Behind The Desk For some people, being bound to a desk is an inherent and perhaps unfortunate part of the work they do. But, the last place I would expect to find a lean leader is sitting behind their desk. I recognize the need for an office and understand that managing a business does require some desk time. However, it’s amazing how […]
Desk Jockey “Leaders”
Learning From Mistakes
An event occurred this afternoon that required an immediate resolution. When asked whether we were going to pursue the root cause, I could only respond with this question: What’s the point of making mistakes if we’re not going to learn from them? This is likely the shortest post I ever published here, however, I think the simplicity of the message […]
Problem Solving: Take People Out To Keep Them In
Hindsight If only I knew then what I know now, things would be different and, as the expression goes, “Hindsight is 20/20”. The problem? Very few leaders and teams take advantage of “hindsight” to discover the valuable lessons that can be learned from both successes and failures. Following an event, it is important to take the time to reflect and […]
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 […]
Waste: The Devil is in the Details …
I planned to publish this yesterday but for some reason I felt compelled to wait. I doubt it was fate, but as you will see, Toyota once again managed to serendipitously substantiate my reason for it. I was originally inspired to write this post based on a recent experience I had at a local restaurant. After I was seated, I ordered a coffee to start […]
Integrated Waste: Lather, Rinse, Repeat
Admittedly, it has been a while since I checked a shampoo bottle for directions, however, I do recall a time in my life reading: Lather, Rinse, Repeat. Curiously, they don’t say when or how many times the process needs to be repeated. Perhaps someone can educate me as to why it is necessary to repeat the process at all – other than “daily”. I […]
Lean – Burnout, Apathy, and Pareto’s Law
The Premise: Pareto’s Law The late Josheph Juran introduced the world to Pareto’s Law, aptly named after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto. Many business and quality professionals alike are familiar with Pareto’s law and often refer to it as the 80 / 20 rule. In simple terms, Pareto’s Law is based on the premise that 80% of the effects stem from 20% […]
How Effective is Your Problem Solving?
Background Of the many metrics that we use to manage our businesses, one area that is seldom measured is the effectiveness of the problem solving process itself. We often engage a variety of problem solving tools such as 5-Why, Fishbone Diagrams, Fault Trees, Design of Experiments (DOE), or other forms of Statistical Analysis in our attempts to find an effective […]
The Invisible Gorilla
Just when you thought everything was under control, someone asks you about something that isn’t even on your radar. Our perceptions can be deceiving and are not always as accurate or reliable as we think. This is nicely documented and demonstrated in this article and video that we found on Yahoo today: The Invisible Gorilla. If the above link doesn’t work, cut and paste the following […]
Viral Differentiation – Another Great Site
We are still working on our Differentiation Strategies and OEE series. We decided to share just a glimpse of what we have found to be a uniquely evolved infrastructure within the Excel Development community. For the many Excel – VBA experts that continue to use our Excel Pages as a resource and reference for top notch sites, we have added […]
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