Leadership Leadership can make or break any organization whether it is business, government, or even a sports franchise. I felt compelled to cite this quote from a column titled “Iconic teams tumble from penthouse to outhouse” as published in the Toronto Star (20-Jan-2012): And while all have found different routes to the bottom, they do have one thing in common: […]
BlackBerry or Bust?
- Advanced Lean Manufacturing
- Collaboration
- Cost Control
- Customer Service
- Eliminate Waste
- Problem Solving
Lean Leadership: The Missing Link?
I coined the phrase “What you see is how we think” to suggest that the principles of lean thinking are not only embraced by everyone but are also evident throughout the organization. In this context, becoming a lean organization requires effective leadership to create and foster an environment that allows lean thinking to flourish. Just as a teacher establishes an […]
Are You Suffering from Fragmentation?
When Toyota arrived on the North American manufacturing scene, automakers were introduced to many of Toyota’s best practices including the Toyota Production System (TPS) and the well-known “Toyota Way”. Since that time, Toyota’s best practices have been introduced to numerous other industries and service providers with varying degrees of success. In simple terms, Toyota’s elusive goal of single piece flow […]
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 […]
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 […]
Lean: Beyond Reach!
Almost everything I read or learned suggests that lean was never intended to be complicated. The simplest definition of lean I have read to date follows: Focus on what matters and eliminate what doesn’t This is not to suggest that lean is easy. In actual practice I find that some companies have sufficiently compounded the definition of lean to exclude […]
Lean – Walk and Talk
In my article “Waste: The Devil is in the Details“, I discussed the importance of paying attention to the details. From a company or personal perspective, the underlying theme to identify waste (or opportunity) is to be continually cognizant of what it is we’re doing and asking “Why?” I have continually stressed the importance of conducting process reviews right where the action is. It seems […]
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 […]
What did you expect? Benchmarking and Decisions – for better or worse.
What did you expect? Benchmarking & Decisions – for better or worse I recognize that benchmarking is not a new concept. In business, we have learned to appreciate the value of benchmarking at the “macro level” through our deliberate attempts to establish a relative measure of performance, improvement, and even for competitor analysis. Advertisers often use benchmarking as an integral component of their marketing strategy. […]
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 […]
%d bloggers like this: