There’s Always a Better Way And More Than One Solution

While this post may be brief, it serves to exemplify my often stated phrase: There’s always a better way and more than one solution. Versalytics.org I was perusing a Wikipedia article on the Fortran programming language and paid special attention to a short block of code to calculate the area of a triangle. The program was using a formula I […]

Lean – Have it Your Way

It’s easy to determine whether the leadership of a company truly embraces lean thinking.  One of the more frustrating “tells” is the insistence of leadership to precisely follow the path others have taken. The underlying notion of achieving the same or similar results may be appealing but it does not address why the specific path or methodology was chosen by […]

Lean Is NOT A Legacy

Lean can be summarily defined as “The pursuit of perfection (value) through the relentless elimination of waste.”  Understanding what this actually looks like in the real world is an entirely different matter. The 8 wastes (technically 7) and the tools to continually strive to eliminate them are well documented.  Why is it then that companies still find themselves struggling to […]

Leadership – Get Thirsty …

We are likely to find as many definitions for leadership as there are leaders. I recently downloaded an excellent app titled “Leadership Development” from Apple’s App Store and this definition of leadership was presented in one of the many videos: “Leadership is the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation to accomplish the mission and improve the […]

Transition Versus Change – 2013

The time between Christmas and New Year’s eve is one of transition as we consider the events that occurred over the past year and prepare for the new year ahead. Experts are sure to present their annual summaries and will also attempt to “predict” what may be in store for us in the year to come. As lean leaders we […]

Decisions: From Crisis and Chaos to Calm

How is it that some leaders have a way to bring calm to crisis, chaos, and conflict, weeding out fact from fiction, and somehow setting the path straight for others to follow? The answer is quite simple, they have the tools and ability to make effective decisions efficiently. I recognize that very few, if any, problems can truly be solved […]

Anticipation – Wait For It!

Anticipation We’ve all said it, “I just can’t wait!”  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.  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 […]