Keep Your Gemba Walks Fresh & Meaningful – Engage Your People–Michael Bremmer
Getting started with Gemba Walks isn’t hard, but maintaining their effectiveness, engagement, and impact is another story.
Too often, leaders fall into the trap of turning every walk into a “waste walk.” While identifying waste is valuable, that’s only a fraction of what’s possible. In this one-hour session, we’ll explore how to:
> Keep your walks engaging—for you and your team
> Make each walk a learning experience, not a routine
> Use walks to actually drive performance improvement
We’ll also touch on Virtual and Office Gemba Walks—how they differ from a physical walk.
Join us to re-energize your Gemba Walks and deepen their impact.
Take aways:
> Practical actions to improve your gemba walks
> Ideas on how to coach others in improving their walks
Who should attend:
> “C” level senior leaders
> Operations leaders
> Continuous improvement practitioners
Michael S. Bremer – Author & Improvement Leader
Michael Bremer is a semi-retired business executive and award-winning author, with a diverse career spanning productivity, information systems, financial leadership, and global consulting.
He began his corporate career at Beatrice Foods, serving as Director of Productivity and later Director of Information Systems. He served as Chief Financial Officer and Board Member of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME). Michael spent 28 years as President of The Cumberland Group, a Chicago-based global consulting firm.
Michael was also involved in education and innovation, serving as adjunct faculty at the University of Chicago’s Graham School for 15 years, and mentoring manufacturing-focused startups at mHUB Chicago, an innovation incubator.
Awards & Recognition
- 2016 Shingo Prize for Research & Publication Award– How to Do a Gemba Walk
- 2019 Mac McCulloch Lifetime Achievement Award– Association for Manufacturing Excellence
Publications
Michael has authored five books on leadership and performance improvement, including:
- How to Do a Gemba Walk(2025, Self-Published 4th Edition)
- Learn to See the Invisible(2025, Productivity Press)
Current Activities
Michael continues to serve as volunteer Vice President for AME’s Excellence Award activities, coordinating over 50 volunteer assessors. Assessments focus on elevating organizational improvement maturity. He also moderates a bi-weekly discussion group on global issues.