Lean is dead?
I know that you can say whatever you want in the press, particularly if you’re trying to sell this, but I couldn’t believe I read this: I had a feeling as I went into this that people had reached their…
I know that you can say whatever you want in the press, particularly if you’re trying to sell this, but I couldn’t believe I read this: I had a feeling as I went into this that people had reached their…
There are many books that are not at all about lean, but the lessons they contain are very helpful to a lean journey. Here’s one such example: Death by Meeting by Patrick Lencioni While the creativity and storytelling in most…
A couple months ago, Mark commented on the unraveling of the mystery of Raytheon’s Swanson’s The Unwritten Rules of Management. This book got incredible press on how many people liked it, including Warren Buffett. As I liked to do, the…
By Jamie Flinchbaugh < The Hitchhiker's Guide to Lean > I’ve read my share of articles on lean, and its no wonder people are confused about what’s up and what’s down. Here’s the latest bit of confusion, from Australia: Lean:…
I won’t comment on this much, because I’m not an expert on the Chinese auto industry (I still buy U.S.-built cars). But The Great Race: China offers big challenges but huge opportunities offers a primer on the ins and outs…
Unless you subscribe to Superfactory, you probably haven’t noticed a nearly raging debate on the true contributions to “lean” and the Toyota Production System by one Dr. Shigeo Shingo. Here’s a little of the storyline. It basically comes down to…
In this Business Week column, the title is The Myth of Creativity. This takes a bold stance AGAINST creativity. Here is the central premise: The sobering truth is that the dramatic artistic creations or intellectual insights we most admire for…
Today’s Detroit News wrote about lean in healthcare, this time in their own beloved University of Michigan system. Titled “U-M Hospital Takes Page from Toyota,” it starts out with a flaw, stating: “U-M is one of the first medical centers…
Lean is about a journey, and it requires leadership. If you can not teach, you can not lead. On Father’s Day I mentioned the spirit of learning from our fathers important lessons on leadership. Although a little late, I thought…
From the June 26th edition of Business Week, The Welch Way by Jack and Suzy Welch was called Stop the B.S. Budget (need subscription to read). I probably will not get much argument from people on this: budgeting as it…
This article appeared in the May 31st issue of APICS extra. It featured yours truly and covers the topic of the five whys. You can learn more about APICS by visiting www.apics.org. Why Do You Ask? By Douglas R. Kelly…
Did I get your attention? OK, it was a misleading headline, sort of. Certainly, productivity and quality are important, as are safety and on-time delivery (remember the mantra of Safety, Quality, Delivery, and Cost). Look at this case here: the…