Many people think that because Toyota has been en exemplary Lean practitioner for decades that they have perfect processes and few problems. That's not true; none of their processes are perfect and they have many problems. What they do have is a willingness to be accept the existence of problems and … [Read more...] about Errors Every Day
Archives for February 2014
Guest Lecture
Hey Professors - Let me know if you are interested in me speaking to your undergraduate or graduate students about Lean leadership, Lean culture, The Wiremold Company's Lean transformation, or related topic. We can arrange a one-hour guest lecture via Skype. The offer is for non-profit institutions … [Read more...] about Guest Lecture
Job Security
For too long people have thought of kaizen as something that leads to job loss. Let's turn that around and think of kaizen as job security. As computers inevitably and successfully replace people in the workplace over time, only those who have clear value to an organization will remain. They are … [Read more...] about Job Security
Breaking the Cycle of Abuse
One of the things I was determined to do when I became a professor was to not make the kinds of basic teaching mistakes that I experienced from my professors when I was a student. If I didn't like something as a student, chances were good that most other students did not like it either. Sure, some … [Read more...] about Breaking the Cycle of Abuse
McKinsey&Lean
McKinsey's recent high-profile embrace of something approaching REAL Lean is significant and noteworthy - and abnormal. Historically, large management consulting firms have ignored the "Respect for People" principle in progressive management. Why? Because that was not what their customers, top … [Read more...] about McKinsey&Lean
McKinsey Finally On Board!
BREAKING NEWS: Global management consulting firm McKinsey&Company finally recognizes Lean as a management system that applies to any organization in any industry. It turns out Lean isn't just a manufacturing thing! The next frontier for Lean is to manage the entire life cycle of a product, just … [Read more...] about McKinsey Finally On Board!
A Student Applies What They Learned!
A student of mine was unhappy with his performance in course he took called “Decision Failure Analysis in Technology Management” (where we use my A4 failure analysis method, which includes the 5 Why's). After the course was over, he sent me an e-mail saying that he enjoyed the course, liked my … [Read more...] about A Student Applies What They Learned!
Lean Leadership Research: What Next?
As someone who has studied Lean leadership for 20 years, I have sought to answer the most important research questions. I would love to know what you think the remaining unanswered research questions are. This will help identify what needs to be studied or further studied to advance our … [Read more...] about Lean Leadership Research: What Next?
STEM Imbalance
The current group-think is that undergraduate students should forego humanities (and most liberal arts) studies and instead major in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM). That's the only way to get a good-paying job in today's technologically-oriented society. That assumption relies on … [Read more...] about STEM Imbalance