfs/Art-smalley-second-brain-1-LinkedIn.png) April 29, 2026 The Strange New World of AI: My Second Brain Setup This article went from concept to published webpage on an afternoon walk. I gave my AI assistant the task from my phone, walked, stopped once on a park bench to review the draft and approve it, and pushed it live. ... Read the article arrow\_right\_alt](https://tech.lean.org/journal/the-strange-new-world-of-ai-my-second-brain-setup) ### [![Audience and speakers at Lean Summit](https://tech.lean.org/hubfs/Lean%20AI%20Tech%20Four%20Moments%20from%20the%202026%20Lean%20Summit%20that%20Stayed%20with%20Me-2-LinkedIn.png) March 18, 2026 Four Moments from the 2026 Lean Summit that Stayed with Me I hadn’t attended one of LEI’s lean conferences in over five years. The last one was right before the COVID outbreak shut everything down, and I was honestly curious about what I would find when I walked into the 2026 ... Read the article arrow\_right\_alt](https://tech.lean.org/journal/four-moments-from-the-2026-lean-summit-that-stayed-with-me) ### [![](https://tech.lean.org/hubfs/designing.png) February 11, 2026 Management: Designing the System Where People and AI Work Together In previous articles in this four-part series, we explored why the impact of AI varies so widely across organizations. The technology itself is increasingly accessible and powerful, yet results remain uneven. Some teams ... Read the article arrow\_right\_alt](https://tech.lean.org/journal/management-designing-the-system-where-people-and-ai-work-together) ### [![](https://tech.lean.org/hubfs/build.png) Insider January 14, 2026 Behavior: The Variable You Have to Build In my previous article, I made a point that might seem counterintuitive given the billions being spent on AI: technology is often the easy part of the following equation: Impact = Technology × Behavior × Management ... Read the article arrow\_right\_alt](https://tech.lean.org/journal/behavior-the-variable-you-have-to-build-1) ### [![Technology Is the Easy Piece of the Equation](https://tech.lean.org/hubfs/raw_assets/public/tech-lean-org/images/articles/technology-is-the-easy-piece.png) November 19, 2025 Technology Is the Easy Piece of the Equation In my last article, I introduced a simple but unforgiving equation: Impact = Technology x Behavior x Management. If any of the three components approaches zero, the product collapses. Impressive tools, great people, or ... Read the article arrow\_right\_alt](https://tech.lean.org/journal/technology-is-the-easy-piece) ### [![](https://tech.lean.org/hubfs/Tech.png) October 29, 2025 Technology ✖️ Behavior ✖️ Management 🟰 Impact: Lessons from 30 Years of Lean for the Age of AI In my recent articles, “Five Levels of AI Collaboration” and “Navigating the Hype vs. Reality in the AI Landscape,” I explored how leaders can think more clearly about AI’s potential and limits. Yet after the excitement ... Read the article arrow\_right\_alt](https://tech.lean.org/journal/technology-️-behavior-️-management-impact-lessons-from-30-years-of-lean-for-the-age-of-ai) ### [![The Five Levels of AI Collaboration](https://tech.lean.org/hubfs/raw_assets/public/tech-lean-org/images/articles/five-levels-of-ai-collaboration.png) October 15, 2025 The Five Levels of AI Collaboration: What I Learned from Building Lean Coaching Tools What Explains All the Waste and Variation? Why do two people use the same AI model and get completely different results? One produces clarity and insight; the other, noise and frustration. Why do some think technology ... Read the article arrow\_right\_alt](https://tech.lean.org/journal/five-levels-of-ai-collaboration) ### [![Lean AI Webinar: A New Way to Learn, Practice, and Apply](https://tech.lean.org/hubfs/raw_assets/public/tech-lean-org/images/articles/lean-ai-webinar.png) September 25, 2025 Lean AI Webinar: A New Way to Learn, Practice, and Apply Last week, we hosted a webinar exploring the intersection of lean thinking and artificial intelligence. Tyson Heaton interviewed Toyota veterans and lean leaders Art Smalley and John Shook about the history of AI in ... Read the article arrow\_right\_alt](https://tech.lean.org/journal/lean-ai-webinar) ### [![Lean AI: Navigating Hype and Reality in the Age of Artificial Intelligence](https://tech.lean.org/hubfs/raw_assets/public/tech-lean-org/images/articles/lean-ai-navigating-hype.png) September 24, 2025 Lean AI: Navigating Hype and Reality in the Age of Artificial Intelligence After four decades watching automation promises in manufacturing, I've learned to separate the real breakthroughs from the demos. But the signals surrounding AI couldn't be more confusing. Geoffrey Hinton, the ... Read the article arrow\_right\_alt](https://tech.lean.org/journal/lean-ai-navigating-hype) ### [![](https://tech.lean.org/hubfs/Skeptical.png) August 21, 2025 From Skeptic to Believer: My Journey into Lean and AI Lean Meets AI This is the first in a series of articles in which the Lean Enterprise Institute and I will explore the unfolding intersection of lean and artificial intelligence (AI) in the years ahead. Each month, we'll ... Read the article arrow\_right\_alt](https://tech.lean.org/journal/from-skeptic-to-believer-my-journey-into-lean-and-ai) No articles match your search. Try a different word, or clear the search box to see everything. Loading more articles... You've reached the end of the archive 9 of 0 articles shown handshake ## Want to go deeper? The Journal is written by the faculty you'd work with. Bring one real problem and we'll match the right one to it. [Book a Discovery Session arrow\_forward](https://tech.lean.org/book) ![LeanAI mark](https://tech.lean.org/hubfs/raw_assets/public/tech-lean-org/images/lean_AI_logo_wht.png) LeanAI Lean AI is a practice of the Lean Enterprise Institute. We build your team's capability to solve problems with AI, and we move value streams toward their ideal, one target condition at a time. 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