I get a monthly shot to battle my seasonal allergies. As part of the process, the nurse has to confirm my information, prep the injection site, and administer the special concoction. Then there is waiting period where I have to be observed to make sure I don’t have any sort Read more…
One of the rarest feats in sports is the perfect game. For those non-sports fans among you who don’t know what that is, it simply means that no batters were able to reach first base. In short, 27 people in a row failed to do their job properly. In fact, Read more…
The unfortunate truth is that most leaders, especially in an office environment, don’t have as good of an idea of what is going on as they think they do. If you are the manager of an administrative team, there’s a good chance that the last comment offended you. If it Read more…
Conventional wisdom contends that goals are essential for improving team performance. I’ve shared that belief for years, but what if it is wrong? What if goals act to hold back a team’s performance? For low performing teams, I’m convinced that goals do inspire improvement. For those groups, inertia tends to Read more…
This week, we have the first of a two part podcast series on the Six Simple Steps toward a Lean Management Mindset. In these recordings, I interviewed Jay Watson. He recently completed a six week project, and his work highlighted some lessons that he learned over the course of his Read more…
What’s the difference between a reason and an excuse? The difference is one of intent. When a person has the intention of eliminating the barrier, he has encountered a reason. When a person does not intend to do anything about it, the obstacle is an excuse. For example, imagine that Read more…
In Lean companies, we talk frequently about how batching is bad and flow is good. And yet, nearly every company batches its performance reviews into an annual evaluation. The irony is thick. Those very evaluations—the ones containing 365 days of observations—may critique a Lean leader on how well he was Read more…
Success can seem lucky on the surface, but it seldom is when you dive deeper into it. Case in point. A few years ago I facilitated a kaizen event in a service center. The main goal was to improve lead time. In the course of the event, it became clear Read more…
This week, we have only one link to share. It’s a video of a pretty amazing example of outside the box thinking. Pay attention to the process that the operator uses, and the fixtures that he uses during the transitions. If he can do this, think of what you can Read more…
No, I’m not saying to fake it when you don’t know something. I’m talking about the acronym BLUF. Bottom Line Up Front It’s simple. Lead with what you are trying to accomplish in the meeting so people can stay on track. You are not trying to build suspense, so it Read more…
Lean works. It’s been proven time and time again that its methods and strategies are effective, and that companies that crack the code of Lean improve their operations significantly. But Lean also flounders in some companies, making it harder than it needs to be and limiting its progress. My perception Read more…
I recently went to a restaurant, and received this bill for an item that cost $12.95 on the menu: Item Price Food $12.95 Food Preparation Surcharge $3.95 Property Tax Surcharge $0.95 Site Security Fees $0.37 Waiting Area Use Fee $0.46 Clean-up Fee $0.99 Booth Usage Fees $0.76 Imagine how this Read more…