One of the roles of leadership is to instill and foster a culture that embraces change and empowers the team to improve. This call for change is also echoed in the Plan-Do-Check-Act or PDCA cycle that serves as a typical model for driving continuous improvement in many organizations. In this regard, Apple has clearly demonstrated their commitment to develop and improve their existing […]
Apple’s Best Kept Secrets … May Be Their Worst Enemy
A Lesson in Lean Over a Long Holiday Weekend
What? Another long weekend? That’s right! The first Monday of August is a civic holiday here in Ontario, Canada. However, if you ask people what we’re supposed to be celebrating you may be surprised by the vast array of answers – including “I don’t know.” Some of the confusion begins with its declaration – the provincial government has not defined […]
Your Mother Doesn’t Work Here!
What my Mother taught me about Lean Today is Mother’s day and gives me cause to reflect on what my Mother taught me about lean. From an early age, my mother managed to instill an innate ability for lean thinking. Managing a household and being able to orchestrate a host of tasks and demands, all the while keeping the place clean, […]
Anticipation – Wait For It!
Anticipation We’ve all said it, “I just can’t wait!” Â We look forward to certain events, both big and small, with eager anticipation. We carefully plan for vacations, family events, a get together with friends, or major purchases like a new car or home. Â Our minds race, eagerly waiting for that magic moment to arrive. Anticipation instills excitement and expectation in […]
Unplugged – Earth Hour – 2012
The Earth – Unplugged EARTH HOUR is now an annual event that is embraced around the globe. For at least one hour, we will have the opportunity to “unplug” ourselves from the world to ponder and increase our awareness of how our “activities of daily living” can make a difference to the environment we live in. Measuring Change While the […]
Sustainability or Meltdown?
For as many years as I have been blogging here on Lean Execution, I have been increasingly concerned with the sustainability of our economy, business, and government at all levels – locally, nationally, and globally. To this day, these same interests are all struggling to define and establish models that will allow them to recover, sustain, and flourish in the […]
Are you Winning? A Hockey Lesson for Lean Metrics.
The world of sports is rife with statistics and hockey is no exception, especially here in Canada. Over the past few weeks, local Toronto hockey fans anxiously watched or listened for the results of every Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game – all the while hoping for a win and a shot at making into the playoffs. As has been the case for the past many […]
Toyota #1 for a Reason
Experience is often gained by making mistakes, however, we don’t have to repeat them for the sake of experience.  This is one of the reasons I decided to read “Toyota Under Fire” by Jeffrey K. Liker and Timothy N. Ogden.  Aside from the many positive reviews this book has already received, it claims to present “The definitive inside account of Toyota’s […]
Reality Undercover
One of the few Reality TV programs I enjoy watching is Undercover Boss on CBS. Â This program exemplifies all the reasons why it is so important for executive leadership and senior management to keep in touch with the front lines of the company. Â Â As a lean practitioner I consider the culture of the company to be the defining difference […]
Toyota’s Culture – Inside Out
As discussed on our Lean Roadmap page, the culture that exists inside your company will determine the success or failure of your lean initiatives in the long-term. So, how do we cultivate and nurture this culture that we desire to achieve? Fortunately, I found a great article,  How to implement “Lean Thinking” in a Business: Pathway to creating a “Lean Culture”, written by one of my recent twitter […]