Conflict between management and employees seems inevitable, but that is not always the case. When I worked in industry, there was near-perpetual conflict between senior management and labor unions, but less so between senior management and salaried employees. Overall, there was broad alignment in … [Read more...] about Higher Learning and Lean Management
Archives for November 2015
Riches of Embarrassment
There has been much consternation as well a strong, negative emotional response among CSU faculty to the Board of Regents opening proposals for the AAUP contract. Faculty, who once viewed the Board of Regents as merely bumbling and incompetent now view them angrily and as the enemy. That is an … [Read more...] about Riches of Embarrassment
The Back Story – Lean Leadership Research
This is the back story to seven of the more than 30 research papers that I have written about Lean leadership. The seven papers and six books listed below highlight the nexus of research and practice, grounded in my own experiences as a Lean leader while working in industry, since 1994. Lean … [Read more...] about The Back Story – Lean Leadership Research
Lean Governor, Anti-Lean Board of Regents
This is an op-ed article that appeared in The Connecticut Mirror, a respected nonprofit, nonpartisan news outlet that reports on government policies and politics. I wrote it in response to the ongoing contract negotiations between the Connecticut Board of Regents and the AAUP. Connecticut … [Read more...] about Lean Governor, Anti-Lean Board of Regents
Reefer Sanity
It is unfortunate that managers are not allowed to smoke marijuana at work. After all, they are not doing anything too important. If they were high, they might finally slow down, go for a "Reefer Walk," and see what is actually going on. Here is the conversation between four managers, all solidly … [Read more...] about Reefer Sanity
Additive Leadership
You may be familiar with the term "additive manufacturing." It refers to a new manufacturing process in which digital designs are used to create a 3-dimensional component by depositing material in successive layers. This is in contrast to "subtractive manufacturing," where material is removed in … [Read more...] about Additive Leadership
Where Unqualified Means Qualified
In the not too distant past, Boards of Regents or Trustees who hired university presidents demanded that the candidate be qualified for the position. Typically, that meant the candidate possessed an earned terminal academic degree, rose through the ranks of the professoriate, and then rose through … [Read more...] about Where Unqualified Means Qualified
University Annual Budget Process
Below is a university's process for developing an annual budget. It takes six months to create a fiscal year budget, when the actual value-added time is probably less than two weeks. It is a mind-numbing batch-and-queue process that wastes people's time and whose owners never think to improve. FY … [Read more...] about University Annual Budget Process
Research and Teaching: A Great Pairing
Public higher education is under pressure from politicians, businesspeople, and taxpayers. They think the only thing professors do is teach, and that, being their only responsibility, should teach more than 3 or 4 courses per semester. In fact, we also conduct research and perform many important … [Read more...] about Research and Teaching: A Great Pairing