Weekly Update (April 5, 2013)

Notable News

The big news of the week is that we have worked on our production schedule, and are trying to get something new published every day. So far, so good, as we’ve had new content got out each morning. Of course, from the front end, it seems like a small change. From the back end, though, it is the result of significant process improvement activity to open up more time for creating and publishing more content. We hope you enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Thoughts of the Week

• Technology increases the chance of rude behavior. I got called a fool this week by someone I didn’t even know because I dared disagree with him on a Facebook thread. That has never happened to me in person.
• Prevention is the best corrective action.
• Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day to accomplish things, and yet some put the time to far better use than others. If you want to improve your lot in life, count the number of hours of TV you watch in a week, and then put half of those hours toward self-improvement. 

Favorite Improvement Articles

• Mark Graban posted an interesting article on how mistakes during residency have changed after a reduction in the number of hours they are allowed to work. The article spurred a significant number of comments.
• Not so much a favorite article as it is a favorite feature, but Tim McMahon publishes a Lean quote each Friday. This week he looks at Henry Ford’s quote, “Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.“ 

Recommended Reading

• Our recommended book of the week is Karen Martin’s “The Outstanding Organization.” We recently discussed it in a podcast.
• Our article of the week is one that is available as a download in PDF format. It is titled “8 Reasons People Resist Change” and, not surprisingly, is about some of the main reasons people have trouble with transitions. It also covers some tactics to help manage those reasons. 

Featured Video

Velaction’s featured video of the week is on a typical change model, and goes hand in hand with our recommended reading.

Lean Roadmap Update

One of the most common requests from my readers and customers is for information on how to put all the tools, content, and training together. We recently addressed this need with our Continuous Improvement Transformation Model. It is a living document, so we’ll post information about changes to it here. Obviously, the big change in this update is that this page is now available.

New Products

Last, but not least, we want to let you know about new product releases. The first item on the list is a new type of product, our quarterly update pack. This is most useful for Rollout Pack customers who want to keep their training library up to date.

• New Release Pack (Q1-2013)
• Critical to Quality Overview Lean Training on PowerPoint
• FMEA / Failure Mode and Effects Analysis Lean Training on PowerPoint
• Kaizen-Making Improvements (Office) Lean Training on PowerPoint
• Kaizen-Sustaining Gains Lean Training on PowerPoint
• Voice of the Customer Overview Lean Training on PowerPoint