The World's Best Book Summaries
What’s Personal Kanban about? How can you use kanban boards to organize your life? In Personal Kanban, Agile productivity experts Jim Benson and Tonianne DeMaria teach you how to use kanban boards—a management method that keeps automakers efficient and software developers productive—to organize your life. Read below for a brief Personal Kanban book overview.
What is the kanban system? How does having your own personal kanban improve productivity? Before you start developing your own personal kanban, it’s helpful to understand the system’s background. In Personal Kanban, Jim Benson and Tonianne DeMaria explore what kanban is, its origins and benefits, and the difference between traditional and personal kanban. Let’s break down the basics of the kanban system below.
What’s the history of kanban? Who invented this organized production system? Kanban is traditionally a lean method used in workplaces to keep production moving. According to Personal Kanban by Jim Benson and Tonianne DeMaria, the origins of kanban actually started with a well-known vehicle manufacturer. Learn more about the surprising history of kanban systems.
Do you experience a lot of setbacks while working? How could kanban benefit you? In Personal Kanban, Jim Benson and Tonianne DeMaria argue that kanban offers advantages that other productivity systems can’t. These benefits include transparency, prioritization, and adaptability. Find out more about the benefits of kanban.
Do you know how to create a kanban board? How do you know what tasks are the most important to work on? In Personal Kanban, Jim Benson and Tonianne DeMaria teach you the basics of personal kanban so you can create one yourself. They lay out the steps to get started on your personal organization journey. Continue reading to learn how to develop your own kanban board.
Are you overwhelmed with the amount of tasks you have to complete? How do you prioritize all your work? In Personal Kanban, Jim Benson and Tonianne DeMaria say that a kanban board will help you complete your tasks. To do so, you need to start prioritizing the important to-do items over the less important ones. Keep reading to learn how to prioritize workload based on a “Ready, Doing, and Done” table.
What’s the difference between importance and urgency? Is it better to prioritize important tasks over urgent ones? In Personal Kanban, Jim Benson and Tonianne DeMaria advise prioritizing important tasks that inspire continuous improvement. While these tasks may not be urgent, they’ll benefit you in the long run. Learn how to tell the difference between what’s important and what’s urgent.
What are value streams? How do you set up a value stream that fits your needs? A value stream is the development of tasks from ideas to accomplishments. Setting up a value stream is the second step of a kanban board, according to Personal Kanban by Jim Benson and Tonianne DeMaria. Check out how to create a value stream that fits your needs.
How can you constantly improve yourself and your work habits? How is continuous improvement part of the kanban system? In kanban, continuous improvement is at the core of the workflow system. The way you achieve it is by observing your work, asking questions, and trying out new ways of doing things. It’s important to take some time to step back and reflect on what you’ve accomplished so you can continue moving forward. Let’s look at three ways to embed continuous self-improvement into your personal kanban practice.
Why did the hedge fund LTCM fail so horribly? What can you learn from LTCM’s failure? In When Genius Failed, Roger Lowenstein explores the spectacular rise and catastrophic 1998 collapse of the hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM). He explores the history of LTCM, how its models operated, and how its success turned into a failure. Read below for a brief overview of When Genius Failed.