Here are the dozen images that I posted on LinkedIn every day from 20 to 31 October in the run-up to Halloween 2023. Also shown are the words that accompanied each post.
When I first posted the texts and images, most of the comments were (oddly) a defense of the concept, tool, method, or practice presented. The nexus of humor (exaggeration, absurdity) and truth (serious educational element and challenge to think) were not easily recognized.
🎃 Here come my Halloween posts! Get Ready: 11 more in the next 11 days! Overproduction is a perpetual problem resulting in inventories (https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ISRATIO) that tie up a lot of cash, while selling generates lots of costly games (sales promotions, incentives for salespersons, channel stuffing, extending payment terms, etc.). Vast sums of money could be saved and put to much better use if CEOs did this.
🎃 It is terrifying to practice what you preach 😱! Can Lean management itself be improved using the improvement kata? 🤔 That means admitting something is wrong 😬. ⏩ “Lean is struggling.” — Bill Waddell (17 Oct 2023). ⏩ “No new Toyota’s” — Jim Womack (12 August 2022). You won’t know unless you try! What do you think Steps 1 and 3 should be? Start here for ideas.
🎃 A value stream map of a value stream mapping event reveals the lead-time to achieve actual improvement increases by 425 percent! Try kaizen instead.
🎃 Boo! Gemba walks are good, but it is the slowest way to improve. Toyota-style kaizen produces better results faster.
And don’t be scared to try REVERSE GEMBA WALKS, where a group of shop and office workers go to executive suites to:
- Observe the work
- Ask questions
- Take Notes
- Identify any opportunities for improvement
- Share findings with the execs
What kind of improvement opportunities do you think you will find?
🎃 Throughout history, fear has always been very useful to leaders. New thinking 🧠 is needed, not more hope.
🎃 Let’s face it. Never has more time 🕰 and money 💸 been spent to get so little in return. Try something new, simple, and inexpensive.
🎃 “You have to struggle to squeeze your intelligence out.” — Chihiro Nakao.
🎃 Just-in-Time. What’s old may someday become new again.
🎃 It’s scary that ALL top Lean leaders and influencers prefer to avert their eyes. 😵
🎃 The status quo exists due to archaic preconceptions and outdated traditions. Rarely does anyone ask: “Is this preconception still relevant?” Or, “Should this tradition be abandoned?” These questions need to be asked.
🎃 Trick or Treat! This is the final post of my Halloween series. 🎃 Improvement requires confronting reality rather than hiding from it.
